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Fernand Auberjonois
Fernand Auberjonois
Fernand Auberjonois
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Fernand Auberjonois (25 September 1910 – 27 August 2004) was a Swiss-American journalist who worked as the foreign correspondent of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Toledo Blade. Throughout most of the Cold War, he was one of the most admired American reporters based in London. From 1956 until his formal retirement in 1983 and after, he covered many of the world's biggest news stories. During World War II, Auberjonois enlisted in the U.S. and served on secret assignments, including setting up radio transmissions for the Allies to divert the German's attention from the real invasion site on D-Day. From World War II through the Cold War, he worked for many print organizations, and also for NBC and Voice of America.

Key Information

Biography

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Auberjonois was born in Valeyres-sous-Montagny near Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland, the son of Augusta Grenier and René Auberjonois (1872–1957), one of Switzerland's best-known post-Impressionist painters.[1] He married into European (Napoleonic) royalty; his first wife being Princess Laure Louise Napoléone Eugénie Caroline Murat (13 November 1913 – 10 May 1986), a descendant of Napoleon's sister Caroline and her husband Joachim Murat, who was King of Naples and King of Sicily. They married in November 1939 and had a son, actor René Auberjonois, born on 1 June 1940.

In his 80s, he lived in Enniskeane, County Cork, Ireland, where he owned a cottage.[2] He died on 27 August 2004, at the age of 93, of a heart attack in County Cork.

Honours and awards

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References

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Fernand Auberjonois

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Fernand Auberjonois (25 September 1910 – 27 August 2004) was a Swiss-born American best known as a foreign for the and The Toledo Blade, where he reported on major European events from 1956 to 1983, including the construction and , the Algerian crisis, and various international summits. Born near , , to post-impressionist painter , he earned a degree in before entering in the 1930s with agencies like and , hosting French-language broadcasts. During , as a Swiss citizen who aided Allied efforts, he broadcast messages into Nazi-occupied , contributed to for operations including , and collaborated with generals like Patton and Eisenhower, earning the U.S. , 's , and Poland's Polonia Restituta. Postwar, Auberjonois worked at until facing scrutiny from Senator Joseph McCarthy's committee in 1953 over alleged communist sympathies, from which he was cleared before shifting to private and then correspondence; he later naturalized as an American citizen and emphasized human-interest angles in his dispatches, traveling up to 50,000 miles annually across and . An accomplished amateur painter and multilingual author of French-language novels, essays, and memoirs—including Top Dog (1980) and Entre Deux Mondes (1993)—he retired in 1983 but continued freelancing until his death near Cork, , survived by his second wife Helga, three children (including René Auberjonois), and stepdaughters.

Early Life and Education

Family Background and Childhood

Fernand Auberjonois was born on September 25, 1910, outside , , in the small town of Jouxtens. He was the son of (1872–1957), a renowned Swiss post-Impressionist painter whose work contributed significantly to the country's artistic heritage. Auberjonois's family environment emphasized creativity and intellectual engagement, shaped by his father's prominence in artistic circles. His childhood unfolded in a household frequented by poets, writers, and musicians, including composer , who joined family dinners, and Swiss author Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz, a close associate of his father who later advised the young Auberjonois on pursuing writing by observing and documenting reality before venturing into imagination. René Auberjonois's own collaborations, such as illustrating Stravinsky's The Soldier's Tale and translating James Joyce's works into French, underscored the cosmopolitan and culturally immersive atmosphere of the home. This early exposure to Switzerland's vibrant arts scene fostered Auberjonois's lifelong appreciation for observation and narrative, though his father initially directed him toward scientific studies.

Formal Education and Early Career Aspirations

Fernand Auberjonois obtained a degree in from the in 1933. Upon completing his studies, he emigrated to the , settling in during the height of the . There, he secured an initial position as a private French tutor to actress . Transitioning from tutoring, Auberjonois entered journalism by joining the Havas French News Agency as a reporter, where he handled assignments including overnight shifts and interviews with cultural figures such as Igor Stravinsky. In 1937, he advanced into broadcasting with NBC's international division, hosting the daily program L'heure française—the first such broadcasts to France from New York—and later serving as the network's Paris correspondent. This sequence of roles, commencing shortly after his arrival in America and diverging from his geological background, reflected an early pivot toward international reporting and media dissemination of news.

World War II Service

Enlistment and Military Role

Fernand Auberjonois, born in Switzerland, became a naturalized U.S. citizen shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, enabling his enlistment in the U.S. Army amid the American entry into World War II. Despite his Swiss heritage and familial ties to neutrality, he volunteered for service, leveraging prior experience as a correspondent for the French news agency Havas. Recruited personally by General William "Wild Bill" Donovan, founder of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), Auberjonois joined the U.S. Military Intelligence Service, where his multilingual skills in French, German, and other languages positioned him for specialized operations. Following enlistment, Auberjonois underwent training at , a clandestine facility on the northern shore of in , operated by British intelligence. As one of its earliest graduates, he received instruction in techniques, methods such as demolishing railroad infrastructure, and secure coding practices essential for covert communications. In his military role, Auberjonois served as an intelligence officer, conducting psychological operations, propaganda broadcasts to French-speaking audiences, and deception efforts to mislead Axis forces. He acted as a senior aide to Generals George S. Patton and Dwight D. Eisenhower, executing missions behind enemy lines that included sabotage and the establishment of Allied radio networks in North Africa following Operation Torch in November 1942. His duties extended to planning for the Normandy invasion, where he contributed to disinformation campaigns using fabricated documents and rumors to divert German attention from the actual landing sites. By war's end, he had risen to the rank of major.

Contributions to Allied Operations

During , Fernand Auberjonois contributed to Allied psychological operations and efforts through radio broadcasts and deception campaigns targeting Axis forces. Following the Allied securing of in late 1942 and early 1943, he established radio transmission facilities in and to support ongoing operations against German and Italian forces in the region. These setups enabled the dissemination of and to undermine enemy morale and coordination. Auberjonois played a role in , the broader Allied deception strategy for the invasion, by conducting radio transmissions from designed to mislead German intelligence about the location and timing of D-Day landings planned for June 6, 1944. These broadcasts simulated activity suggesting alternative invasion sites, contributing to the misdirection that kept significant German reserves away from . He also facilitated the channeling of Allied into occupied territories, including pre- and intra-war broadcasts to Nazi-controlled aimed at boosting resistance and eroding Axis support. After the in August 1944, Auberjonois advanced with the along the German front during the war's final winter campaigns in 1944–1945, supporting frontline intelligence and communication efforts. His work in the U.S. Army's Service, where he rose to the rank of major by the war's end in May 1945, emphasized non-combat roles in that complemented conventional military advances.

Journalism Career

Early Journalism and Broadcasting Work

Auberjonois commenced his professional journalism career in the mid-1930s as a reporter for the Havas French News Agency in New York, where he conducted interviews with prominent cultural figures such as Igor Stravinsky and handled overnight cable dispatches. Employed at a salary of $45 per week, his role involved transmitting news stories in French to Europe amid the agency's operations during the interwar period. In 1937, Auberjonois shifted to , leaving to host L'Heure Française, the National Broadcasting Company's first regular transatlantic shortwave program targeted at French listeners. As head of NBC's French service from 1936 to 1942, he directed daily broadcasts that evolved into anti-Nazi after the 1940 fall of , directly countering Vichy regime narratives such as fabricated appeals to French expatriates in the United States. These transmissions, originating from NBC's international division, reached occupied via shortwave, emphasizing factual reporting on Allied perspectives and mocking Axis claims, such as Pierre Laval's alleged parachutist activities in . During , following his 1942 enlistment in the U.S. Army, Auberjonois integrated into his duties, establishing Allied radio stations in for propaganda aimed at French-speaking regions and conducting transmissions to Nazi-occupied . In the immediate postwar period, he founded and published La Presse Cherbourgeoise on June 8, 1944—two days after D-Day—as the inaugural independent newspaper in liberated , distributing 10,000 copies to inform locals on Allied advances and local governance. He subsequently contributed to the inception of Voice of America's French-language service in 1948, serving as its head until 1954 and expanding its reach to counter communist influences in Europe.

Foreign Correspondence for Major Outlets

Fernand Auberjonois served as the European foreign correspondent for The Toledo Blade beginning in 1956, after being hired by publisher Paul Block Jr., and continued in that capacity until his formal retirement in 1983, maintaining an association with the paper for nearly four decades through post-retirement contributions such as the "Letters from London" column. He operated primarily from a base in London, often at Reuters headquarters, focusing on British politics, Western European affairs, and global Cold War developments while supplying dispatches to the paper and syndicating stories to other U.S. outlets. Auberjonois also functioned as a foreign for the , covering international events from and beyond during overlapping periods of his career, with reports emphasizing on-the-ground analysis of geopolitical tensions. His fieldwork involved extensive travel, exceeding 50,000 miles in some years like 1960, including arduous journeys such as traversing Afghanistan's by mule and attending meetings, superpower summits, and the construction of the in 1961, where he was among the first journalists to document and photograph its early phases. Key dispatches for these outlets included coverage of the 1958 Algerian crisis, President John F. Kennedy's "" speech, and series like "Behind the " on Asian developments, alongside routine reporting on everyday European cultural and political shifts to provide American readers with nuanced, firsthand perspectives. He supplemented print work with broadcasting for and , enhancing the reach of his foreign reporting, though his primary impact stemmed from the detailed, on-site delivered to The Blade and Post-Gazette audiences. His efforts earned recognition, including an Overseas Press Club award and multiple nominations for international reporting.

Coverage of Key International Events

Auberjonois joined The Blade as its European correspondent in 1956 and immediately covered the Suez Crisis, providing firsthand dispatches on the Anglo-French-Israeli military intervention against Egypt from October 29 to November 7, 1956, following his prior role handling press relations for the Suez Canal authority. His reporting emphasized the geopolitical tensions and logistical disruptions, drawing on his proximity to the region shortly before the nationalization by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser sparked the conflict. In 1958, he reported on the Algerian Crisis, including the May 13 uprising in that led to the collapse of the and the return of to power amid demands for Algerian independence from . Auberjonois's accounts highlighted the violence between French forces, pied-noirs settlers, and Algerian nationalists, capturing the escalating civil unrest that foreshadowed the eight-year of Independence. During the , Auberjonois covered multiple summit conferences between Western and Soviet leaders, as well as nuclear crises that heightened East-West tensions, basing his operations in from 1956 to 1983. His dispatches for The Blade and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette often involved extensive travel by train across , offering detailed analyses of diplomatic maneuvers and military posturing. Auberjonois was among the first journalists to report on the construction of the on August 13, 1961, documenting the overnight erection of barriers by East German authorities to stem the flow of refugees to the West, which divided the city and symbolized the Iron Curtain's solidification. He later returned to in 1989 to cover the Wall's fall on , providing features on the jubilant crowds dismantling the structure amid the collapse of communist regimes in . His international reporting earned an Overseas Press Club citation in 1957 and multiple nominations, reflecting the depth and timeliness of his work on these pivotal events.

Challenges and Controversies

Cold War Accusations and Anti-Communist Stance

During his service as head of the French desk at the Voice of America (VOA) from 1948 to 1954, Auberjonois faced accusations of pro-communist leanings amid Senator McCarthy's investigations into alleged subversion within U.S. . In early , former VOA scriptwriter Nancy Lenkeith testified before McCarthy's Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, charging Auberjonois with slanting news broadcasts toward the and refusing to air material critical of . These claims contributed to broader scrutiny of VOA leadership for purportedly softening anti-communist messaging, leading to Auberjonois's summons to testify on , . In his testimony, Auberjonois denied any communist sympathies or bias, asserting that his published writings and broadcasts demonstrated a "strong anti-Communist slant," including editorials and ideas explicitly opposing Soviet policies. He highlighted his pre-VOA , such as articles critiquing communist influence in , to refute the allegations of reluctance to broadcast anti-communist content. Additional minor charges involved his wife receiving $750 for VOA scripts, potentially violating departmental rules, but these did not substantiate disloyalty claims. Following exoneration by the subcommittee, Auberjonois resigned from VOA in 1954, vowing to avoid future government employment due to the ordeal's impact on his career and perception of bureaucratic overreach. His defense underscored a consistent anti-communist position rooted in wartime experiences and European reporting, which he maintained in subsequent independent journalism for outlets like the Toledo Blade, where he critiqued Soviet actions in dispatches from behind the .

Personal Life

Marriages and Family

Fernand Auberjonois married Princess Laure Louise Napoléone Eugénie Caroline Murat, a descendant of Napoleonic royalty, in November 1939. The couple had two sons during their marriage: René Auberjonois, born on June 1, 1940, who became a noted , and Michael Auberjonois. Laure Murat brought two daughters from a prior relationship, Ghislaine Vautier and Marie-Laure Degener, whom Auberjonois raised as stepdaughters. The marriage ended in divorce prior to 1968. Auberjonois's second marriage was to , whom he met in the 1960s while both worked in London's building; they wed in 1968 and remained together until his death. This union produced one daughter, Auberjonois. At the time of his death in 2004, survived him, as did sons and Michael, daughter , and stepdaughters Ghislaine and Marie-Laure. Auberjonois was born into a creative family; his father, René Victor Auberjonois (1872–1957), was a Swiss post-Impressionist painter, and his mother was Augusta Grenier. No siblings are recorded in available accounts of his early life.

Later Years and Residences

Following his formal retirement from The Blade in 1983, after nearly three decades as its European correspondent based in , Auberjonois continued submitting freelance features to The Blade and through the 1990s. He maintained residences in , including , during this transitional phase of reduced but ongoing professional engagement. In the late 1980s, Auberjonois relocated to a cottage in Enniskeane, a rural village in west , , where he spent his final decades in retirement. The choice of this secluded location, far from major urban centers, offered quietude contrasting his prior life of extensive travel across conflict zones and diplomatic hubs, though the precise motivations for settling there—potentially tied to indirect personal connections—remain undocumented in available accounts. From Enniskeane, Auberjonois devoted himself to authorship, producing memoirs, essays, and novels primarily in French, such as De Chittagong à Cork (chronicling his path to ), Entre Deux Mondes, and L'Air d'Ailleurs, alongside the English-language Top Dog published earlier in 1980. These works drew on his firsthand experiences, emphasizing reflective narratives over , and some achieved status in French editions.

Death and Legacy

Circumstances of Death

Fernand Auberjonois died on August 27, 2004, at the age of 93, in Enniskeane, a village in , , where he had retired in his later years. He suffered a fatal heart attack, with no indications of suspicious or unusual circumstances surrounding the event. Following his death near Cork, Auberjonois's body was cremated in Ireland, and a service was conducted later in , his country of birth. Contemporary obituaries from major U.S. newspapers, such as the and Toledo Blade, confirmed the date and general location without detailing the cause, focusing instead on his journalistic legacy.

Impact on Journalism and Family Influence

Fernand Auberjonois's extensive career as a foreign influenced American by delivering detailed, on-the-ground reporting from to midwestern newspapers, particularly through his dispatches for The Toledo Blade over nearly four decades, which informed generations of readers about global events during the era. His coverage, including the 1958 Algerian crisis, the 1961 construction of the , and its 1989 fall, emphasized eyewitness accounts and traveled an estimated 80,000 kilometers annually, setting a standard for persistent, independent foreign reporting amid ideological tensions. Auberjonois received an Overseas Press Club award and multiple nominations for his work, underscoring his role in elevating the scope of regional U.S. outlets to compete with national wire services. His journalistic approach, rooted in personal networks and wartime experience—including aiding D-Day deceptions and service under Generals Patton and Eisenhower—prioritized of international conflicts over superficial narratives, contributing to a realist tradition in coverage that resisted prevailing institutional biases toward accommodation of communist regimes. Colleagues, such as Toledo Blade editor John Block, described him as a "consummate journalist" whose tenacity and multilingual skills (French, German, English) enabled nuanced reporting from bases in , , and , influencing subsequent generations of correspondents to value mobility and source verification over desk-bound analysis. Auberjonois's peripatetic profession profoundly shaped his family dynamics, with his 1939 marriage to Laure Louise Murat—a descendant of Napoleon Bonaparte—producing children amid constant relocations across Europe, fostering a cosmopolitan ethos that extended beyond . His eldest son, René Auberjonois (born 1940), pursued acting, achieving prominence in roles such as Father Mulcahy in (1970) and Odo in (1993–1999), winning a Tony Award in 1969 for Coco, potentially influenced by his father's Hollywood connections, including tutoring in French. Other children, including son Michael (1941–2011) and daughter Anne, navigated similar international upbringings, while Auberjonois's 1968 marriage to Helga further integrated family life with his post-retirement residences in Ireland, perpetuating a legacy of artistic and public engagement tracing back to his painter grandfather, Fernand Auberjonois (1873–1956). This familial pattern underscores how his career's demands cultivated adaptability and creative pursuits in descendants, diverging from but echoing his own field of interpretive storytelling.
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