“It is an interesting and somewhat macabre parlor game to play at a large gathering of one’s acquaintances: to speculate who in a showdown would go Nazi,” wrote Dorothy Thompson in her 1941 Harper’s Magazine essay. Her piercing analysis of human character, which suggested that fascist tendencies lurk within ordinary social circles, came to life last month as actors in period attire clinked cocktail glasses at Twin Farms, Thompson’s former Barnard estate.
The film, titled “Without Fear or Favor,” is directed by former Vermont state representative Teo Žagar, who began working on the project in 2015 after learning about Thompson’s connection to Vermont while researching Sinclair Lewis’s novel “It Can’t Happen Here,” which was written at Twin Farms in 1935.
During her career, Thompson reached millions through her syndicated columns and radio broadcasts. She was the first American journalist expelled from Nazi Germany by Hitler and became known for her vocal opposition to fascism.
The film, expected to be released as a feature-length documentary, offers modern audiences a window into how one fearless voice stood against rising totalitarianism when many remained silent. As Thompson wrote in “Who Goes Nazi?”: “Sometimes I think there are direct biological factors at work — a type of human being is actually born with the soul of a Nazi.”
Peter Kurth, author of the Thompson biography “American Cassandra: The Life of Dorothy Thompson,” has been a supporter of the film project since its inception.
“There’s been heightened interest in Dorothy in the last few years,” Kurth noted. “A lot of it has to do with the current political situation. I think that’s one of the reasons people are paying attention.”
Dorothy Thompson is buried in Barnard, where her legacy as a fearless journalist, advocate for democracy, and Vermont resident continues to resonate.
For more on this, please see our May 8 edition of the Vermont Standard.
