Constance Drexel

Who was Constance Drexel?

Constance Drexel, a naturalized United States citizen, and groundbreaking feature writer for U.S. newspapers, was indicted for treason in World War II for radio broadcasts from Berlin that extolled Nazi virtues. She had made a name for herself by claiming, falsely, that she was an heiress of the famous Drexel family of Philadelphia. Arrested in Vienna and jailed at war’s end by American troops, she was released and allowed to return to the United States to live. The U.S. Department of Justice eventually dismissed the treason charges against her because her broadcasts were not deemed “political in nature.”