Radio Memories

FATHER COUGHLIN

CONTENTS:

     Father Charles E. Coughlin began broadcasting in 1926 over WJR in Detroit, MI.  The Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak, MI was where CBS carried the programs beginning 10/03/30, on Sunday afternoons.  Known as "The Fighting Priest," he was very controversial with his anti-Semitic, pro-Fascist broadcasts.  It wasn't until April of 1931 before CBS, after trying to pre-censor him, finally succeeded in getting him off their airwaves.  When NBC wouldn't carried his broadcasts, Father Coughlin bought time on independent stations from 10/04/31 until well into 1942.  Many listeners will find these broadcasts offensive, and we offer them only as historical recordings and do not endorse them in any manner.
 
C00810 02/14/37 "Christianity Versus Communism, Part Two."  A staged "Discussion"
                                 Between Coughlin And Father Cassian Of The Franciscan Order
                                 In Which Cassian Takes The "Devil's Advocate" Position In Favor Of
                                 Communism.  The "Discussion" Is Heavily Weighted To Coughlin's
                                 Point Of View, With Cassian Presenting Specious Arguments For
                                 Coughlin's Refutation.  Cassian Is Clearly Reading From
                                 A Script, Coughlin's Responses Seem To Be More Extemporaneous.
                                 Followed By A "Thought For The Week" By Coughlin On
                                 "Democracy And The Supreme Court."
                                 (Sound problems with a little wow).
 
C00811 03/23/37 New Book & Easter Story.  "The Meaning Of Easter." 
                                 A Non-Political Address On The Meaning Of Easter Sunday. 
                                 Also, An Announcement Of Coughlin's New Book, Available
                                 Free To Anyone Who Writes In To Request A Copy
                              .  (30 Minute Program)
               04/11/37  "Relief Which Failed To Relieve." A Denunciation By Coughlin
                                 Of New Deal Relief Efforts.  He Rails Against The "Wave Of
                                 Socialistic Filth" Who Have Come Forward With Unconventional
                                 Proposals For Ending The Depression, And Insists That Christianity
                                 Does Not Support The Cause Of "Collectivism."  Final Program Of
                                 The Season.  (30 Minute Program)
 
 
 
 
C05258 11/20/38  "The Jew, The Christian, And Persecution"  The First In A Series Of
                                 Increasingly Inflammatory Speeches By Coughlin Concerning
                                 The Ongoing Persecution Of Jews In Germany.  This Broadcast
                                 Is Followed By An Strongly Worded Disclaimer From Station
                                 WMCA Stating That Coughlin Has Made "Many Errors Of Fact,"
                                 And The Station Terminated Its Contract With Coughlin As A
                                 Result Of This Program.  Coughlin Himself Was Censured
                                 By His Archbishop For This Broadcast, And For That Of 12/11/38.
                                 Aircheck Of WMCA, New York.  All programs from this point
                                 forward are airchecks of WHBI, Newark, NJ.
 
C05259 11/27/38  "Let Us Consider The Record" Coughlin Responds To Criticism
                                 Of Previous Week's Talk By Playing A Transcription Of That
                                 Presentation And Reiterating His Claims Of Ties Between
                                 "International Bankers" And Soviet Communism.
 
C05260 12/04/38  "Not Anti-Semitism But Anti-Communism"  Coughlin Criticizes
                                 Press Coverage Of His Recent Addresses, Accuses The Detroit
                                 Free Press Of Falsifying Remarks Attributed To Henry Ford
                                 Regarding The Situation In Germany, And Responds To
                                 Recent Comments By Alexander Kerensky And Leon Trotsky.
 
C05261 12/11/38  "Persecution And Christianity" Coughlin Continues His Feud
                                 With The Detroit Press, And Attacks "Secularization" As
                                 The Root Of Communism.
 
C05262 12/18/38  "Christian And Jewish Concepts Of The Messiah."  Coughlin
                                 Considers The Question Of "Messiahship" In Light Of Current
                                 Events.
 
C05263 12/25/38  "Father Coughlin's Christmas Message."  Five Brief Reflections
                                 On The Meaning Of The Christmas Story And The Mystery
                                 Of The Incarnation, Interspersed With Christmas Music.
 
C05264 01/01/39  "Americanism -- Neither Nazism Or Communism."  Coughlin
                                 Reviews The Spread Of Totalitarian Governments Over The Past
                                 Twenty Years, Differentiating Between The "Internationalism"
                                 Of Communism And The "Supernationalism" Of Nazism, And
                                 Defends Germany's Position In The Czechoslovak Crisis,
                                 Accusing The Press Of Warmongering In Its Coverage Of
                                 Those Events.  He Reiterates Support For The International Arms
                                 Embargo As Proposed In The Pending May Bill.
 
C05265 01/08/39  "Response To The President's Address To Congress"  Coughlin
                                 Replies To FDR's State Of The Union Message With A
                                 Continuation Of His Arguments Against "International
                                 Policemanship," And Claims That America Is "Decaying
                                 From Within."  Comparisons Are Also Drawn Between
                                 FDR's Remarks And Those Of President Wilson In 1916-17.
 
C05266 01/15/39  "The Rightists Go Into Action" Coughlin Attacks The Political
                                 Left For Its Support Of The Spanish Loyalists And Their
                                 Opposition Of The "Christian Humanitarian" General Franco,
                                 And Urges His Fellow "Rightists" To Send Telegrams To
                                 Congress Urging Passage Of The Neutrality Act.
 
C05267 01/22/39  "Ten Million Unemployed"  Coughlin Issues A Veiled Warning To
                                 "Internationalists" And "Anti-Christians" Even As He Denies
                                 Any Effort Is Underway To Organize His Followers Into A
                                 Regimented Movement, And Accuses The Roosevelt
                                 Administration And "International Bankers" Of "Criminal
                                 Manipulation" Of Economic Conditions.  Followed By A
                                 Local Statement From WHBI Management Responding To
                                 Boycott Threats Generated By The Station's Decision To
                                 Carry The Coughlin Broadcasts.  The Station Defends Its
                                 Airing Of The Programs On The Basis Of Free Speech.
 
C05268 01/29/39  "Why Leave Your Own?"  A Very Inflammatory Address In
                                 Which Coughlin Comments On The Fall Of Barcelona -
                                 Praising Franco's Victory As A Defeat For The "Loyalist
                                 Communists".  He Further Accuses American Jewish
                                 Leaders Of Propagandizing For US Intervention In Europe,
                                 Accusing Those Leaders Of Being More Loyal To Judaism
                                 Than They Are To "Americanism," And Asks If "Americans
                                 Want To Go To War For The Jews?"
 
C05274 03/12/39  "Bond Financing And The Neutrality Act."  Coughlin
                                 Contends That A Financial Collapse Is Imminent, Caused
                                 By The Proliferation Of "Tax Exempt, Non-Negotiable
                                 Interest Bearing Debt Bonds," And Argues That The Neutrality
                                 Act Due To Expire May 1st Must Be Rewritten To Prevent
                                 "Secret Commitments" Between The US And European Powers.
 
C05275 03/19/39  "Social And Economic Reforms"  A Discussion Of Lingering
                                 Depression Economic Woes, With Coughlin Denouncing The
                                 "Proponents Of Modern Capitalism," And Arguing That
                                 Social Reforms Cannot Occur Without Reform Of The
                                 Economic System That Creates The Problems.  He Also Casts
                                 A Jaundiced Eye On The Relief Efforts Of The United States
                                 Housing Authority, And On The Practice Of "Private Bond
                                 Issuance."  Also, Coughlin Announces A Nationwide Contest
                                 Promising $16,000 Cash Prizes For The 135 Best Essays By
                                 "Social Justice" Readers On The Subject "Keep Out Of War."
 
C05276 03/26/39  "Our Problem Is In America"  A Aggressively Pro-German Address
                                 In Which Coughlin Discusses The Nazi Incursion Into What He
                                 Calls The "Synthetic Republic" Of Czechoslovakia, Another "So
                                 Called Democracy," And Claims The Cry Of "Save Democracy!"
                                 Is Being Raised By Those More Interested In "Destroying Germany"
                                 Than In "Saving Democracy."  He Condemns Those "So Full Of
                                 Hate For Hitler That They Have No Time To Hate Stalin."
 
C05277 04/02/39  "The History of Holy Week" A Dramatic Recitation Of Highlights
                                 From The Last Week Of Christ's Life.  No Overt Political
                                 Content, But Much Innuendo About "Scribes And Pharisees,"
                                 "Cowardly Leaders Of The Jews," And "Exploiters Of Mankind."
 
C05278 04/09/39  "The Resurrection"  Coughlin Prefaces A Special Easter Lecture
                                 On The Meaning Of Christ's Resurrection With Remarks On The
                                 European Situation.  "No Country In Europe Wants War," He
                                 Claims, And Offers Thinly Veiled Justification For Germany's
                                 Repudiations Of The Treaty Of Versailles.  "There Can Be No
                                 Peace Without Justice," He Contends, "And No Justice Without
                                 Restitution."
 
C05279 04/16/39  "Unjust Aggressors" A Hard-Edged Anti-British Treatise
                                 Condemning The "Unjust Aggression" Of "British Imperialism,"
                                 And Seeking To Justify German Demands For More "Living Space"
                                 On The European Continent.  "Britain Will Defend Her Imperialistic
                                 Possessions Until The Last American Doughboy Is Dead!" Coughlin
                                 Also Denounces The Treaty Of Versailles As Having "Lashed The
                                 German People To The Pillar Of Oppression," And Claims That The
                                 Treaty Will Go Down As The "Most Brutal Aggression Ever
                                 Brought Against A Civilized People In The History Of The World."
 
C05280 04/23/39  "Recap Of Last Week's Broadcast," Followed By Additional Thoughts
                                 From Coughlin On The "Treaty Of Versailles And The League Of
                                 Nations."  "European Wars Have Never Settled Anything And Never
                                 Will Settle Anything - As Long As They Are Conducted On The
                                 Basis Of Exploitation And Upholding The Status Quo" Proclaims
                                 Coughlin, Condemning The "Ogilarchs In London, Paris, Berlin,
                                 Rome, And Moscow" Who Use The Youth Of The Nations As
                                 "Cannon Fodder."  He Also Mocks The "Santa Claus Story" Of
                                 Why America Fought In The World War, Arguing That The Real
                                 Reason Was To "Save The Profits Of The International Bankers."
 
C05281 04/30/39  "So This Is Democracy / Quo Vadis, Where Goth Thou"  Coughlin
                                 Claims That America Is Being Assaulted By "Unseen Forces"
                                 That Are Prolonging The Economic Miseries Of The Depression
                                 And Propagandizing For War, Thus Aiding "The Hidden Hands
                                 Of Destruction."  Also, In Thought For The Week Entitled "Quo
                                 Vadis? -- Whither Thou Goest?"  Coughlin Rails Against The
                                 "Exclusion Of God" From Everyday Life And Condemns Modern
                                 Journalism And The "Carnal Puppets Of Hollywood" For Their
                                 "Assault Against The Morals Of Young America."
 
C05282 05/07/39  "Propaganda At Work / The Meaning Of Max Lichtvinov's
                                 Resignation"  Coughlin Condemns "Foreign War Propaganda" And
                                 Demands A Clause Banning It Be Included In Any Pending
                                 Neutrality Legislation.  He Quotes From A "Handbook Distributed
                                 To A Selected Few In The Inner Circles Of British Diplomatic Life"
                                 Which, He Claims, Contains The British Master Plan For
                                 Propagandizing For The Next World War.  "Great Britain Has
                                 Cast Her Evil Eye Upon Us!" He Asserts. "The Meaning Of
                                 Maxim Lichtvinov's Resignation" Coughlin Offers His Interpretation
                                 Of Recent Political Developments In The Soviet Union.  Finally,
                                 Coughlin Offers A Meditation On The Importance Of Mothers' Day.