In 1938 , Thompson championed the cause of a Polish-German Jewish teenager , Herschel Grynszpan , whose assassination in Paris of a minor German diplomat , Ernst vom Rath , had been used as propaganda by the Nazis to trigger the events of Kristallnacht in Germany . Thompson 's broadcast on NBC radio was heard by millions of listeners , and led to an outpouring of sympathy for the young assassin . Under the banner of the Journalists ' Defense Fund , over $ 40,000 USD was collected , enabling famed European lawyer Vincent de Moro-Giafferi to take up Grynszpan 's case
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Dorothy Thompson