Martha Gellhorn

Trailblazing war correspondent who reported on major 20th-century conflicts with uncompromising integrity.

Martha Gellhorn (1908–1998) redefined war journalism by prioritizing civilian perspectives over military strategy. Covering conflicts from the Spanish Civil War to Vietnam, she became the first female journalist to land on Normandy beaches during D-Day, disguised as a medic.

Gellhorn’s reporting for Collier’s Weekly exposed Nazi atrocities and the human cost of war. Her 1939 article "The Undefeated" chronicled Czechoslovakia’s resistance, while her 1945 account of Dachau’s liberation shocked readers with raw, unflinching prose.

Unlike contemporaries who embedded with armies, Gellhorn often traveled independently, interviewing refugees and survivors. Her books like The Face of War (1959) critiqued media sensationalism, urging journalists to "bear witness" ethically. As The New York Times noted, her work inspired generations of female reporters in male-dominated fields.

Gellhorn’s personal life—including her marriage to Ernest Hemingway—often overshadowed her achievements, yet she remained a vocal advocate for human rights until her death. Her letters and essays, compiled in Selected Letters (2006), reveal a woman fiercely committed to truth-telling in an era of propaganda.