William N. Oatis

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William Nathan Oatis (born January 4, 1914 in Marion , Indiana , † September 16, 1997 in New York ) was an American journalist.

Live and act

Oatis studied at DePauw University in 1932/33 and then returned to his hometown. There he got a job in the editorial office of the Leader Tribune . In 1937 he moved to the Associated Press (AP) in Indianapolis. When the United States entered World War II in December 1941 , Oatis volunteered for the army .

In 1945 Oatis returned to his homeland with the rank of corporal and began at the University of Minnesota a . a. Study Japanese. At the same time worked as a freelancer for the AP again. At the AP headquarters in New York ( Rockefeller Center , Rockefeller Plaza 50) he made the acquaintance of Laurabelle Zack (1924–2012), who was in charge of the reference library there as a librarian.

In early 1950 Oatis went to London for the AP , where he also married Laurabelle. Together they had two sons, Jeremy and Jonathan. On June 23, 1950, he moved to Prague , where he became head of the Associated Press office that same day. On April 23, 1951, Klement Gottwald , a loyal follower of Josef Stalin , had him arrested. Just a few days later, the Czech government presented an extorted confession from Oatis by confirming all allegations of espionage. In a show trial Oatis the American was national holiday July 4, 1951 - - sentenced to ten years in prison.

A few weeks after Stalin's death and an official protest note from President Dwight D. Eisenhower , Oatis was released from prison on May 16, 1953. Oatis contracted tuberculosis while imprisoned , but was completely cured after he was released. In 1959, the Czech Ministry of Justice officially acquitted him of all charges. When the Prague Spring ended in 1968 with the invasion of Warsaw Pact troops , Oatis saw himself again accused of being a spy. It was not until the Velvet Revolution in the winter of 1989/90 that this charge was withdrawn and declared null and void.

Between 1954 and 1984 Oatis reported almost exclusively from the United Nations in New York; Exceptions were professional stays in London and Sofia. In 1970 he was appointed President of the United Nations Correspondents Association .

On 16 September 1997 William N. Oatis died in Long Iceland College Hospital ( Brooklyn ) at the Alzheimer's disease . He found his final resting place in Calverton National Cemetery ( Long Island ).

Honors

literature

  • Edward Alwood: The spy case of AP correspondent William Oatis. A muddled victim / hero myth of the Cold War . In: Journalism & mass communication quarterly , Vol. 87 (2010), Issue 2, pp. 263-280.
  • William N. Oatis: "When I confessed" . In: Life, September 21, 1953, pp. 131-142.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Oatis, William N.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Oatis, William Nathan (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American journalist
DATE OF BIRTH January 4, 1914
PLACE OF BIRTH Marion (Indiana)
DATE OF DEATH September 16, 1997
Place of death new York