Jay Allen

Jay Allen (Seattle, 7 July 1900 – 1972) was an American journalist, who reported on the Spanish Civil War and the occupation of France during the Second World War. He worked for the Chicago Tribune, the North American Newspaper Alliance and various other newspapers until his death in 1972.

Between 1925 and 1934, he was a correspondent for the Chicago Tribune in France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Austria, Germany, Poland and the Balkans. In 1930, he met important leaders of the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE): Juan Negrín, Luis Araquistáin, Julio Álvarez del Vayo, Rodolfo Llopis in Spain. He also knew important leaders of the Spanish right such as José Calvo Sotelo and José Antonio Primo de Rivera. In 1934, he covered the uprising in Asturias for the Chicago Tribune. He was briefly imprisoned because he helped to hide some socialist leaders from the police. After his release he went to live in Torremolinos and over the next two years traveled across Spain to gather information for a book about the agrarian problem in Spain.

When the Spanish Civil War started, he covered the conflict for the Chicago Tribune. In July 1936 he interviewed general Francisco Franco (leader of the rebels and future dictator of Spain).