William Joyce real name to his listeners; and he would occasionally be announced as "William Joyce, otherwise known as Lord Haw-Haw". Urban legends soon circulated about Lord Haw-Haw, alleging that the broadcaster was well-informed about political and military events to the point of near-omniscience. Although listening to his broadcasts was officially discouraged (but not illegal), many Britons heard the broadcasts. At the height of his influence, in 1940, Joyce had an estimated six million regular and 18 million occasional listeners in the United Kingdom. The broadcasts always began with the announcer's words, "Germany calling, Germany calling, Germany calling". These broadcasts urged the
William Joyce British people to surrender and were well known for their jeering, sarcastic and menacing tone. There was also a desire by civilian listeners to hear what the other side was saying since information during wartime was strictly censored. The Reich Main Security Office commissioned Joyce to give lectures at the University of Berlin for SS members in the winter of 1941–42 on the topic of "English fascism and acute questions concerning the British world empire". Joyce recorded his final broadcast on 30 April 1945, during the Battle of Berlin. Rambling and audibly drunk, he chided Britain for pursuing the war