Popular Writer and Broadcaster
In the 1930s Roberts became an international analyst and public lecturer, and wrote for the Sydney Morning Herald on diplomatic and political matters; later during World War II he was the newspaper's war correspondent. He was also associated with the Australian Institute of International Affairs, the Sydney group of the Round Table, and the Institute of Pacific Relations.
His "Notes on the News" was presented on ABC from 1932. After the war his public roles took precedence over his research and precluded the writing of further histories.
Roberts had met Nazi leaders and attended their rallies. In 1937 this, with his knowledge of central European history, led to his most noted book, The House that Hitler Built. This brought to light Hitler's Reich and the persecution of the Jews, and forewarned of a probable world war. The book, addressed to the ordinary reader, was translated into other languages and frequently reprinted.
Read more about this topic: Stephen Henry Roberts
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