Press and radio communications department

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The censorship authority in Switzerland during the Second World War was the Press and Radio Message Department (APF) . Sections of the department were subordinate to the army command, others to the Federal Council .

history

In view of the looming war situation in Europe, several months before the war began on September 1, 1939, preparations were made to organize censorship in Switzerland. As early as the interwar period , in addition to the Federal Council, the APF army staff in particular had dealt with the preparation of a future censorship policy. Due to the lack of an elaborated press emergency law, the Swiss military was able to initiate censorship without control by the political authorities. Right from the start, the Swiss military urged the introduction of general censorship for local press products. The General Staff Department of the Swiss Army named an APF for the first time in the unpublished organization of the army staff on January 4, 1939 and assigned it to monitor the prior censorship of the Swiss press. With the Federal Council resolution of September 8, 1939 on the protection of the security of the country in the area of ​​the intelligence service, General Guisan was instructed to publish and transmit messages and statements, in particular by post, telephone and telegraph, press and news agencies, radio, film and Monitor image. The general transferred these assigned powers to the APF, which from then on was responsible for censorship in Switzerland. After the end of the war, the APF censored its activities again in June 1945. The Bundesrat APF, which is organized militarily, existed until 2004, but was only responsible for informing the Swiss population in crisis situations. Despite the similar name, the activities of this staff unit could no longer be compared with the APF during the Second World War.

organization

The federal judge Eugen Hasler was appointed head of the APF. He had been working on the organizational plan since January 1938. Hasler was replaced by Colonel Victor Perrier in March 1940. Perrier held the office until mid-1942, when his successor was Colonel Michel Plancherel until the end of the war. The APF was directly subordinate to the army staff until January 31, 1942, and from February 1, 1942 to the Federal Department of Justice of Switzerland . The inspectorate and its head, usually the head of the APF, occupied the central position of the military staff. From the beginning, representatives of the press were called in as freelance consultants to deal with questions from the domestic press, who, under the name of “press advice center”, discussed all fundamental problems, but also individual important cases in the field of domestic press. There was also cooperation with civil authorities in other areas, such as post control and telegram and telephone censorship. In the case of postal control, these were the postal, telephone and telegraph companies (PTT) .

The internal instructions of the APF of September 12, 1939, October 31, 1939, September 5, 1940 and February 1, 1942 established the structure of the department and the distribution of powers. The APF itself was subordinate to sections structured according to areas of activity. Originally there were seven of them (Information Section, Press Section, Post Section, Telephone and Telegraph Section, Film Section, Radio Section, Book Section), but the press section was divided into several separate sections soon after the war began.

Local press section, later information section

The Heimatpresse section was renamed the Information section in 1940 and was the link between the APF, the Federal Council and the army offices. But it also had the task of collecting and evaluating political, military and economic information. The information section informed the department head, the Federal Council and the army agencies about the position of the Swiss press or about individual problem areas. On the other hand, the information section also informed the various newspaper editors in Switzerland. The Information section acted as the actual press office of the APF, often providing information to the editors that was not intended for publication. In contrast to the other sections, the information section was directly subordinate to the army command.

Press Section

The section existed from September 12 to October 31, 1939 and from October 5, 1940 to the end of the war. The Swiss Press Section, the Foreign Press Section and the Book Trade Section were subordinate to it. The head of the press section was also the deputy of the APF and, from June 6, 1942, even its head. The section did not have its own staff, but only formed the common roof of the subdivisions.

Swiss Press Section

The section was responsible for monitoring the Swiss press and was created on October 5, 1940. She was subordinate to the press section. From 1942 it was also responsible for approving the publication of new newspapers. Their area of ​​responsibility partially overlapped with that of the Information Section and the duties of the Inspectorate. Like the Inspectorate, the Swiss Press Section controlled domestic newspapers and magazines, and like the Information Section, it compiled press reviews of domestic press products. Control of the Swiss press was lifted on June 18.

Foreign press section

Their task was to control foreign newspapers and magazines that were imported into Switzerland. It was organized on a decentralized basis. The German press was checked in Bern, the Italian in Chiasso, and the French and English in Geneva. Due to the close cooperation with the postal administration, the PTT took over a larger part of the censorship work for foreign press products. The PTT set up five main and several subsidiary control posts. Control of the foreign press was lifted on June 4, 1945.

Agencies section

The agencies section controlled the 50 or so press agencies that were approved by the APF. The section was also charged with monitoring the correspondents of foreign newspapers accredited in Switzerland.

War press section

The war press section played no role in the press control. She only took on preparatory, sometimes technical, tasks in connection with a potential attack on Switzerland. So the creation of a mobile printing column and other war-specific tasks were in their area of ​​responsibility.

Book trade section

The book trade section was organized on a decentralized basis. Her task was to monitor the products of Swiss publishers as well as the importation of foreign books and their sale in Switzerland. The book trade section was commissioned to check whether books or political propaganda contradicted the principles of press control. Over time, a voluntary pre-censorship developed more and more, as publishers more and more voluntarily sent their manuscripts for review before going to press in order to avoid re-censorship. The control of the propaganda writings was under the authority of the Federal Prosecutor's Office. Book censorship was lifted on June 4, 1945.

Film section

The Film Section was entrusted with the military and political censorship of all films shown in public (feature films, documentaries and newsreels). The Film Section checked both domestic and foreign film products and issued permits for the import and showing of films. She was also responsible for checking military images. Film censorship was lifted on June 18, 1945.

Radio section

The radio section listened to the broadcasts on Swiss radio stations. For programs that dealt with economic or military topics, a pre-censorship was made. From February 7, 1940, the radio section was also responsible for record censorship and, from May 12, 1940, for listening to foreign radio stations. The section ceased operations on August 15, 1945.

Record censorship

On February 7, 1940, partial monitoring of the record trade and the record industry was ordered for Switzerland . The radio section of the APF was supposed to prevent the import, manufacture, distribution and public demonstration of prohibited records. Records relating to current affairs, politicians (at home and abroad), entire nations or armies since 1939 have been censored. Marches or other music with “political-propagandistic tendencies” were also banned. A large control apparatus should be avoided for reasons of cost. The censorship should also not impose unnecessary shackles on trade, industry and broadcasting. The radio section published weekly bulletins (every Saturday) and provided information on censored records (brand, number, lyrics / artist). These reports were sent to several offices (General Customs Directorate, gramophone wholesalers, radios, etc.). For example, the PTT's telephone and telegram department was responsible for ensuring that prohibited music was not played on the telephone network (including from abroad in Switzerland). Post offices and the General Customs Office monitored the import of records. Private radio stations such as Rediffusion or Radibus as well as wholesalers were for the most part requested to carry out the record censorship themselves.

Date of censorship title brand No. Interpreter
1940 March 18, 1940 We're going to hang out the washing in the Siegfried Line Columbia FB 2314
HMV (His Masters Voice) HE 2145
Parlophone F 1547
June 12, 1940 Decca 59,013 A Dr. 3,876
March 18, 1940 On ira prendre notre linge sur la Ligne Siegfried Pathé PA 1873
June 12, 1940 I'm sending you the Siegfried Line Decca B Dr. 3,877
March 18, 1940 Adolf Columbia FB 2307
Parlophone F 1583
March 18, 1940 Charlie Kunz Wartime Piano Medley (Piano) Decca F 7277 Charlie Kunz
March 18, 1940 Prenez le temps d'aimer Gramophones F 8416
March 18, 1940 We're going to Engelland Telefunken A 10044
March 18, 1940 The cure Solor record 60 d
March 18, 1940 Warning parts 1 and 2 Solor record 33/34
March 18, 1940 Alarm in clear starry night Elite record 1861
March 18, 1940 Coldstream Guards March-Potpourri HMV B8991
March 18, 1940 Bombing March Telefunken A2946
July 27, 1940 run rabbit run Telefunken A 10085
Columbia MZ 174
Parlophone F 1546
HMV HE 2148
1941 February 15, 1941 L'internationale / par les monts et les vallées Polydor B 524371 Ensemble de chant de l'armée rouge de l'URSS
July 3, 1941 Good bye Sally HMV BD 5530
November 14, 1941 Maréchal, nous voilà In every recording and brand
1942 June 29, 1942 Bomb sull'inghilterra La voce del padrone HN 2015 Schultze-Stoepler-Frati
Inno dell'Asse Iviglia-Cremer-Carmeli
October 16, 1942 The song of the German submarine man Telefunken A 10427
November 10, 1942 Vincere Odeon 9270 Mendes Mascheroni
December 26, 1942 Adesso viene il bello Fonit 74118 Vittorio Emanuele Bravetta

Giuseppe Blanc

Telegraph and Telephone Section

The Telegraph and Telephone Section was responsible for censoring and monitoring telegraph and telephone traffic. The army command was able to commission civil and military bodies to monitor the situation. On September 2, 1939, the General Management of the PTT notified the press that telegraph and telephone traffic had been restricted. Among other things, calls and telegrams were only allowed in the four national languages ​​within Switzerland; English was also permitted for communication with other countries. Just two days later, Romansh was no longer used in international traffic. These reports were then communicated to the population via radio and newspapers. Several times, delegations reached the General Directorate of the PTT and the APF with the request to allow other languages ​​as well. These requests were partly complied with, so English was released for domestic traffic at the end of December 1939 and Spanish was allowed at least for telegraph traffic from April 1940. The PTT and the APF occasionally came to an agreement because it was not clear which organization was responsible for these permits. All telegrams - with the exception of state telegrams - were subject to censorship. The telephone calls were listened to or recorded and saved on "roles". The telegraph censorship offices were in Basel, Bern, Geneva and Zurich and the offices responsible for telephone censorship were in Basel, Bern, Geneva, Interlaken, Lausanne, Lugano, Lucerne, St. Gallen and Zurich. In addition, however, further temporary censorship offices could be opened. The Telegraph and Telephone Section did not stop working in the summer of 1945. In August 1945 the telegrams were no longer subject to pre-censorship, but to post-censorship. This means that the telegrams were transmitted and only then checked for their content. At this point in time, there were still over 600 phone surveillance. The clients for the surveillance were mainly the federal prosecutor's office, counter-espionage, the anti-illicit trafficking section, the clearing house and cantonal police authorities. The Justice and Police Department did not want to do without these surveillance operations. The general management of the PTT would have been overwhelmed with this additional monitoring. That is why the Telegraph and Telephone Section was incorporated into the Federal Department of Justice and Police in August 1945. The staff consisted of civil servants and volunteers who wanted to remain in active service. The Federal Council decreed in August: “The control of telegrams and the monitoring of telephone traffic to safeguard the internal and external security of the country and to maintain neutrality will be a special department of the federal government. Transfer of Justice and Police Departments. [...] Telephone connections of persons who are suspected of an activity directed against national interests can be monitored . "

Post section

There was no general post censorship. The section was mainly concerned with checking the foreign press and foreign mail. From June 26, 1940 she was also responsible for the censorship of interned mail. The Post Section was abolished on June 18, 1945.

Legal basis

  • Federal Constitution, Ar. 102, especially 8-10
  • Federal Council resolution of March 26, 1934 regarding measures against the abuse of freedom of the press
  • Federal Council resolution of May 27, 1938 on measures against propaganda material dangerous to the state
  • Federal Council resolution of December 5, 1938 on measures against activities dangerous to the state and for the protection of democracy
  • Ordinance of April 14, 1939 and September 2, 1939 on the handling of neutrality
  • Federal Council resolution of August 30, 1939 on measures to protect the country and maintain neutrality (power of attorney resolution)
  • Declaration of neutrality by the Federal Council of August 31, 1939
  • Federal Council resolution of September 8, 1939 on the protection of the security of the country in the area of ​​the intelligence service
  • Federal Council resolution of September 8, 1939 on the organization of the press
  • Basic decree of the APF of September 8, 1939 and the principles of press control of the APF of January 6, 1940 (both were declared binding as emergency law by the BRB of May 31, 1940.)
  • Ordinance of September 22, 1939 on safeguarding the security of the country
  • Federal Council resolution of October 3, 1939 on the export and sale of maps, plans and other depictions of terrain and their production material
  • Rules of procedure dated December 9, 1939 for the Federal Appeals Commission for the press and radio messages
  • Federal Council resolution of March 26, 1940 regarding publications on espionage cases
  • Federal Council resolution of May 31, 1940 on the surveillance of the Swiss press
  • Federal Council resolution of November 15, 1940 on the prosecution of rumors and breaches of confidentiality in the war economy
  • Federal Council resolution of December 30, 1941 on the monitoring of political, military and economic writings
  • Federal Council resolution of December 30, 1941 on the establishment of new newspapers, magazines and press and news agencies
  • Federal Council resolution of December 30, 1941 on the subordination of the APF to the BR on the army staff
  • Federal Council resolution on August 4, 1942 on criminal and procedural provisions for the protection of national defense and the security of the Confederation
  • Federal Council resolution of June 18, 1945 on the repeal of the BRB of May 31, 1940 concerning the surveillance of the Swiss press
  • Federal Council resolution of June 29, 1945 on the repeal of the BRB of December 30, 1941 concerning the surveillance of political, military or economic writings
  • Federal Council resolution of July 31, 1945 and March 18, 1946 and following on the establishment of new newspapers and magazines as well as press and news agencies
  • Federal Council resolution of September 7, 1945 on the repeal of the BRB of December 30, 1941 on the subordination of the press and radio communications department in the army staff to the BR

Role in the cold war

The staff of the Federal Council Press and Radio Department (Staff BR APF; French Etat-major du Conseil fédéral Division Presse et Radio, EM CF DIPRA ; Italian Stato maggiore del Consiglio federale Divisione Stampa e Radio, SM CF DISTRA ) was an instrument of the Swiss government for Informing the population in extraordinary situations.

history

The APF was founded in 1939. At the request of the Commander-in-Chief of the Swiss Army , General Henri Guisan , it was placed under the Justice and Police Department on February 1, 1942 , so that the Army was not involved in the censorship activities also carried out by the APF .

After the censorship section was abolished in the late 1980s, the APF moved to the Defense Department in 2000 , but was still not under the command of the army.

The APF, also known as Army Staff Group 500 , and the Information Regiment 1, which has been part of it since 1997, were dissolved on December 31, 2004.

medium

Transmitter system with extendable antenna (2018)

The organization and resources of the APF changed over time:

Until 1965 there was the war press train, a printing plant installed on railroad cars.

The APF also had the VRK / UKW77 transmission infrastructure at its disposal ( provision of radio programs in times of war ). These transmitters are so strong that they can be received by the population even in modern shelters . They are to be maintained within the framework of the IBBK-Radio project ( information of the population by the federal government in crisis situations with radio ).

literature

  • APF: Press emergency. Special instructions regarding emergency press law. Bern 1944.
  • Ulrich Bollmann, Roy Oppenheim (ed.): The voice that goes through concrete. Baden: buag, 2004. ISBN 978-3-85545-135-7
  • Braunschweig Pierre-Th .: Secret line to Berlin. The Masson-Schellenberg news line and the Swiss news service in World War II, Zurich 1989.
  • Diplomatic Documents of Switzerland, Vol. 13. - Vol. 15. (1939–1945), Bern 1991.
  • Christoph Graf: Censorship files from the time of the Second World War: an analysis of the inventory E 4450, press and radio message 1939–1945. Bern: Swiss Federal Archives , 1979.
  • Stefan A. Keller: In the area of ​​the neutral: Swiss book censorship in the Second World War between National Socialism and intellectual national defense. Zurich: Chronos, 2009. ISBN 978-3-0340-0976-8 .
  • Herkenrath, Erland: The freedom of the word. Conflicts between representatives of Swiss Protestantism and the censorship authorities during the Second World War. Zurich 1972.
  • Kistler, Marc: The book censorship of the Swiss federal authorities in the Second World War. The book trade section of the press and radio communications department (APF). Bern 1996.
  • Kreis, Georg: censorship and self-censorship. Frauenfeld 1973.
  • Lasserre, André: Switzerland, The Dark Years. Public opinion 1939–1945, Zurich 1992.
  • Schmidlin, Thomas: The pre-censorship of the press as a punitive measure against Swiss newspapers and magazines during the Second World War. (Diss.). Zurich 1993.
  • Schneider, Benno: Information of the public in extraordinary situations. The press and radio communication department, the instrument of the Federal Council. In: Allgemeine Schweizerische Militärzeitschrift (ASMZ), 145 (1979): 361–363.
  • Schoch, Jürg: 'With eyes and ears for the fatherland!'. Heer & Haus's Swiss reconnaissance service in World War II. Zurich 2015.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The press control in Switzerland during World War II . In: Historischer Verein des Kantons Solothurn (Hrsg.): Yearbook for Solothurn history . tape 75 . Solothurn 2002, p. 32-42 .
  2. ^ Christoph Graf: Censorship files from the time of the Second World War. An analysis of the inventory E 4450, press and radio message 1939–1945 . Bern 1979, p. 14-15 ( admin.ch [PDF]).
  3. ↑ Information in crisis situations is reorganized. Federal Chancellery, October 17, 2004, accessed on May 19, 2017 .
  4. ↑ Markus Bürgi: Eugen Hasler. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . November 28, 2007 , accessed June 6, 2017 .
  5. ^ Georg circle : censorship and self-censorship. Swiss press policy in the Second World War . Frauenfeld and Stuttgart 1973, p. 47-48 .
  6. ↑ Benno Schneider: Information of the public in extraordinary situations. The press and radio communication department, the instrument of the Federal Council . In: Schneider, Benno: Information of the public in extraordinary situations. The press and radio communication department, the instrument of the Federal Council. In: General Swiss Military Journal (ASMZ) . No. 145 , 1979, pp. 361-363 .
  7. ^ Christoph Graf: Censorship files from the time of the Second World War. An analysis of the inventory E 4450, press and radio message 1939-1945 . Bern 1979, p. 14-15 .
  8. ^ The press control in Switzerland during World War II. In: Historischer Verein des Kantons Solothurn (Hrsg.): Yearbook for Solothurn history . tape 75 , 2002, pp. 31 - 38 .
  9. ^ Christoph Graf: Censorship files from the time of the Second World War. An analysis of the inventory E 4450, press and radio message 1939–1945. Bern 1979, p. 22 .
  10. ^ The press control in Switzerland during World War II . In: Historischer Verein des Kantons Solothurn (Hrsg.): Yearbook for Solothurn history . tape 75 . Solothurn 2002.
  11. ^ Thomas Schmidlin: The pre-censorship of the press as a punitive measure against Swiss newspapers and magazines during the Second World War. (Diss.) . Zurich 1993, p. 30-47 .
  12. ^ The press control in Switzerland during World War II . In: Historischer Verein des Kantons Solothurn (Hrsg.): Yearbook for Solothurn history . tape 75 . Solothurn 2002.
  13. ^ Thomas Schmidlin: The pre-censorship of the press as a punitive measure against Swiss newspapers and magazines during the Second World War. (Diss.) . Zurich 1993, p. 30-47 .
  14. ^ The press control in Switzerland during World War II. In: Historischer Verein des Kantons Solothurn (Hrsg.): Yearbook for Solothurn history . tape 75 , 2002, pp. 43 .
  15. ^ Thomas Schmidlin: The pre-censorship of the press as a punitive measure against Swiss newspapers and magazines during the Second World War. (Diss.) . Zurich 1993, p. 30-47 .
  16. ^ The press control in Switzerland during World War II . In: Historischer Verein des Kantons Solothurn (Hrsg.): Yearbook for Solothurn history . tape 75 . Solothurn 2002, p. 44 .
  17. ^ The press control in Switzerland during World War II . In: Historischer Verein des Kantons Solothurn (Hrsg.): Yearbook for Solothurn history . tape 75 . Solothurn 2002.
  18. ^ Marc Kistler: The book censorship of the Swiss federal authorities in the Second World War. The book trade section of the press and radio communications department (APF) . Bern 1996, p. 35-37 .
  19. ^ Christoph Graf: Censorship files from the time of the Second World War. An analysis of the inventory E 4450, press and radio message 1939-1945 . Bern 1979, p. 20 .
  20. ^ Christoph Graf: Censorship files from the time of the Second World War. An analysis of the inventory E 4450, press and radio message 1939-1945 . Bern 1979, p. 20 .
  21. ↑ Köniz, PTT archive : T-00-B-0075-02 GD TT (09-164-05) Telephone and telegram censorship 1940, letter of March 3, 1940.
  22. ↑ Köniz, PTT archive : T-00-B-0075-02 GD TT (09-164-05) Telephone and telegram censorship 1940, letter from March 1940.
  23. ↑ Köniz, PTT archive : T-00-B-0075-02 GD TT (09-164-05) Telephone and telegram censorship 1940, letter of March 3 and 18, 1940.
  24. ↑ Köniz, PTT archive : T-00-B-0075-02 GD TT (09-164-05) Telephone and telegram censorship 1940.
  25. ↑ Köniz, PTT archive : T-00-B-0094-02 GD TT (09-164-05) Telephone and telegram censorship 1941.
  26. ↑ Köniz, PTT archive : T-00-B-0114-02 GD TT (09-164-05) Telephone and telegram censorship 1942.
  27. ↑ Federal Council Protocol : Control of Foreign Political Writings, No. 1832. September 26, 1939, accessed on May 22, 2017 .
  28. ↑ Holdings: Press and Radio Message Department (1939–1945). Dossier: Orders, directives, instructions on the implementation and organization of telegram and telephone censorship. Document: Instructions from Colonel Hasler. Swiss Federal Archives. September 4, 1939. Signature: E4450 # 1000/864 # 6069 *. link
  29. ↑ Holdings: Press and Radio Message Department (1939–1945). Dossier: Various regarding handling of telegram and telephone censorship, etc. a. Language questions in TT traffic, complaints from foreign embassies and journalists. Document: Paul Wittmer to Eduard von Steiger. Swiss Federal Archives. October 22, 1942. Signature: E4450 # 1000/864 # 7057 *. link
  30. ↑ Holdings: Press and Radio Message Department. Dossier: Various regarding handling of telegram and telephone censorship, etc. a. Language questions in TT traffic, complaints from foreign embassies and journalists. Document: Letter from Millet to Wittmer. Federal Archives Bern. 13.9.1943. Signature: E4450 # 1000/864 # 7057 *. link
  31. ↑ Holdings: Press and Radio Message Department. Dossier: Orders, directives, instructions on the implementation and organization of telegram and telephone censorship. Document: General service regulations for the telegram and telephone censorship centers. Swiss Federal Archives. 12/28/1942. Signature: E4450 # 1000/864 # 6069 *. link
  32. ↑ Federal Council Protocol : Telegram and Telephone Monitoring in the Transitional Period, No. 1881. August 7, 1945, accessed on May 22, 2017 .
  33. ^ Christoph Graf: Censorship files from the time of the Second World War. An analysis of the inventory E 4450, press and radio message 1939-1945 . Bern 1979, p. 21 .