George Polk
George Polk (born October 17, 1913 in Fort Worth , Texas , † before May 16, 1948 in Greece ) was an American leftist journalist.
Live and act
In 1938 he graduated from the University of Alaska . After graduating in English, he worked as a newspaper reporter in China and France. In early 1942 he joined the US Navy as a pilot. In 1943, while searching for a pilot and comrade near the Solomon Islands, Polk was attacked by two Japanese hunters, but was able to flee and use emergency water. He found shelter with Solomonic citizens who gave him food and after a week he was able to signal a US airplane.
After World War II, Polk became a CBS News correspondent. He reported from the Greek Civil War (1946-49), whose conservative government was supported by the USA from March 1947 under the Truman Doctrine . In 1948 he researched that the Greek government had stolen US aid. Two days later he was found dead with a shot in the head. Two communists were found guilty and a journalist friend confessed to his alleged complicity under torture.
Shortly after his death, journalists created the George Polk Prizes named after him for special journalistic achievements.
literature
- Kati Marton : The Polk Conspiracy. Murder and Cover-Up in the Case of CBS News Correspondent George Polk . Farrar Straus and Giroux, New York 1990, ISBN 0-374-13553-3 .
Web links
- democracynow.org: The Story of George Polk - Podcast April 14, 1999
Individual evidence
- ↑ George Polk | UAF Centennial. Retrieved June 2, 2020 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Polk, George |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American leftist journalist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 17, 1913 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Fort Worth , Texas |
| DATE OF DEATH | before May 16, 1948 |
| Place of death | Greece |