Nazi Germany propaganda the radio
1923 through 1945
The Nazi Party used radios to spread its message to new followers
Especially pushing the argument that Germany had been wronged by the Treaty of Versailles
alongside posters school programs and other more obvious forms of indoctrination the radio allowed for subliminal and less direct
messaging
Similarly compulsory films in school for children accompanied mandatory listening to Hitler's speeches over the radio
In 1923 the creation of German public broadcasting soon led to the establishment
Of regional broadcasting companies by the end of 1924 nine companies existed
radio broadcasting was state regulated by the Reich radio company with 51% owned by the Ministry of
posts when the other 49% by the nine companies who controlled program content
The increase in frequency strength combined with the information and entertainment available on radio led to widespread
radio consumption of the medium in Germany during the mid to late 1920s
Ëthey was required to listen starting in January 1924 a content was non-political until 1929
radio exhibitions began in
1924 and were later used by the Nazis to encourage and manipulate radio ownership and usage the
Nazi Party did not begin using the radio until after the presidential elections that took place in 1932 during this time
There was still an anti-nazi element to radio messaging that resulted in a positive outcome for paul von hindenburg
The opponents of the Nazi Party used radio to try to denounce the latter's referendum against the Treaty of Versailles in 1929
German state radio was fully nationalized in 1932 under von Papen as Chancellor
During the election of February in March of 1933 Joseph Goebbels the propaganda minister of the Nazi Party
blocked parties other than the Nazi Party from transmitting political broadcasts
Hitler's speeches were broadcast often in outdoor forums during that election
radio broadcasts of marches rallies and public
Demonstrations were meant to give the impression of mass popularity in a peer pressure type tactic to get votes in the 1933 election
This was much more effective than when Hitler delivered a speech in an empty room, which didn't come across as well on radio
After a victory in this election and the further tactics that followed the Nazis were able to seize power in June 1933
broadcasting became part of the Ministry of propaganda
Goebbels oversaw the replacement of hostile radio managers and reporters with Nazi supporters and by April
1934 all regional companies became unified under the Nazi ideology its slogan became a radio in every German house
Gurbles ordered the mass production of cheap radios known as Volk symphony or the people's receiver in 1933
Opening up new audiences to the message of the party
he had long recognized the potential of radio to indoctrinate and create a unified opinion as
Garbles put it the radio was the spiritual weapon of the totalitarian state that destroyed the spirit of rebellion
The content of Nazi radio programming included music and plays and Hitler's speeches which featured anti-semitic content which
intensified through the decade
1935 it is estimated that when Hitler broadcasted his speeches on radio
He reached an audience of over 56 million out of a population of 70 million
Censorship on the radio led to a ban on jazz music in 1935 and laws against interception of non-german stations
penalties included death
Even the mass-produced radios themselves were designed with a limited range in order to prevent foreign broadcasts
The law against jazz music was interesting because they forbade it in Germany, but used it as a propaganda abroad
Gurbles and a Nazi sponsored swing band called Charlie and his orchestra named for frontman Karl Charlie Schweddy
ler took aim at Britain than the United States later on in 1940 the band broadcast its music full of messages about
arianism Jewish conspiracies and weak British leaders across the pond a
Cheaper version of the Volk some fanger the DKE 38 was released from 1938
Nicknamed the gerber schnauzer or gurbles snout and sold for just 35 Reichsmarks
Even if a radio wasn't in reach public loudspeakers spread the nazi propaganda
message and factories public squares schools offices and restaurants
radio wardens were present to ensure people were listening to the major speeches being broadcast by
1939
70% of households had a mass-produced radio in June
1940 the Nazis established a program for broadcasters to issue special reports about the war
During the war the Nazis expanded their propaganda tactics on the radio axis
Sally real name Mildred gillers was an American in Berlin who worked for the German state radio in
1942 she was cast on the home-sweet-home our show to weaken the morale of US troops
Radio broadcasts that focused too much on politics became boring to the average listener
so the Nazis switched to mainly music and other entertainment in
1944 radios were used to give the soldiers at the front a sense of relaxation and to convey cultural values on May 1st
1945 the German radio broadcast announced Hitler's death fighting up to his last breath against Bolshevism
in the aftermath of Hitler death and as the Allied forces moved through Nazi occupied territory party radio stations were
Systematically shut down
The last broadcast in the name of the Nazi state was sent from a radio station in Flensburg near Denmark on may 8th 1945
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