American Broadcasting Station in Europe

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The American Broadcasting Station in Europe (ABSIE) was a radio broadcasting station set up by the U.S. Office of War Information (OWI) in collaboration with the British BBC to counter Nazi propaganda.

It started broadcasting on 30 April 1944, two months before D Day with the words "This is the American Broadcasting Station in Europe... In this historic year, 1944, the allied radio will bring you tremendous news...".{{cite book|author=James Wood|title=History of International Broadcasting|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WUO4U8L5N_cC&pg=PA82|accessdate=6 October 2012|year=1994|publisher=IET|isbn=978-0-86341-302-5|page=82}} The radio station informed the people of occupied Europe about their intended liberation and gave hints about the D Day and the Russian invasion from the north.{{cite book|author=Harriet Hyman Alonso|title=Robert E. Sherwood: The Playwright in Peace and War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7a3ewWsM0UMC&pg=PA256|accessdate=6 October 2012|date=1 December 2007|publisher=Univ of Massachusetts Press|isbn=978-1-55849-619-4|page=256}} The radio station was located in a converted film building under the Gaumont-British offices{{cite web|title=The 1930s BH extension plans and the Stronghold|url=http://www.orbem.co.uk/misc/extension.htm|website=www.orbem.co.uk}} in London's Wardour Street and continued broadcasting till 4 July 1945.{{cite book|author=Burton Paulu|title=British Broadcasting; Radio and Television in the United Kingdom|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fyt7GLmSEOIC&pg=PA394|accessdate=6 October 2012|year=1956|publisher=U of Minnesota Press|isbn=978-0-8166-0127-1|page=394}} It used to broadcast in the 9520, 9550, 9625 and 9640 kHz range and identified itself every 15 mins to its listeners.{{cite book|author=Jerome S. Berg|title=Broadcasting On The Short Waves, 1945 To Today|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ux9fZj6izuEC&pg=PA70|accessdate=6 October 2012|date=30 September 2008|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-3674-3|page=70}} Along with broadcasts intended for European listeners, it also aired musical and other programs mixed with what were hoped to be demoralizing messages for the German Forces. Bing Crosby and Dinah Shore were among the leading performers in ABSIE programs.{{cite book|author=Patrick Morley|title="This is the American Forces Network": The Anglo-American Battle of the Air Waves in World War II |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=IiOxfHGscgcC&pg=PA81 |accessdate=6 October 2012 |year=2001 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-275-96901-1|page=81}}