Tokyo Rose: Victim of Propaganda (DVD)

Over 20 women lent their voices to the Japanese propaganda effort in World War II. Though there was never a program or a character by that name, they collectively came to be called "Tokyo Rose." Iva Toguri, a U.S. citizen, was a recent college graduate touring Japan when war broke out. Unable to return to America, she was forced to find employment using her only marketable skill English. She soon found herself behind a microphone, broadcasting messages of hate and despair to her countrymen. This remarkable program traces Iva's experiences during and after the war. It's a story of bad luck and discrimination. Despite being forced to do the broadcasts, she was tried and convicted of treason in 1949 and spent seven years in jail. In a remarkable interview, Toguri talks about her long fight to clear her name. President Ford ultimately pardoned her in 1977. BIOGRAPHY presents the true story of a woman caught up in forces beyond her control, and her struggle to escape her role in history as one of the voices behind the legend of TOKYO ROSE.

• documentary