| Intro | American–Canadian film exhibitor in Canada | ||
| Was |
Businessperson Business executive |
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| From |
United States of America Canada |
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| Type | Business | ||
| Gender | male | ||
| Birth | 1890, Bradford, United States of America | ||
| Death |
1942, Toronto, Canada (aged 52 years) |
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| Family |
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Jay Allen (Seattle, 7 July 1900 – 1972) was an American journalist, who reported on the Spanish Civil War and the occupation of France during the Second World War. He worked for the Chicago Tribune, the North American Newspaper Alliance and various other newspapers until his death in 1972.
Biography
Career
Between 1925 and 1934, he was a correspondent for the Chicago Tribune in France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Austria, Germany, Poland and the Balkans. In 1930, he met important leaders of the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE): Juan Negrín, Luis Araquistáin, Julio Álvarez del Vayo, Rodolfo Llopis in Spain. He also knew important leaders of the Spanish right such as José Calvo Sotelo and José Antonio Primo de Rivera. In 1934, he covered the uprising in Asturias for the Chicago Tribune. He was briefly imprisoned because he helped to hide some socialist leaders from the police. After his release he went to live in Torremolinos and over the next two years traveled across Spain to gather information for a book about the agrarian problem in Spain.
Spanish civil war
When the Spanish Civil War started, he covered the conflict for the Chicago Tribune. In July 1936 he interviewed general Francisco Franco (leader of the rebels and future caudillo of Spain).
Allen was the first American journalist to report on the massacre of Badajoz. On 23 August 1936, nine days after the fall of the city, he entered Badajoz and saw the executions taking place. On 30 August the Chicago Tribune published its report on the massacre: “Slaughter of 4,000 at Badajoz, city of horrors”, the first report about it in the United States. As a result, the rebels put a price on his head and their supporters in the States started a campaign against Allen. In November 1936 he interviewed the chief of Spanish falange José Antonio Primo de Rivera who was imprisoned in Alicante. It was the last interview before his execution. After that, Allen returned to the United States.
Second World War and after
In 1938, Allen was hired, then quickly fired, by the nascent left-leaning avant-garde magazine Ken. In 1940 he went to France as a correspondent for the North American Newspaper Alliance. There he helped to organize a group to help French artists to flee the country. Because of this the Gestapo arrested him in 1941, although he was later freed. In 1942 he took part in the campaign of North Africa. After that, he returned to America and worked for various newspapers until his death in 1972.