When World War II broke out in 1939, freelance photojournalist Marvin Breckinridge Patterson (b. 1905) took the first pictures of a London air-raid shelter. She was, however, new to radio when friend Edward R. Murrow hired her as the first female staff broadcaster in Europe for CBS. Before her marriage to an American diplomat ended her career in May 1940, Patterson broadcast fifty times from various locations in Europe, including Berlin.
One of only a handful of American women in Europe working in radio, Patterson was among the first correspondents to use a new short-wave transmitter to broadcast on location. Of her early broadcasts, Murrow told Patterson: "Your stuff so far has been first-rate. I am pleased, New York is pleased, and so far as I know the listeners are pleased. If they aren't to hell with them."
Patterson willingly resigned from CBS upon marrying Jefferson Patterson, but hoped to resume her original career in photojournalism. Claiming that her activities would compromise her husband's work in Berlin, the United States Department of State barred her from publication. Even Patterson's unofficial efforts to document prisoner-of-war camps while in the company of her husband ended when German officials objected. Frustrated in her efforts to pursue a separate career, Patterson devoted her energies to the role of diplomatic spouse.
Frontier Nursing Service Documented
[Marvin Breckinridge at work, Middle Fork, Kentucky River, Leslie County, Kentucky], c. 1930.
Early Career in Photojournalism
Marvin Breckinridge, "A Frontier Nurse Rides Through the Rain," (one) (two) 'LIFE', June 14, 1937, pp. 32-33.
London When War Was Declared
Letter from Marvin Breckinridge to Isabella Breckinridge, September 17, 1939. Courtesy of Marvin Breckinridge Patterson, Library of Congress (22)
First English Air-Raid Shelter Photographs
Marvin Breckinridge, [Savoy Hotel guests in shelter], September 3, 1939.
A Nation Prepared for War
Marvin Breckinridge, [Volunteer air-raid wardens], 1939. Courtesy of Marvin Breckinridge Patterson, Library of Congress (24.1)
A New Career at the Microphone
[Marvin Breckinridge], Amsterdam, c. 1940. Courtesy of Marvin Breckinridge Patterson, Library of Congress (26)
The Altmark Controversy
Cable from Marvin Breckinridge to CBS office, New York, February 22, 1940. Courtesy of Marvin Breckinridge Patterson, Library of Congress (28)
Eyewitness to a Nazi Burial
Marvin Breckinridge, [Funeral of Altmark seamen], February 1940. Courtesy of Marvin Breckinridge Patterson, Library of Congress (29)
Live Interview with Altmark Captain
Marvin Breckinridge, radio script, February 19, 1940. Courtesy of Marvin Breckinridge Patterson, Library of Congress (30)
State Department Disapproval of Publication
Letters from Jefferson Patterson to G. Howland Shaw, October 6, 1941; and October 13, 1941. Courtesy of Marvin Breckinridge Patterson, Library of Congress (31a and 31b)
German Censors Recorded Every Word
Marvin Breckinridge, radio script, February 8, 1940. Courtesy of Marvin Breckinridge Patterson, Library of Congress (32)
Wartime Wedding, June 1940
The bride and groom telephone their families in the U.S. Wedding photographs, June 1940.
Marriage Meant Career Crossroads
Wedding Poem, June 1940. Courtesy of Marvin Breckinridge Patterson, Library of Congress (121.1)
Breckinridge Used Human Details to Illuminate War Stories
Marvin Breckinridge, notebook, c. 1939. Courtesy of Marvin Breckinridge Patterson, Library of Congress (133)
Breckinridge at Work in Holland
[Marvin Breckinridge], c. 1940. Courtesy of Marvin Breckinridge Patterson (124)
Press Credentials for Overseas Assignments
Press passes for France and Germany; Black Star identity card, c. 1940. Courtesy of Marvin Breckinridge Patterson (134a-d)