Hans Fritzsche was a German journalist and propaganda ministry official who was well-known for his nightly radio broadcasts during World War II defending the policies of Adolph Hitler's National Socialist (Nazi) government. After the defeat of Germany in 1945, the International Military Tribunal (IMT) for war crimes indicted Fritzsche, who worked for Joseph Goebbels, the head of Nazi propaganda. However, Fritzsche was one of the few defendants to be acquitted of all charges. Despite this victory, the new postwar German government successfully prosecuted him for his actions during the Hitler era.

Fritzsche was born in 1899 in Dresden, Germany. He served in the German army during World War I and attended the universities of Wurzberg and Leipzig. Following graduation, he started a law practice. After Germany's defeat in World War I, Fritzsche became attracted to conservative, nationalistic political ideas. He first joined the Young Conservative movement, which was anti-British and...