I'm thrilled to announce that we have reached our initial goal of $14,000, and we're now officially working toward our stretch goal of $20,000! The additional funds will allow us to license all the historical footage we need plus hire a sound designer. Thank you for your support!

Synopsis

EYES ON EVIL is about Sigrid Schultz, the American correspondent who covered the rise and fall of Nazi Germany for The Chicago Tribune — and became its first woman bureau chief. In the 1920s and 30s, many young American journalists flocked to Europe seeking adventure, only to find themselves bearing witness to the rise of fascism and the greatest catastrophe of the 20th century. Even among an impressive American press corps, Schultz stood out — and not only because she was one of very few women.

From warning early and often about the threat Hitler posed, to secretly writing under the alias “John Dickson” to evade Nazi censors, to powerfully reporting on the liberation of the Buchenwald concentration camp, Schultz emerged as one of the most important foreign correspondents in U.S. history. Yet, until recently, little was known about her. After the war, Schultz faded into obscurity in Westport, Connecticut, struggling to adapt to the postwar world.

While the film illuminates the life of an extraordinary woman forgotten by history, at its heart, it is about journalism itself: what it means to do it well; the limits of its power; and the personal toll of bearing witness to evil.

This film has a distribution agreement with PBS Plus. All donations by U.S. citizens are tax-deductible via our 501(c)3 fiscal sponsor Women in Film & Video.

The Characters

The film centers on three key relationships in Schultz’s life:

Hermann Goering, Schultz’s most important Nazi source, was at first an affable informant whom she wined and dined to gather intelligence, but he later derided her as “that dragon from Chicago” due to her unflinching coverage.

Dorothy Thompson, the Philadelphia Public Ledger’s bureau chief, served as both a peer and rival. Their contrasting styles, initial assessments of Hitler, and navigation of the male-dominated world of journalism reflect broader tensions in the press corps.

Colonel Robert McCormick, editor-in-chief and CEO of The Chicago Tribune, a staunch “America First” conservative and isolationist, often clashed with Schultz’s reporting.

Why Now?

Amid growing attacks on press freedom and fears that U.S. democracy is unraveling, Sigrid Schultz's life offers a clear reminder that truth-telling is an essential defense against authoritarianism. What started five years ago as a project to give a remarkable woman reporter her due, has turned out to be, in 2025, a story of great modern relevance. It's about the fragility of democracy, the importance of an independent press, and having moral courage in times of fear.

In the archives, I uncovered a radio interview from 1969 in which Schultz was asked what we can learn from her experience covering Nazi Germany. Her response back then, which is in the final scene, is just as worthy of our attention today as it was back then.

Director's Statement

I first learned about Sigrid Schultz when I read Andrew Nagorski’s fascinating book, Hitlerland, about Americans living in Berlin during the Nazis’ rise to power. I was immediately struck by the Chicago Tribune correspondent whose feistiness, bravery, glamor, and dramatic encounters seemed plucked straight from a Hollywood movie.

Source: Wisconsin Historical Society

This was a woman who, unlike most other American reporters, had observed Berlin from WWI all the way through the outbreak of WWII; who had alerted the world early to the threats of Nazism; who had interviewed Hitler several times; who had cooked for Hitler’s deputy, Hermann Goering, to extract information; and who had been among the first reporters to cover the liberation of the Buchenwald concentration camp. Other American journalists said she was the most informed voice on Nazi Germany. And she had done it all at a time when foreign correspondence was primarily a man’s domain. How on earth had I not heard of this extraordinary female journalist? It turned out that, until recently, there were no biographies about Schultz, nor had she managed to finish her memoir before she died in 1980.

As a longtime journalist, including at Reuters, Deutsche Welle, and Voice of America, I knew that I was the one to tell Schultz’s story. By chance, I found out that most of her photos, writings, and memorabilia are at the Wisconsin Historical Society in my home state. Since 2020, I’ve spent countless hours in the archive and spoken with historians, authors, journalists, and those who knew her in her final years in Westport, Connecticut. Petros Gioumpasis, my director of photography, and I have also filmed reenactment scenes and Schultz's artifacts in Westport, and walked in Schultz's footsteps at the Buchenwald Memorial near Weimar, Germany.

Petros Gioumpasis filming at the gates of the Buchenwald Memorial

Your Contribution Will Help Us Tell This Story

I am proud to say that our film is almost finished. After five years of research and production, we now have a rough cut. However, licensing historical footage is very costly. We have a generous donor who will match every dollar raised in this campaign. Therefore, when we reach our goal of $14,000, we will be able to purchase the rights to most of the archival photos and videos in the film. If we reach our stretch goal of $20,000, we will be able to not only purchase all of the archival material, but add sound design as well — a critical element in bringing these historical scenes to life. All pledges by U.S. citizens are tax-deductible via our fiscal sponsor, Women in Film & Video.

Filming the reenactment of a masked ball in 1919, where Schultz launched her journalism career.

Our Outreach

We think it's critical to bring this work to public venues early next year to spark discussion about the role of journalism during politically turbulent times. These include film festivals, journalism schools, newsrooms, Holocaust Museums, and other venues dedicated to promoting democracy and press freedom. We're also excited to have a distribution agreement with PBS Plus to air EYES ON EVIL for Women's History Month in March 2027. We think it's important to keep learning from the past and will be immensely grateful for your support. Thank you for your interest in our project!