Cold Open

It’s March 25th, 1939, in Prague, the capital of Czechoslovakia.

Inside a downtown apartment, 29-year-old Josef Korbel peers out through his living room blinds. His wife stands nervously behind him, clutching their one-year-old daughter, Madeleine. Through the window, Josef spots a detachment of Nazi troops marching briskly along the cobblestone street. He ducks back out of sight.

Josef is a diplomat in the Czechoslovakian government. But for the last ten days, he has lived in fear. German forces have occupied Prague - and begun to round up their political enemies. As a representative of the government and a Jew, Josef and his family are in grave danger. He is desperate to escape.

Just a few hours ago, a contact of Josef handed him fake diplomatic papers and told he and his family to wait in this apartment. But Nazi troops are combing the streets. Nowhere seems to be safe.

Josef glances out the window again… and watches as the soldiers disappear down the street.

He breathes a sigh of relief... but is jolted alert again by the phone ringing in the kitchen.

Josef and his wife share a glance. Cautiously, Josef goes to answer the ringing phone.

It’s his contact and the man tells Josef to meet him at the train station and then hangs up.

Josef sets down the receiver. The train station is just a few blocks from the safehouse. But if his family is to escape, they must leave, this very moment.

With their limited possessions packed into two small suitcases, Josef and his young family step out into the cold street and walk briskly away down the sidewalk.

After a few minutes, Josef, his wife, and daughter approach the station. If Josef can get them onto the train, the bribes he has put in place should take them to London – and safety.

But the station is packed with people, all desperate to get out of Prague, and a line of Nazi soldiers blocks the platform, holding the crowd back. Only those with the right papers are let through. Josef spots his contact on the other side of the line, standing in front of the outbound train, waiting impatiently. They haven’t much time. So, Josef grips his fake documents in his hand and begins pushing through the crowd with his wife and daughter in tow.

Reaching the front, Josef lifts his head confidently. Years as a diplomat have taught him the importance of perception. If they remain calm and act with confidence and purpose, they might avoid arousing suspicion.

Josef presents his papers to the nearest Nazi soldier and gives a cursory nod. The soldier glances over the fake documents while Josef grips his wife’s hand tight. Their escape attempt could end here. But the soldier thrusts the papers back at Josef and jerks his thumb at the platform. They’re being let through. Josef leads his family past the soldiers toward the train - and on to freedom.

Less than six months after the Korbels escape from Prague, Nazi leader Adolf Hitler orders his troops into Poland and begins World War II. As fighting breaks out across Europe, Josef Korbel will become a champion of democracy and a fierce opponent of fascism in every form. He will grow convinced that the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men – and women - to do nothing. It’s a lesson he will impart to his daughter Madeleine, a young girl who will one day become the highest-ranking female official in US history at that time, on January 23rd, 1997.

Introduction

From Noiser and Airship, I’m Lindsay Graham and this is History Daily.

History is made every day. On this podcast—every day—we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is January 23rd, 1997: Madeleine Albright Becomes the First Female US Secretary of State.

Act One: Fascism, Take Two

It’s September 1940, in London, England, a year and a half after the Korbels fled Czechoslovakia.

Josef Korbel and his 3-year-old daughter Madeleine lie together on a narrow bed in a public underground bomb shelter. Korbel holds his daughter tight in his arms and strokes her hair to comfort her, as the muffled thump of distant explosions rocks the shelter and sends dust and dirt drifting down from the ceiling. Packed into the shelter with the Korbels are dozens of other Londoners. Their frightened, pale faces stare in the darkness, waiting for the raid to end, praying that the next German bomb won’t hit them.

It’s a year into World War II and the outlook for the Allied powers has never looked worse. Adolf Hitler’s Nazi war machine has conquered most of mainland Europe. British troops have been forced to retreat from France. And now, the German air force has begun a ruthless bombing campaign of towns and cities across Britain, one that will become known as The Blitz.

It’s a traumatic and frightening time for everyone in the country. But it only sharpens Josef’s resolve - his absolute conviction that tyrants must always be confronted and not appeased. It’s a lesson he’s determined to teach his daughter one day.

Finally, the long barrage of explosions comes to an end, and an eerie quiet descends. The shaken Londoners head wearily toward the exit. Josef rises to his feet, wipes the dust off his formal suit, and takes hold of his young daughter’s hand. It’s time to head back up into the street. He must drop Madeleine off at home and then get to the office. Josef now has a job with the BBC, where he delivers inspiring radio speeches to his countrymen back in Czechoslovakia, advocating ongoing resistance against the occupation of their homeland.

It’s a small part in the wider war effort. But thanks to the work and sacrifice of millions of people like Josef, the Nazis will eventually be defeated in 1945. But it won’t be long before a new conflict begins - a cold war between the West and East, between the former Allies, the United States and the Soviet Union. And although Josef was born in the East, he will have no doubt about which side he is on.

***

It’s seven and a half years later, in March 1948, at the Czechoslovakian embassy in Belgrade, the capital of Yugoslavia.

Ambassador, Josef Korbel, sits behind a desk in his grand office. But his hands tremble as he takes in the latest reports from back home in Czechoslovakia. If what he is reading is true, dark times lie ahead for Josef’s country - and for his family.

At the end of World War II, Czechoslovakia was liberated from Nazi occupation, and the Korbels returned to live in its capital, Prague. The new government then appointed Josef as Czechoslovakia’s ambassador to Yugoslavia. But by the time Josef and his family arrived in Belgrade, the Soviet Union had already begun spreading its influence in Eastern Europe.

Now, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia has orchestrated what appears to be a coup. The government which Josef serves has been deposed. The communists may claim to represent the people, but Josef knows tyranny when he sees it.

Josef sets the depressing news to one side and gets to his feet. He wanders through the ground floor of his residence. The rooms are dark and deserted - a match for Josef’s somber mood. But then he hears a familiar sound which makes him smile. At the end of a hall, a doorway stands ajar and the argumentative voice of his 11-year-old daughter Madeleine spills out from within. Josef draws closer and lingers by the half-open door, staying just out of sight.

Inside, Madeleine is having a lesson on history and politics with her private tutor. But who’s the teacher and who’s the student isn’t immediately obvious. Madeleine is a precocious girl, and Josef watches proudly as his daughter confidently debates with her teacher. She’s settled well in her new home in Belgrade. But Josef knows there is no future for them here now. This new Communist government in Czechoslovakia won’t want a man like Josef as ambassador. In fact, they may not want him alive at all. So, once again, the Korbel family will have to flee tyranny and seek sanctuary abroad.

This time though, the Korbels won’t settle in Great Britain. In the growing struggle against Communism, there’s only one place Josef wants to be. So, just a few months later, the Korbel family boards a trans-Atlantic ocean liner bound for America. Josef’s precocious daughter Madeleine will follow in her father’s footsteps - and one day even surpass him.

Act Two: The United Nations

It’s July 1977, at a cemetery just outside Denver, Colorado, almost thirty years after the Korbel family fled Europe for America.

A crowd of mourners has gathered to commemorate the life of Josef Korbel, who has died at the age of 67. In the front row is a small but determined-looking woman in her early 40s. Josef’s daughter, Madeleine, stands upright, her face pinched with grief. The time has come for her to say goodbye to her father and mentor.

After journeying to the United States in 1948, Josef Korbel and his family settled in Colorado. There, Josef embarked on a teaching career at the University of Denver. He was a charismatic lecturer, and his classes became a favorite of students and experts alike.

Years of war had shaped Josef’s ideology. He believed that America was a moral beacon for the rest of the world, duty-bound to take a hard line with adversaries of freedom. During the Cold War, Josef’s view became highly influential in the United States. But he had no finer student than his own daughter Madeleine. By the time of Josef’s death, Madeleine had earned degrees from some of America’s top universities and worked on the prominent campaign of a US senator. Having married the publishing heir Joseph Albright and taken his last name, by 1977, Madeleine’s career was on the rise.

So, it's no surprise that less than a year after her father’s funeral, Madeleine is offered a job as the congressional liaison for the Democratic President Jimmy Carter’s National Security Council. Madeleine is soon spending her days at the White House, making visits to the Oval Office, where she listens to the President and his council discuss the issues of the day.

Although Madeleine often finds herself the only woman in the room, she soon shows her willingness to speak truth to power and demonstrates the same mental toughness of her late, legendary father.

But Madeleine’s first experience of the White House is not a long one. President Carter loses his bid for re-election in 1980. But Madeleine’s status in Washington DC continues to rise and when the Democrats eventually return to the White House more than a decade later, Madeleine will win a seat at the top table.

***

It’s February 24th, 1996, in the skies off the coast of Cuba.

Three small planes piloted by a Cuban American resistance group open their bay doors and unload their cargo. Leaflets advocating the overthrow of Fidel Castro’s Communist regime in Cuba scatter the island below. But the activities of the dissidents have not gone unnoticed. Two MiG fighters from the Cuban Air Force are on an intercept course. They swoop in to attack, releasing their missiles on the defenseless leaflet droppers. Moments later two of the three small aircraft explode over the ocean. Only the third plane manages to escape back to Miami.

The shootout in the skies over Cuba soon becomes an international incident. The Cuban dissidents were American citizens and U.S. President Bill Clinton demands that the U.N. Security Council condemn the actions of the Cuban regime. But getting the agreement of the Council will take some determined and subtle diplomacy. So, President Clinton turns to his ambassador to the U.N: Madeleine Albright.

Like her father, Madeleine has been a forceful advocate for America intervening in the world to oppose the rise of tyrants. In the early 1990s, the Serbian leader, Slobodan Milosevic, unleashed a campaign of aggression on his neighbors in the Balkans. As a member of Clinton’s cabinet, Madeleine tried to convince the President to respond to Milosevic with military force. Her pleas were ignored though and Milosevic was left free to pursue his war. Madeleine was left frustrated and angry but vowed that one day she would convince America into that fight.

Now, a crisis closer to home has given Madeleine the opportunity to stand up to tyrants once again.

But securing a U.N. Security Council resolution won’t be easy. Madeleine pores over radio transcripts of the incident. She notes how the Cuban pilots gloated about the deaths of the American citizens. They bragged on the airwaves about how brave they were, how they had cojones and the Americans did not. Madeleine immediately realizes that she can use this language. She calls a press conference and delivers a line that will become famous, saying, “This is not cojones, this is cowardice.” Sufficiently shamed, 13 of the 15 members of the UN Security Council vote to condemn Fidel Castro’s communist regime over the incident.

At a memorial service for the victims in Miami, the Cuban American crowd erupts when Madeleine arrives, breaking into a loud chant of “Libertad! Libertad!”. President Clinton takes notice of the woman the Cuban Americans are now calling “Madame Cojones.” And soon, he will consider her for the highest diplomatic office in the land.

Act Three: The Ultimate Platform

It’s January 23rd, 1997, at the White House, in Washington DC, a year after the attack in the skies near Cuba.

US President Bill Clinton stands at a podium in the Oval Office, flanked by Vice President Al Gore, the rest of his staff, and a cluster of cameramen and reporters.

Clinton has just been re-elected as President and is selecting a new cabinet for his second term in office. Today is the official swearing-in ceremony for America’s chief diplomat, a post first held by Founding Father Thomas Jefferson and arguably the most sought-after spot in any administration. Since Jefferson, sixty-two people have become Secretary of State. All have been men, but President Clinton is here to announce a different choice: his former Ambassador to the United Nations, Madeleine Albright. Or as President Clinton jokingly likes to call her, “Madame Cojones.”

At the podium, Clinton explains why he has made his choice:

CLINTON: “America must continue to be the world’s greatest force for peace, freedom, and prosperity. Madeleine Albright has the strength and wisdom to ensure that America remains the indispensable nation. Arriving on our shores as a refugee from tyranny and oppression, she worked her way up with determination and character to obtain our nation’s highest diplomatic office.”

Then after Clinton finishes speaking, Madeleine approaches the podium and is sworn in as Secretary of State. She then makes a short speech, reminding Americans that the United States must always be a bulwark in the face of fascism.

ALBRIGHT: “We must not shy from the mantle of leadership, nor hesitate to defend our interests, nor fail in our commitments, nor diverge from the principles that have defined, elevated and sustained our nation for more than 200 years.”

As America’s most senior diplomat, Madeleine Albright will quickly convert her beliefs into action. She will finally convince President Clinton to take a stance against the authoritarian Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic. And she will also successfully advocate for sanctions against the regime of the Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein.

Shaped by her childhood in war-torn Europe and by the example of her father, Madeleine Albright’s faith in democracy and freedom will never waver. Defending both will be her calling throughout her career - one that reached no higher pinnacle than when she was sworn in as the first woman US Secretary of State on January 23rd, 1997.

Outro

Next on History Daily. January 24th, 1536. King Henry VIII is badly injured in a jousting accident, turning the once athletic, wise king into a paranoid, overweight tyrant.

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing by Muhammad Shahzaib.

Sound design by Mischa Stanton.

Music by Lindsay Graham.

This episode is written and researched by Mike Gattanella.

Managing producer Emily Burke.

Executive Producers are William Simpson for Airship, and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.