KALTENBACH, Frederick Wilhelm

KALTENBACH, Frederick Wilhelm. (Dubuque, IA, 1895-Berlin, Germany, Oct. 1945). "Lord Hee Haw." During World War II, Kaltenbach, a teacher of economics, business law and debate at DUBUQUE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL during the 1931-1932 school year, became one of Joseph Goebbels favorite radio broadcasters and one of Nazi Germany's most notorious propagandists.

During the 1934-1935 school year he organized the MILITANT ORDER OF SPARTAN KNIGHTS, a boys' group that met outside of school for picnics, hikes, and boxing at the Y.M.C.A. He demanded the boys wear brown shirts and participate in shooting practice with .22 rifles.

Parent concern involving the club led t]]o Kaltenbach's dismissal from the [[DUBUQUE COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT by an action of the board on May 13, 1935. Kaltenbach left for Germany soon after his firing and began reading Nazi press releases in English in 1936.

Kaltenbach's voice was heard from Berlin on Monday evenings when he presented his "Dear Harry" program, a monologue named for one of his boyhood friends. Tuesday evenings he presented a series entitled "German Contributions to Making America." Kaltenbach was heard again on Thursday evening in the "Jim and Johnny" program and on Saturday when he broadcast "Military Review" and "Fritz and Fred."

Kaltenbach's homey style and frequent mentions of Iowa were carefully planned propaganda techniques to gain listener confidence. British listeners who compared his speech pattern with William Joyce, “Lord Haw Haw,” a British broadcaster for the Nazi, gave Kaltenbach’s his title of “Lord Hee Haw.”

A District of Columbia grand jury indicted Kaltenbach and seven other Americans for treason on July 26, 1943. He was arrested by Russian combat troops in Berlin on June 14, 1945, and sent to a detention camp in Soviet territory. Attempts to trade two SS guards for Kaltenbach were rejected by the Russians who later reported his death while a prisoner.