Austrian newspaper

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The Österreichische Zeitung was the first German-language newspaper of the Austrian post-war period. It was published from April 15, 1945 by the 3rd Ukrainian Front of the Red Army as the “ front newspaper for the people of Austria”. From August 23, 1945, the paper became the official organ of the Soviet occupying power and discontinued on July 31, 1955 .

In addition to providing information for the Austrian population, the tasks of the newspaper also consisted of promoting trust, breaking the will to resist and thus making the occupation work easier for the troops:

  • The main task of the newspaper was initially to inform the population about the political and military situation.
  • After the end of the war, the function was added to announce the orders of the occupying power and to publish classified ads for the re-establishment of economic life. In addition, the newspaper reported on the successes of Allied troops or in reconstruction. Another important political task was to emphasize Austria's independence from the German Empire .
  • Later, when the publication of the newspaper was transferred from the military group Front to the central Soviet military administration in Austria, political re-education and the call for reconstruction were added as essential tasks .
  • After the occupation had stabilized and the Cold War began , the Österreichische Zeitung was given an ideological task in the block dispute.

The print run is estimated at 30,000 to 50,000 copies for the late 1940s.

Both Austrian and Soviet employees worked in the editorial department, the editor-in-chief and the department heads came from the Red Army, the articles were mostly written by Austrians.

The sheet initially cost 10, later 20 groschen. After the newspaper had initially met with great demand, its importance declined with the emerging licensed newspapers and the increasing politicization with the confrontation with the blocs. With the entry into force of the State Treaty , the Österreichische Zeitung was discontinued on July 31, 1955.

See also

literature

  • Rudolf Tschögl: Daily press, parties and allied occupation. Main features of the press development in the immediate post-war period . Vienna 1979 (Vienna, Univ., Diss.).
  • Wolfgang Mueller: The "Austrian newspaper" . In: Gabrielle Melischek, Josef Seethaler (Ed.): The Vienna daily newspapers. A documentation . Volume 5: 1945-1955 . Lang, Frankfurt am Main et al. 1999, ISBN 3-631-33036-7 , pp. 11-56.