5 Francisco Franco

 INTERVIEW WITH GENERAL FRANCO – SOUND

 Francisco Franco was a Fascist dictator of Spain. Franco achieved his power by overthrowing the democratic republic of Spain in the Spanish Civil War. Like Stalin, once he achieved power, he brutally cracked down on any who opposed his Fascist government.   Franco remained the autocratic ruler of his country until his death in 1975. In World War II, Franco kept Spain neutral in the beginning. He quickly changed his tune and began groveling to Hitler after the fall of Paris in 1940. Hitler reportedly found Franco to be very irritating, remarking he would “as soon have three or four teeth pulled out” than negotiate with him again.

 As to what Hitler found annoying about Franco, Hitler may have seen Franco as a weak man since Franco was extremely short (5’3″ or 160 cm) and rail thin and also had a high, squeaky voice. While Hitler may have expected to be meeting with a macho fellow Fascist leader, Franco probably came off as more like an annoying Spanish-speaking Muppet.

4 George S. Patton

General George S. Patton was a highly decorated, successful American general in World War II who commanded allied forces in battles across northern Africa and Europe. He was a hard-nosed, hard-driving man with a no-nonsense approach to war and life. Patton was known for leading from the front, and he led his 3rd Army fearlessly across France and into Nazi Germany in the later days of the war. He died shortly after the war due to injuries from a car accident while still in Europe.

 Patton was immortalized in the 1970 film bearing his name, with George C. Scott taking on the role of the legendary general. As a result, most people recall Scott’s voice when they imagine what Patton sounded like.  However, that could not be further from the truth. While Scott had a deep, gravely voice, the real Patton had a surprisingly high-pitched voice. Patton himself claimed he compensated for his feminine-sounding voice by dropping a copious amount of F-bombs.

3 Walter Ulrich

 CAN 013 ULRICH STATEMENT ON KENNEDY

 Walter Ulrich was the chairman of communist East Germany. As seems to be the case with autocratic strongmen, Ulbricht ruthlessly crushed any who opposed him. After the death of Stalin in 1961, Ulrich was able to resist the wave of desalinization that swept Europe and keep East Germany firmly aligned with the former Russian dictator’s principles. Ulrich held his position of power as supreme leader of East Germany until his death in 1973.

 Ulrich regularly recorded radio speeches dispensing communist rhetoric to the East German population. He did so in a curiously high-pitched voice. His voice was described as “fluting” or “sing-song.” Despite this, some East Germans became almost nostalgic for Ulrich’svoice when compared to the grating vocals of his successor, Erich Honecker.

2 Augusto Pinochet,

 Chile – Pinochet speaks regarding return to civilian rule

 Augusto Pinochet rose to power in Chile after carrying out a bloody military coup in 1973. He ruled the country as a military dictator for nearly two decades. Like other dictators on this list, his reign was marked by brutal crackdowns, executions, and disappearances of those who opposed him. Pinochet was arrested in London in 1998 for “crimes of genocide and terrorism.” He died in 2006 without ever standing trial for his crimes.

 Pinochet’s speaking voice was perhaps only slightly higher than normal, but he was also well known for speaking in a very shrill tone.   Most notably, when delivering speeches, his voice would often hit higher octaves. This theme of having a much higher voice when delivering speeches especially applies to our final entry.

1 Counterpoint: Adolph Hitler

 The Hitler and Mannheim Recording in   Finland, June 4, 1942 (Subtitles)

 When it comes to “shrill-voiced speakers,” a lot of people’s minds probably wander to Adolph Hitler. Hitler’s speeches were characterized by his shrill, angry, maniacal tone as he sought to rile up the crowds and keep them enthralled in his Nazi ideology. He is basically the embodiment of the “screaming dictator” trope.

 However, Hitler had a secret. He was very careful about making sure that no one recorded him speaking in his normal voice.   Despite this, there exists a single known recording of Hitler speaking in a conversational voice. The recording in question involves Hitler speaking to Carl Gustaf Emil Mannheim, the military leader of Finland, in 1942. The recording was made in secret by a Finnish broadcasting engineer. When Hitler’s guards realized he was being secretly recorded, they surprisingly did not demand the tape be destroyed. They instead demanded it be “hidden away, never to be opened.”

 The tape was kept from the public for nearly 15 years but was finally released in 1957. In contrast to his crazed, high-pitched voice when speaking to a crowd, Hitler’s conversational voice is deep, even, and almost smooth. Above, you can hear Adolph Hitler’s normal, rarely-heard speaking voice.