Firstly, let me express my thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing Propaganda Girls with me.
It is a very interesting and well-researched book, written with deep admiration for all the women involved in the struggles of WWII. The author presents the stories of four women—Zuzka Lauwers, Marlene Dietrich, Jane Smith-Hutton, and Betty MacDonald. We understand these are just a few shining examples; behind them, in the shadows of history, are the actions and sacrifices of countless other women whose contributions have gone unrecognized.

This is what makes the book not only interesting, but also important. Every opportunity to honor remarkable women should be embraced fully. For far too long, women have been silenced, overlooked, forgotten, and ridiculed.

This was a fascinating concept and was hooked from what happened in these women's lives, it had that concept that I was expecting and enjoyed the historical element to this. Lisa Rogak was able to weave a strong storyline and was glad I was able to learn about these women and how good this was written.

Propaganda Girls is a WWII historical fiction novel. Historical fiction is my favorite genre, especially WWII with strong female characters. This novel doesn't disappoint. Propaganda Girls were hired to spread disinformation to keep the Germans off their game. I loved reading and learning new information about WWII and the use of women for the allies.
LOVE the cover art too!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced version of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Propaganda Girls is a quick, insightful read into an often underrepresented part of every war effort. Not only that, but the book takes it a step further to document and discuss the role four women played in that effort.

This was informative, strong, and impactful. I liked the pace of the novel and how the chapters were long enough to give good information and historical context without becoming dry. The book was a great travel companion and I believe anyone would be hard-pressed not to find the stories of the women inspiring and patriotic.

I enjoyed this book and would consider reading additional works by author Lisa Rogak in the future.

PROPAGANDA GIRLS

A really fascinating look at the lives of four women during WWII and their efforts to develop war propaganda. All four were members of the OSS, the precursor to the CIA. Like most programs developed by Bill Donovan, the Morale Operations department focused on unconventional methods of warfare. This book takes an in-depth look at each of these women, before, during, and after the war. Each brought a unique set of skills, abilities, and connections that contributed to the success of their contributions to the war effort.

Elizabeth “Betty” MacDonald was a journalist living in Hawaii during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Božena Lauwers “Zuzka/Barbara” was lawyer of Czechoslovakian descent. Jane Hutton-Smith was the wife of a naval attaché living in the American embassy in Tokyo. German born Marlene Dietrich was a famous singer and actress. All were intelligent, hard working, and dedicated to securing an Allied victory. Several were multilingual and knowledgeable of the culture in the locations where they served, including Germany, China and India.

It was fascinating to learn of the creative ways that each woman developed their war propaganda, from writing demoralizing pamphlets, degrading cartoons, newspaper reports, and revisions to operating procedures, to changing the words to popular songs and newscasts. Special programs like The League of Lonely Women, The Yoke of Shame, and the MUZAK Project all focused on demoralizing and confusing the enemy. These efforts worked to cause the enemies to worry about what was going on back home with loved ones, and to convince them that for them the war was already lost. Working with the USO providing entertainment, and prisoner interrogation and recruitment for special operations, were also used to give an advantage to the Allies.

It was very interesting to read these women’s perspectives of the war from the propaganda angle, the inside scoop. How they managed their personal lives and careers after the end of the war was fascinating, utilizing many of the skills they had learned in future endeavors. Although at times it was a little difficult to differentiate the women, the overall message of what they accomplished was worth the challenge. Extensive bibliography and notes, well researched.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Lisa Rogak, and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

What an interesting and compelling story about 4 very different women and their war time contributions. The description of their work also gives one pause in today’s world as we thing about disinformation in every day life. Propaganda can and does exist even without a war and it’s good to know the ways people are deceived.

This is the interesting true story of four women who used their creative skills to help generate propaganda and win WWII. All of the women are inspiring, but I especially liked reading about Betty, a reporter from Hawaii who lived through the attack on Pearl Harbor. Most surprising of the group was someone famous, Marlene Dietrich, the German-American actress and singer.

I enjoyed the book so much, I passed it on to my Mom to read and she loved it as much as I did!

If you are looking for a non-fiction book about some extraordinary contributions by women who helped win WWII, this book is for you!

I would give Propaganda Girls 3 stars. I believe it was more my problem than lacking in the actual book. I really enjoyed the four women’s personal stories but their military history drove me a little crazy. Propaganda, of course, means lies and deception. Because of what we are experiencing in the US today, I found it all a bit hard to swallow. I realize this is a personal reason and no fault of the authors. Please give this unknown history a try and see what your thoughts are. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this electronic ARC.

I really enjoyed this book! When I first opened it I was thinking it was a historical fiction book but it was an actual nonfiction book which sometimes are not my type of book but I thought this one was really interesting especially reading about a group of women that I had never heard of before. I really liked the layout of the book and how there were four women and there would be a section devoted to each woman and then there would be a new part of their story so it was easy to keep track of each woman’s story. Also at the first part of Marlene’s story I realized that her songs may be on Apple Music and they were so I listened to her voice singing while reading about her life and her contributions to the war which really enhanced the reading experience. I tonight I would be bored to tears with a nonfiction book but it was really good! Thanks NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

(This review is based on an ARC sent to me by NetGalley)

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

The author presents a well-researched account of four women's lives and careers, each instrumental to the "black propaganda" efforts of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS)--the precursor to the CIA--during World War II.
The main protagonists "Propaganda Girls" are four women who worked for the OSS (Office of Strategic Services) during World War II: Betty MacDonald, Zuzka Lauwers, Jane Smith-Hutton, and Marlene Dietrich. These women were key players in a covert propaganda campaign aimed at undermining Axis morale.
Betty MacDonald:
A reporter from Hawaii, she was initially assigned to write for the women's section of her newspaper but longed for more challenging work.
Zuzka Lauwers:
A multilingual Czech immigrant, she was fluent in several languages and played a crucial role in disseminating propaganda messages.

Jane Smith-Hutton:
The wife of a naval attaché living in Tokyo, she was imprisoned by the Japanese and later used her experiences to inform her OSS work
.
Marlene Dietrich:
A famous German-American actress and singer, she used her star power to promote Allied causes.

This is the true story of four unsung heroes, whose accomplishments
would change the course of history.

There is an extensive bibliography at the end of the book.

"Propaganda Girls" follows the four women from the OSS who were responsible for creating "black propaganda" designed specifically to demoralize the enemy during World War II. It was a fascinating account of their backgrounds, roles and post-war lives.

Unfortunately, it also underscored how little the contributions of women were appreciated at that time in US history. While each of these women took on more responsibilities than their male counterparts and often were significantly more productive too, they rarely received the recognition they deserved even though they each were successful with the tasks laid before them.

If you enjoy true history stories, you'll certainly want to read this one.

Thank you to Lisa Rogak, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

This was a quick and informative read about four women (Jane, Betty, Zuzka, and Marlene) and what they did for the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. I always enjoy reading about the amazing things women did during WWII, and it was so fascinating to read about these women and their campaign of propaganda that contributed so much to the war effort.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for my copy! ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

propaganda girls is a thoroughly researched look into the fascinating lives and careers of four women in the OSS (the precursor to the CIA) who played an integral role in the propaganda that helped the allies to win WWII. rogak tells these women’s stories in four parts, spanning their lives before and after as well as during the war. as always, i’m intrigued by the roles women occupied during wartime, when their contributions were far less recognized and respected than their male counterparts, and the subsequent social shift to conservatism that pressured those same women to return to more “traditional” roles.

a quick read that offers an engaging, if narrow, glimpse at four extraordinary women and the impact of black propaganda on WWII.

This well written true story of four women, Zuzka Lauwers, Marlene Dietrich, Jane Smith-Hutton, and Betty MacDonald, who all worked for the OSS during WWII to break the morale of enemy troops was fascinating and kept me reading until I was finished. What amazing women!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

Thank you to St Martin's Press and Netgalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting part of the World War II that I have read very little about. Learned some new details and will be looking for more books about this subject.
Any history buffs are sure to enjoy this story.

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

240 Pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Release Date: March 4, 2025

Nonfiction (Adult), History, WWII, Women Spies, 1940s

Elizabeth "Betty" MacDonald
Jane Smith-Hutton
Barbara "Zuzka" Lauwers
Marlene Dietrich

These four women assigned to the Morale Opereations branch of the Office of Strategic Services used their positions to gain information and spread negative information about the conditions of war and the Nazi party. Their purpose was to change people's opinions of the war with rumors and innuendoes. If people thought Germany and the Nazi party were performing poorly and losing the war, there would be sympathy for the Allied forces. This would bring a faster end to the war.

The book was well researched and written. I was aware of the OSS before reading this book but not of the Morale Operations. These women took risks and performed courageous acts. There is a brief mention of Julia Childs that made me smile. They deserve to be called heroes.

This book was so so good! It read like fiction almost, it reminded me in spots of The Alice Network by Kate Quinn - which is a testament to both Kate's research and writing abilities, and Lisa's to telling a factual but still interesting story! My favorite part of both of these was the creativity in coding and passing messages; women are smart as hell and also disarming and cool under pressure. This book had me scared from start to finish and I loved every bit of it. 5 stars!

I was not expecting to love this as much as I did! PROPAGANDA GIRLS is a non-fiction book following four incredible women who worked with the allies to defeat the Axis powers. I really had no idea that Marlene Dietrich was involved as much as she was.

While this book is non-fiction, the book reads really fast and fun, almost like a thriller book at times. It's very informative, inspiring, and perfect for anyone who wants a little bit of women's history.

World War II sent many women to work. The four women featured in Lisa Rogak’s book found more exotic employment than most. They ended up creating and disseminating propaganda aimed at enemy soldiers. The book outlines the backgrounds and skills of each woman and how these led to working for the OSS, the work they did there and their lives afterwards. It’s a well balanced combination of history and personal stories, informative and lively reading.

I enjoyed learning more about the clever ways the OSS spread misinformation and propaganda and how much of that would have been impossible without these brave, brilliant women.

The reason for 3 stars instead of 4 is that sometimes information was dropped in via random sentences that had little to no connection to the rest of the paragraph or chapter.

But this is a fascinating read that I recommend to people who are curious about this side of history.

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