It’s a story from World War II that’s never been fully told—until now.
It’s the tale of brave women, some of whom trained at Grenier Air Base in Manchester, N.H., who joined a covert operation to erode the morale of Axis troops.
The story of four such women is told in Propaganda Girls, a new book by N.H. author Lisa Rogak.
Rogak will speak about the Propaganda Girls at a book-signing on Thursday, June 26 at 7 p.m. at the Aviation Museum of N.H., 27 Navigator Road, Londonderry, N.H.
The program is open to the public. Admission is free for museum members and $10 per person for non-members. Copies of Propaganda Girls will be available for $29 each during the event.
Like thousands of other women, Barbara “Zuzka” Lauwers sought to serve the Allied cause as a member of the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) during World War II.
If you ran into her at Squam Lake, where she could be found in her later years, you never would have known that in her youth, she launched one of the most successful psychological campaigns of the Second World War, which resulted in the surrender of more than 600 Czechoslovakian soldiers fighting for the Germans.
Edith Nourse Rogers, a congresswoman from Massachusetts, introduced the first bill to establish a women’s auxiliary in May 1941.
The WAC evolved out of this action and grew to include 150,000 members during the course of the war, hundreds of whom trained at Grenier Air Base in Manchester, N.H. and Fort Devens in Massachusetts.
Their noncombat jobs ranged from switchboard operators to mechanics, bakers, and beyond. In Zuzka’s case, her role was the creation of propaganda.
Propaganda Girls tells the story of Zuzka and three other women, who together contributed to one of the most covert and successful military campaigns in World War II.
Zuzka Lauwers grew up in a tiny Czechoslovakian village and kicked off her career by ghostwriting “We Were in the Battle of Britain” for Col. Alexander Hess, a Czech fighter pilot.
Betty MacDonald was a 28-year-old reporter from Hawaii, who was abruptly thrown into the war as a front row witness to the atrocities of the aerial attack at Pearl Harbor.
Jane Smith-Hutton was the wife of a naval attaché living in Tokyo.
Marlene Dietrich, the German-American actress and singer, was of course one of the biggest stars of the 20th century.
Their task was to create a secret brand of propaganda produced with the sole aim to break the morale of Axis soldiers.
Propaganda Girls shows how working in the European theater, across enemy lines in occupied China, and in Washington, D.C., Betty, Zuzka, Jane, and Marlene forged letters and “official” military orders, wrote and produced entire newspapers, scripted radio broadcasts and songs, and even developed rumors for undercover spies and double agents to spread to the enemy.
Outside of a small group of spies, no one knew they existed. In Propaganda Girls, bestselling author Lisa Rogak brings to vivid life the incredible true story of four unsung heroes.
About the author
Lisa Rogak lives in Lebanon, N.H. and is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 40 books, which have been published in more than two dozen languages. Her books Barack Obama: In His Own Words and Angry Optimist: The Life & Times of Jon Stewart hit the New York Times bestseller lists. Haunted Heart: The Life & Times of Stephen King was nominated for both the Edgar and Anthony Awards.
About the museum
The Aviation Museum, a non-profit 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization based in the 1937 art deco passenger terminal at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, is dedicated to preserving the Granite State’s rich aviation past, and also inspiring today’s students to become the aviation and aerospace pioneers of tomorrow.
The Aviation Museum of N.H. was named “’Best Historic or Cultural Attraction for an All-Ages Family Crowd” in southern New Hampshire in the 2025 HippoPress Reader’s Poll.
For more information call (603) 669-4877 or email Leah Dearborn.