Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: Mar. 4, 2025
Betty, Zuzka, Jane and Marlene (as in Dietrich) were four very different woman living in different parts of the world who had a very important thing in common- they were all members of the O.S.S. who contributed to the creation of propaganda that helped Allied soldiers during World War Two. All four woman created pamphlets, delivered radio broadcasts and wrote and contributed to news stories, mostly fabricated, in order to break the morale of enemy soldiers. Although very talented in their own ways, they were overlooked for promotions and pay raises, due to their gender, and found themselves floundering to find their place when the war was over.
Non-fiction writer Lisa Rogak’s “Propaganda Girls: The Secret War of the Women in the OSS” is a clever examination of four very inspiring women who did not settle for the lot they had been given and instead chose to seek out adventure and danger in foreign countries, all with the aim of helping the United States and its Allies.
With the many stories, fiction and non-fiction both, that feature women in World War Two at the forefront, it was refreshing to read Rogak’s clever iteration. “Girls” alternates so that the reader learns about each female in turn, from their upbringing to their experiences in the U.S Army, their lives after the War and their partners and children. It was fascinating to learn about the “Girls” as women first and war heroes second.
“Girls” is a historical glimpse of female camaraderie and the powerful changes that can happen as a result. The four women in the story rarely crossed paths, being from separate parts of the world and often working in different parts of the world, yet they performed the same job and managed to uplift and support each other.
Rogak has written a story that is compelling and interesting. There were no slow segments and I was pulled in from the beginning. Each of the four women had an inspiring and fascinating story to tell and Rogak ensured they were given the proper respect. Marlene Dietrich’s contribution is just as important and entertaining as Betty or Jane’s, and I found myself invested in the outcome of all of the four women equally.
Fans of historical non-fiction who are seeking to find out more about females in World War Two and their contributions should not ignore Rogak’s “Propaganda Girls”.

For nonfiction, I really liked the voice it was written in. I could really vividly imagine every sentence, while also being a bit amused like I was sitting down chatting with a friend.

As others have stated, Propaganda Girls is about four women--Betty, Zuzka, Jane, and the celebrated star Marlene Dietrich--and their individual contributions to the war effort during WWII. Each woman is given her own sections, although those sections do not rotate in a firm order. We learn about their backgrounds and skills, plucky personalities and different things they did to help boost morale and work behind the scenes. It's an interesting concept. I wish that the women's stories didn't rotate, that each one had her own full section, because, with the exception of Marlene Dietrich's, they started running together. Still, they are true stories that deserve to be told.

A deep dive into the lives and driving forces of four extraordinary women in an extraordinary time. The author's presentation is detailed and meticulously documented, but it is their lives and what drove them to do as they did that is the most memorable and amazing.
Did you know that Marlene played and entertained with a musical saw? Or that (long before the film Goldfinger) she suffered lead poisoning from being painted with gold for a movie?
There is a great amount of their lives that is there for the interested and it is worth noting that (in spite of being directly sprayed with DDT) they continued to live complicated lives until their 90s (or more)!
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected digital galley from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley. Avail Mar 04, 2025
#PropagandaGirls by Lisa Rogak @lisarogak @stmartinspress
#OSS #WW2 #nonfiction #empowerment #BettyMacDonaldReporter 1915-2015 #ZuzkaLauwersLawyer 1914-2009 #JaneSmithHuttonPropagandist 1912-2002 #MarleneDietrichActressSinger 1901-1992 #USOtours #VoiceOfAmerica
#postWW2

This book tells the story of four women - Betty McDonald, Zuzka Lauwers, Jane Smith-Hutton, and Marlene Dietrich. All were recruited by the OSS (Office of Strategic Services) in World War II, to create propaganda that would break the morale of the Axis soldiers.
This was a fascinating read. With the exception of Marlene Dietrich, I had never heard of these women, and I only knew her as an actress. This is the first time I have heard this story, and that's a shame. It should be part of our known history. Highly, highly recommended.

I found this book to be interesting and informative! It's enjoyable to me when I learn new (to me) parts of history. In this book, we meet four women who undoubtedly helped the Allies in WWII.

Betty McIntosh, Zuzka Lauwers, Jane-Smith Hutton, and Marlene Dietrich were all highly intelligent women. Their boss, Donovan, allowed them to use their creativity to get the job done. They were also courageous. At any time, they could be discovered and killed.

This is the first book that I've read by this author, but it certainly won't be the last. The amount of research done for the book is very impressive.

I was provided a complimentary copy of the book from St. Martin's Press via Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a rather unexpected book for me, as it focused on four creative women during the course of WWII, working to help improve the Allies' chances in a long, horrible war, by doing their part to not only deceive the enemy, but also to bolster the morale of the Allied troops overseas. Many women, of course, did their part during that war, working jobs that ordinarily men would be performing, in factories and other industries to support the military, but the very few that did the specialized work for MO worked above and beyond what was expected of them. Very few of the women involved were famous like Marlene Dietrich was--she actually had a German bounty placed on her!--but what they all did was due to their immense patriotism. I really did enjoy this book!

This was such a fun book! Zuzka and Marlene were my favorite stories. Zuzka was amazing, joining the army and working harder and faster than any man around here. She deserved to be promoted more times than she was, but times were against women then. She’s absolutely a trailblazer though and I was so happy for her that things seemed to end up well for her.

Marlene was equally amazing. She loved entertaining the troops, “her boys”, and didn’t care what risk she put herself at. It was important to her to keep up the moral of Americans and she gave her heart and soul to it. I know she brought a lot of joy and light to some very dark times. She was not just a pretty face and refused to sit idly by. I read this book in a day, I could not put it down. These women were phenomenal and their story was incredible.

*I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.*

Lies, fake news and propaganda: it’s bad unless it’s used to win a war. Four women are highlighted with the unconventional skills they used to help end WWII.

This isn’t new. Since the early times, all forms of propaganda have been used as a power tool. It makes sense that it was also utilized by General William J. Donovan, director of the Office of Strategic Planning (OSS later named CIA).

What’s new, however, is that this book gives credit to women -- Betty MacDonald, Jane Smith-Hutton, Zurka Lauwers and Marlene Dietrich -- who were able to manipulate emotions with propaganda. Donovan understood the importance of women who could work behind the scenes in all sorts of ways. They formed a Morale Operations department and should have received awards for their outstanding roles undermining the enemies.

The book has four sections which documents the significant events that shaped the women before, during and after the war. It focused each of their lives and how they were able to influence the soldiers with their guilt-driven tactics through newswriting, radio broadcasting, and lyrics on stage.

However, I didn’t get an impression that these women worked together even though they were in the same department. You would think they might have stayed in contact somehow celebrating together in 1945 when it was over.

Nevertheless, a book like this takes an enormous amount of research gathering facts from interviews, news clippings and books. There was a lot to digest especially at the end when they had to bounce back into society after the war. It’s hard to imagine.

My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of March 4, 2025.

Wow! This is a very interesting historical read. Different take on WWII starting with the bombing of Pearl Harbor. This book follows the lives of four women that enlisted to become Donovan’s girls. They used propaganda to help bring down the Germans and Japanese with half truths. Marlena Dietrich was a strong supporter by entertaining for the troupes. I learned a great deal about these courageous women and their contributions to ending the was. Highly recommend. I was given an advanced reader copy of this very well written book by NetGalley and I am freely sharing my review.

There have been a lot of history books on the OSS in recent years, as more and more documents and operations have been declassified or uncovered. This book does an excellent job highlighting the contribution of women in the OSS, an organization largely portrayed as 'men only'. This is a well-written and researched contribution to the overall subject of women in WWII as well.

BOOK REPORT
Received a complimentary copy of Propaganda Girls: The Secret War of the Women in the OSS, by Lisa Rogak, from St. Martin's Press/NetGalley, for which I am appreciative, in exchange for a fair and honest review. Scroll past the BOOK REPORT section for a cut-and-paste of the DESCRIPTION of it from them if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of that summary.

I had never heard of Propaganda Girls before earlier today, when I got an email from NetGalley telling me it was available to read. My interest was piqued because while I knew Marlene Dietrich played some role in World War II I wasn’t sure exactly what it was, and reading this book seemed like it would be a good way to fill in that particular gap in my knowledge.

And not only did it do that, it did it well. This is the sort of history book I enjoy reading—one that has a story arc to it, in addition to being factually correct, well written, and interesting. Not earth-shattering, by any means; just a good, serviceable nonfiction book.

DESCRIPTION
The incredible untold story of four women who spun the web of deception that helped win World War II.

Betty MacDonald was a 28-year-old reporter from Hawaii. Zuzka Lauwers grew up in a tiny Czechoslovakian village and knew five languages by the time she was 21. Jane Smith-Hutton was the wife of a naval attaché living in Tokyo. Marlene Dietrich, the German-American actress and singer, was of course one of the biggest stars of the 20th century. These four women, each fascinating in her own right, together contributed to one of the most covert and successful military campaigns in WWII.

As members of the OSS, their task was to create a secret brand of propaganda produced with the sole aim to break the morale of Axis soldiers. Working in the European theater, across enemy lines in occupied China, and in Washington, D.C., Betty, Zuzka, Jane, and Marlene forged letters and “official” military orders, wrote and produced entire newspapers, scripted radio broadcasts and songs, and even developed rumors for undercover spies and double agents to spread to the enemy. And outside of a small group of spies, no one knew they existed. Until now.

In Propaganda Girls, bestselling author Lisa Rogak brings to vivid life the incredible true story of four unsung heroes, whose spellbinding achievements would change the course of history.

This is such an eye opening read, the woman behind the scene that actually helped win WWII.
Through the words of the author she brings these women to life, and we learn a lot about them from beginning to end of their lives.
This is a book about Jane Smith-Hutton, Betty MacDonald, and Zuzka Lauwers, and Marlene Dietrich, the last being the only one I had heard of before.
All of these women came from vastly different background, but what they each had to offer, was exactly what the OSS, predecessor to the CIA, needed at the time. They really never got the recognition each and every one deserved!
I loved this informational read, and am so glad that others will get to meet and know these amazing women whom sacrificed so much!
I received this book through Net Galley and St. Martin's Press, and was not required to give a positive review.

Betty MacDonald, Jane Smith Hutton, and Zurka Lauwers are not names you will have encountered before. Marlene Dietrich, you likely know. These women all worked for the Morale Operations [MO] branch of the Office of Strategic Services [OSS] during WWII. They were intrepid, creative, and patriotic. You won’t forget them after reading this book.

These women found the challenges they longed for in the OSS. They faced discrimination, not garnering the rank and salary they deserved, even when out performing the men. After the war, they floundered, longing for the challenges and satisfaction of their OSS work.

Betty observed first-hand the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor. She was proficient in Japanese as she and her husband hoped to become foreign correspondents.

Zuzka was Czechoslovakian with a Jewish Father.She was fluent in multiple languages and had studied in Paris. She married an American, and while he was at war worked in the Czech embassy.

Jane was held captive by the Japanese inside the US embassy. She became involved with helping Jews escape Germany.

Marlene was revered in Germany–until she became a US citizen. Her career as a violinist and singer and actress didn’t challenge her, but she loved being a OSS Secret Intelligence translator.

All four women were recruited into the MO creating propaganda to demoralize enemy troops. The creative ideas they came up with are amazing. Their subversive rumors undermined enemy soldiers’ confidence. They disseminated ‘fake news’ that the enemy soldier’s governments were encouraging women to become pregnant so the men would worry about what was going on back home. Marlene recorded songs with changed lyrics to depress the soldier’s mood.

I sped through this short book, entertained and enlightened, and will recommend it to our book club.

Thanks to the publisher for a free book through NetGalley.

Four ambitious women held back by men find their calling during World War II, dreaming up “black propaganda,” ways to demoralize the enemy. I’m familiar with Betty MacDonald and Marlene Dietrich, but hadn’t heard of Jane Hutton-Smith or Zuzka Lauwers. Their war work was the most important and satisfying work they did and, sadly, all had trouble adjusting back into civilian life.

I was immediately drawn into this book as I read about Betty MacDonald, Jane Smith-Hutton, Marlene Dietrich, and Zuzka Lauwers. These four amazing women came from very different backgrounds, but all four had a love for their country to join the OSS (precursor to the CIA) to create propaganda to help shorten the War. There were many pages where I learned something new and I love that about a book. Even though this is non-fiction, it is easy to read with a good blend of facts and details to move the story along. I had heard of Marlene Dietrich, but didn't know her background of leaving Germany and becoming a US citizen. Each woman used their creativity, language knowledge, and bravery in their own way to develop and share leaflets, songs, etc. to demoralize the enemy, either in Germany or Japan/China. I love it when I see facts that I've read in other book turn up in a different book. Here, Julia McWilliams (future Julia Child) was on a the same flight as Betty over the "Hump" in Asia. Julia was part of the OSS as well that I read about in The Secret War of Julia Child by Diana R. Chambers, an historical fiction story.
If you are looking for stories of women who had courageous contributions to the War effort, I highly recommend this book.
#PropagandaGirls #NetGalley #nonfiction #WW2
Thank you St. Martin's Press and Net Galley for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you to St Martins Press and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy of Propaganda Girls by Lisa Logak.

This book focuses on four women who utilized propaganda to help hasten the end of World War II. It was an enjoyable and informative read. Most nonfiction can come across as dry but that is not the case with this book. It was also interesting to read about the women’s lives after the war and how they adjusted to civilian life. Overall a quick, interesting and informative read.

"Propaganda Girls" by Lisa Rogak is a riveting historical account that uncovers the untold story of four remarkable women—Betty MacDonald, Zuzka Lauwers, Jane Smith-Hutton, and Marlene Dietrich—who played crucial roles in the clandestine operations of the OSS during World War II. Rogak skillfully blends detailed research with compelling narratives, highlighting how these women utilized their diverse backgrounds and talents to produce innovative propaganda that undermined the morale of Axis soldiers and subtly influenced wartime perceptions. The book shines a light on their resilience and ingenuity, showcasing how they operated in a male-dominated environment and crafted narratives that were pivotal to the war effort, all while remaining largely anonymous. Through engaging prose and meticulous detail, Rogak brings these unsung heroines to life, revealing the impact of their covert contributions on the course of history and offering a broader understanding of women's invaluable roles in wartime efforts.

The book was enjoyable to read and showed a lot of potential. There was a lot going on, but it did not overwhelm the book. I do wish that the chapters were broken up a little more. Other than that, I would not change anything else about the book.

Propaganda Girls by Lisa Rogak
The Secret War of the Women in the OSS

I've read a lot about the women of the OSS, both historical fiction and biographical books. Most of the women have very strong personalities and a strong sense of self even if they hid both behind what they needed to be to play a role at any time in their careers. I'm amazed at the fights they put up against the enemy but also against their leaders and bosses. They risked life and limb and when the war was over they were expected to just walk away and go back to whatever "womanly" pursuits that were expected of a good woman of that time. This is after being paid so much less for so much more work then their male counterparts doing the same work.

This book features four women of the OSS. One of them is Marlene Dietrich and I see her in a different category as the other three only because she was a famous actress, too. Although I've always known who she was, I never had looked into her that closely and now, just like the other three women, I want to read more books about her. The work and energy she put into making sure each soldier knew how important they were is amazing. This is a woman who could have been doing other things, more comfortable, safer things, and she was out there in the elements, sometime close to the front lines, putting on shows for her country and those who fought for it.

Jane Smith-Hutton, Betty MacDonald, and Zuzka Lauwers were also heroes. Working with men but making less, being told no because they were working in a man's world, being expected to still be the one to serve coffee at business meetings even when they were working among equals, these women put their all into trying to figure out what would help the Allies and hurt the Axis. Propaganda was used as a weapon and even though it is next to impossible to ever know the actual numbers when it comes to their effect on winning the war, these women did make a difference. At least not everyone underestimated these women, some men knew what an asset they had in the work these women did and in the ideas they came up with to tear down the feeling of wellbeing of the enemy. The clever ideas these women came up with and employed (when allowed to do so) were genius. I want to read more about all of these women and the work they did.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.