George Weller facts for kids

George Anthony Weller (born July 13, 1907 – died December 19, 2002) was an American writer. He was a novelist, a playwright (someone who writes plays), and a journalist. He worked for famous newspapers like The New York Times and Chicago Daily News.

Weller won a special award called the Pulitzer Prize in 1943. He earned it for his brave work as a war correspondent during World War II. He reported from many dangerous places.

One of his most important jobs was reporting from Nagasaki, Japan, after it was hit by an atomic bomb in 1945. The U.S. military stopped his reports from being published at the time. They were finally shared with the public much later, in a book edited by his son in 2006.

Life and Career

George Weller was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1907. He went to the Roxbury Latin School and then to Harvard University. At Harvard, he was a top student and helped lead the college newspaper, The Harvard Crimson. He also wrote for a musical comedy show.

After college, he studied acting in Vienna, Austria. He was the only American in a famous theater group there. Soon, he joined The New York Times as a reporter in Europe. During the 1930s, he also wrote two novels and many short stories.

George Weller was married twice. He had a daughter named Ann with his first wife, Katherine. Later, he married another reporter, Charlotte Ebener. He also had a son named Anthony.

Reporting on World War II

In December 1940, George Weller started working for the Chicago Daily News. He became a war correspondent, reporting from many parts of the world. He covered the war in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. His brave reporting earned him the Pulitzer Prize in 1943.

He wrote about different parts of the war. For example, he wrote a pamphlet about the Belgian army's actions in Ethiopia. This pamphlet shared stories of courage from the Belgian Congo Army. These soldiers helped the Allied forces fight against the Axis powers in Africa.

Weller was in Singapore in January 1942. He reported on the fighting there before British forces surrendered to the Japanese. His reports from Singapore were later published in a book called Singapore is Silent.

Reporting from Nagasaki

After the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki in August 1945, the city was under strict control. General Douglas MacArthur and the U.S. military limited what reporters could say. George Weller wanted to tell the world what happened.

He secretly left the main group of reporters. He even pretended to be an American colonel to get help from local Japanese police. He spent days in Nagasaki, gathering details about the terrible effects of the bomb. He wrote about the sickness caused by radiation, which was not well understood then.

Weller wrote a long report of 10,000 words. He sent it to Tokyo to be sent to the United States. However, military censors stopped his reports from being published. They did not want the full story of the bombing's effects to be known.

Some of Weller's articles were published in parts by other newspapers. But his full reports on Nagasaki were kept secret for many years. His work on Nagasaki is still remembered as a very important part of his legacy.

After World War II

After the war, Weller led the Daily News office in Rome, Italy. He continued to report from places like the Balkans, the Middle East, and Africa. He covered the Greek Civil War in 1946. He retired from journalism in 1975.

His wife, Charlotte, who was also a newspaper writer, often traveled with him. They went to places like Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. George Weller passed away at his home in Italy in 2002, when he was 95 years old.

Professional Honors

George Weller received many awards for his journalism. In 1942, he interviewed sailors who had performed an emergency surgery on a submarine. They used everyday items like a tea strainer and spoons. Weller won the Pulitzer Prize for Reporting for his story about this amazing event.

General Douglas MacArthur also honored him for his brave reporting during the war. Weller received the Asiatic-Pacific Service Ribbon. He also won a George Polk Memorial Award and a Nieman Fellowship from Harvard. Later in his life, he received an international journalism award from Italy.

Legacy

George Weller's reports from Nagasaki were very important. They were kept secret for a long time. His notes were taken by the military and used as official documents. But they were not shared with the public in their full form.

In 1965, Weller said that his original notes and stories were hidden in his family's attic. They were finally published in a book called First Into Nagasaki in 2006.

Famous journalist Walter Cronkite wrote the introduction for this book. He said it was "important and gripping." Cronkite explained that Weller's reports helped save history from military censorship. They showed the truth about the atomic bombing and the harsh treatment of American prisoners of war. This book serves as a reminder for people to stay watchful.

Published and Unpublished Works

Fiction

• Not to Eat, Not for Love (1933)
• The Crack in the Cosmic Egg (1938)
• The House of the Ensign (1940)
• The Story of the White-Haired Girl (1940)
• The Last Train from Hiroshima (2006) - This book includes his reports from Nagasaki.

Non-fiction

• The Belgian Campaign in Ethiopia (1941)
• Singapore is Silent (1943) - His eyewitness account of the fall of Singapore.
• The New Way to Live (1948)
• The Story of the Submarine (1954) - A book for young readers, later called All About Submarines.
• Weller's War (2006) - A collection of his war reports.

Plays

• Walking Time
• Farewell, Ulysses
• Second Saint of Cyprus
• Friendly Relations
• The Impossible Immortals