German newspaper in Norway

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The Deutsche Zeitung in Norway was a daily newspaper with editorial headquarters in Oslo , which appeared during the Second World War from May 20, 1940, before the surrender of the last Norwegian soldiers. It was the first occupation newspaper outside of an annexed area, the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia or the Generalgouvernement, and the first such representative within a network of German occupation newspapers that spread across Europe as a result of further German conquests until it gradually disintegrated again as a result of the German defeats .

As the mouthpiece of the occupying power, the newspaper initially addressed soldiers, but also tried to address the population with articles written in Norwegian. It was able to maintain its appearance until the unconditional surrender of the Wehrmacht came into force on May 8, 1945, as the country remained occupied until then.

Foundation phase

The initiative for founding the newspaper came from Reich Commissioner Josef Terboven . He wanted a serious medium based on the model of the Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung and asked Max Amann , Reichsleiter for the press and director of the Franz-Eher-Verlag , to provide financial resources, editors and commercial-technical staff for the establishment. The required publishing and editorial rooms were rented from Aftenposten . Here, too, Rudolf Sparing , co-founder of the occupation press in Poland and of Das Reich , which was conceived as a showcase newspaper, was involved in the preparations ; he would later briefly become the first editor-in-chief of the new sister newspapers Brussels and Pariser Zeitung and finally the second and last editor-in-chief of the Reich . The Deutsche Zeitung was incorporated into Europa-Verlag, a subsidiary of Eher-Verlag, managed by Amann's subordinate, Rolf Rienhardt .

Kurt Teege , who spoke fluent Norwegian and was 27 years old at the time, was appointed editor-in-chief . He already had a number of posts behind him, after his time at National Socialist newspapers in Bremen and Breslau he had reported on the Abyssinian War and had worked as a correspondent in Prague and Warsaw . After he was expelled from Poland in May 1939 , he had been in Oslo since November 1939. Teege stayed until the end of 1941, a little shorter than the first publishing director Willi Kurtz , who also had many years of experience as a technician and editor and most recently worked in the same position at the Coburger Tageblatt .

Kurtz received instructions from Terboven to distribute the newspaper “to all people in Oslo” free of charge for the first eight days, and Amann and Rienhardt also came to Norway for a meeting. As can be seen from his diary entries, however, the start of the newspaper did not go smoothly. For the first issue, he noted: “An awful lot of errors in the DZ, first page no. 1 looks terrible. (...) Lack of correctors. Machine set bad ”. Nevertheless, the Deutsche Zeitung quickly proved to be lucrative in Norway , not least due to the fact that the occupation authorities usually guaranteed a minimum purchase of 30-40,000 copies to Amann's newspapers. It then served as a model for the Deutsche Zeitung in the Netherlands , which was followed by other occupation newspapers , but not in Denmark, which was occupied at the same time .

Concept and publishing structure

The DZ was conceived as a civil newspaper, even if its readership could actually only consist of soldiers, because another potential group was the German citizens who were already in the country before the attack, presumably in terms of numbers (around 4,500 in 1930, for 1940 no information is available). Nevertheless, one tried to reach the local population with articles in the national language, a path that was later taken even more consistently with the Pariser Zeitung . In July 1941, a special edition was published entirely in Norwegian. Rudolf Sparing made the bridging function clear again in his report for the specialist newspaper newspaper publishing house :

“Of course we also expected that Norwegians would read the paper. In it you should find a mirror and expression of German life as it really is. Finally, we set ourselves the task of treating and observing the common economic interests of Germany and Norway and the diverse historical and contemporary cultural crossover between the two countries (...) "

Sparing also reported that they had adopted specific idiosyncrasies and design principles from the Norwegian press, if they were liked. Since the newspaper was printed at Aftenposten , various external characteristics were already specified (font, format, number of columns). It appeared six times a week with an initial eight pages and the usual categories such as politics, feature pages, economy, sport and advertisements (the further development of the newspaper and its content cannot be discussed in the following due to the lack of work).

Works on the history and culture of Norway have also been published within an affiliated book publisher. For these titles as well as for the newspaper, the font was used instead of Fraktur Antiqua ; apart from the requirements imposed by printing at Aftenposten , an order had previously been issued according to which this was to apply from now on to all printed matter published abroad.

The weekly newspaper Wacht im Norden also appeared in Norway and was sent free of charge to soldiers. The German newspaper in Norway saw this as competition. Incidentally, despite this situation, the publishing house of the latter also took care of the pressure of the watch in the north .

Branch in Tromsø

Due to the difficult sales situation, which was caused by the sometimes long distances, it was decided at the end of 1940 to found an offshoot in the northern Norwegian city of Tromsø . This was supposed to start in mid-January 1941, but this date had to be postponed to February because no editors and typesetters could be found in Germany who were willing to start work this far north. Because of this, as an emergency solution, the existing editorial office of the local comrade in the north was initially used and this soldiers' newspaper was incorporated for a while as a supplement in the new German polar newspaper . However, belonging to the Deutsche Zeitung publishing house in Norway also brought advantages, because the Air Force provided a telex line to Tromsø during the night so that the newspaper's content could be kept up-to-date. The staff, consisting of 23 employees, came from various parts of the Wehrmacht, but the Deutsche Polarzeitung was to become a civil newspaper like its parent newspaper, and the complete conversion into one took until July 1943. The circulation varied between 15,000 and 17,000 copies. Following the armistice between Finland and the Soviet Union in September 1944, the newspaper was merged two months later with the Lapland-Kurier to form the new Polar-Kurier .

monitoring

According to Amman, the editors of his occupation newspapers had greater freedom than those of the German Reich, but on closer inspection there was no great difference to the latter. By mid-July 1940, the German newspaper in Norway went through military censorship at the Norway Propaganda Squadron, which also provided personnel support, after which the Wehrmacht Propaganda Officer's office took over monitoring. Like its sister papers, the newspaper was often of even greater interest to the Allied defense than that of the Reich, since it provided important information about the actions and intentions of the German occupation authorities.

Newspaper employees after the war

Willi Kurtz , the newspaper's first publishing director, had been the publishing director and co-editor of the Neue Presse at his former place of work in Coburg since 1949 . His successor Erwin Finkenzeller was responsible for the newspaper's advertising department as director within the management of the FAZ .

Kurt Teege , first editor-in-chief, did not live to see the end of the war. According to contemporary reports, he is said to have died in September 1942 as a fighter pilot and member of a propaganda company during the Battle of Stalingrad . Co-founder Rudolf Sparing died in a Russian camp in 1955.

List of publishing directors and editors-in-chief

Publishing Directors
Willi Kurtz 1940-1942
Erwin Finkenzeller 1942–?
Editor-in-chief Deutsche Zeitung i. N.
Kurt Teege 1940-1941
Hans Fritsch 1942
Robert Weiss 1942 (interim)
Hermann Baumhauer 1942-1944
k. A. 1944-1945
Editor in Chief Deutsche Polarzeitung
Lieutenant Franz Swoboda 1941
Special Leader Jacobs (interim) 1941
Rudolf father 1941-1942
Special Leader Jacobs 1942-1943
Rudolf father 1943-1944
Paul Tröger 1944
Karl H. Meyer 1944
Paul Tröger 1944

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Oron J. Hale : Press in the Straitjacket 1933-45 , Droste, Düsseldorf 1965, German translation of The captive press in the Third Reich , University Press, Princeton 1964, p. 280 and Guri Hjeltnes, Gunnar Köhne, Eckart Klaus Roloff : Pressure in the north. Nazi policy in Norway 1940-1945. In: medium , 1988 (Vol. 18), No. 2, p. 62.
  2. ^ Rudolf Sparing : This is how the "German newspaper in Norway" became. In: Zeitungs-Verlag , 1940 (vol. 41), No. 25, p. 209.
  3. ↑ On his participation in the founding of the newspaper cf. his report So became the "German newspaper in Norway". In: Zeitungs-Verlag , 1940 (vol. 41), No. 25, pp. 209–212. His previous and later posts after Rolf Falter: De Bruxelles Zeitung (1940–1944). In: Historica Lovaniensia 137, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Faculty of History), Löwen 1982, p. 49 and Andreas Laska: Presse et propaganda en France occupée: des Moniteurs officiels (1870–1871) à la Gazette des Ardennes (1914–1918) et à la Pariser Zeitung (1940-1944) . Utz , Munich 2003, ISBN 3-8316-0293-X , p. 258.
  4. ^ A b Oron J. Hale : Press in the Straitjacket 1933-45 , Droste, Düsseldorf 1965, German translation of The captive press in the Third Reich , University Press, Princeton 1964, p. 280. The Europa-Verlag was renamed the empty shell company Rheinische Verlagsanstalt (Thomas Tavernaro: The publishing house of Hitler and the NSDAP. The Franz Eher successor GmbH. Edition Praesens, Vienna 2004, ISBN 3-7069-0220-6 , p. 75).
  5. ^ Guri Hjeltnes, Gunnar Koehne, Eckart Klaus Roloff : Printing in the north. Nazi policy in Norway 1940-1945. In: medium , 1988 (Vol. 18), No. 2, p. 61.
    Oddvar Munksgaard: Gestapo-kameraten. Gyldendal, Oslo 1973, ISBN 82-05-06014-2 , p. 25.
    Duitsch journalist moet Poland. In: Het Vaderland , May 26, 1939, p. 5.
    Fliegertod des PK.manns. In: Kösliner Zeitung , 10./11. October 1942, p. 5.
  6. ↑ Universitetsbiblioteket i Oslo (ed.): Norske aviser 1763-1969. En bibliografi. 1: Alfabetisk fortegnelse. Universitetsbiblioteket i Oslo, Oslo 1973, ISBN 82-7000-028-0 , p. 110 and Walter Habel (ed.): Who is who? Arani, Berlin 1958, p. 724.
  7. ^ Guri Hjeltnes, Gunnar Koehne, Eckart Klaus Roloff : Printing in the north. Nazi policy in Norway 1940-1945. In: medium , 1988 (Vol. 18), No. 2, pp. 61-62.
  8. ↑ Quoted from Guri Hjeltnes, Gunnar Köhne, Eckart Klaus Roloff : Druck im Norden. Nazi policy in Norway 1940-1945. In: medium , 1988 (Vol. 18), No. 2, p. 62.
  9. ↑ Christoph Sauer: The German newspaper in the Netherlands , in: Markku Moilanen, Liisa Tiittula (editor): Persuasion in the press: texts, strategies, analyzes , de Gruyter, Berlin 1994, ISBN 978-3-11-014346-1 , P. 198.
  10. ↑ Oron J. Hale : Press in the Straitjacket 1933-45 , Droste, Düsseldorf 1965, German translation of The captive press in the Third Reich , University Press, Princeton 1964, pp. 280-281, footnote 8.
  11. ↑ a b Heinz-Werner Eckhardt: The front newspapers of the German army 1939-1945 . Wilhelm Braumüller Universitäts-Verlagsbuchhandlung, Vienna / Stuttgart 1975 (= series of publications by the Institute for Journalism at the University of Vienna; Volume 1), ISBN 3-7003-0080-8 , p. 41 and Louis de Jong : The German Fifth Column in World War II . Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1959 (German edition by De Duitse Vijfde Colonne in de Tweede Wereldoorlog . Van Loghum Slaterus / JM Meulenhoff, Arnheim / Amsterdam 1953. Dissertation Amsterdam 1953. Online edition ( PDF )), p. 173.
  12. ↑ Christoph Sauer: The intrusive text: Language policy and Nazi ideology in the "Deutsche Zeitung in the Netherlands" . Springer, Berlin 2013, ISBN 3-8244-4285-X (first published by Deutsches Universitätsverlag, Wiesbaden 1998. Dissertation Amsterdam 1990), p. 272, footnote 124.
  13. ↑ Universitetsbiblioteket i Oslo (ed.): Norske aviser 1763-1969. En bibliografi. 1: Alfabetisk fortegnelse. Universitetsbiblioteket i Oslo, Oslo 1973, ISBN 82-7000-028-0 , p. 110.
  14. ^ Rudolf Sparing : This is how the "German newspaper in Norway" became. In: Zeitungs-Verlag , 1940 (vol. 41), No. 25, p. 210.
  15. ^ Rudolf Sparing : This is how the "German newspaper in Norway" became. In: Zeitungs-Verlag , 1940 (Vol. 41), No. 25, pp. 210-211.
  16. ^ Edelgard Bühler, Hans-Eugen Bühler: The front book trade 1939-1945. Organizations, competencies, publishers, books - a documentation. Booksellers Association, Frankfurt am Main 2002, ISBN 3-7657-2500-5 , p. 67.
  17. ↑ Otto Thomae: The Propaganda Machine. Fine arts a. Public relations in the Third Reich. Mann, Berlin 1978, ISBN 3-7861-1159-6 , pp. 183-185. At the same time dissertation Berlin 1976.
  18. ↑ Heinz-Werner Eckhardt: The front newspapers of the German army 1939-1945 . Wilhelm Braumüller Universitäts-Verlagsbuchhandlung, Vienna / Stuttgart 1975 (= series of publications by the Institute for Journalism at the University of Vienna; Volume 1), ISBN 3-7003-0080-8 , p. 39.
  19. ↑ Heinz-Werner Eckhardt: The front newspapers of the German army 1939-1945 . Wilhelm Braumüller Universitäts-Verlagsbuchhandlung, Vienna / Stuttgart 1975 (= series of publications by the Institute for Journalism at the University of Vienna; Volume 1), ISBN 3-7003-0080-8 , pp. 39–40.
  20. ↑ Heinz-Werner Eckhardt: The front newspapers of the German army 1939-1945 . Wilhelm Braumüller Universitäts-Verlagsbuchhandlung, Vienna / Stuttgart 1975 (= series of publications by the Institute for Journalism at the University of Vienna; Volume 1), ISBN 3-7003-0080-8 , pp. 38 and 40.
  21. ↑ Heinz-Werner Eckhardt: The front newspapers of the German army 1939-1945 . Wilhelm Braumüller Universitäts-Verlagsbuchhandlung, Vienna / Stuttgart 1975 (= series of publications by the Institute for Journalism at the University of Vienna; Volume 1), ISBN 3-7003-0080-8 , pp. 41–42.
  22. ↑ Heinz-Werner Eckhardt: The front newspapers of the German army 1939-1945 . Wilhelm Braumüller Universitäts-Verlagsbuchhandlung, Vienna / Stuttgart 1975 (= series of publications by the Institute for Journalism at the University of Vienna; Volume 1), ISBN 3-7003-0080-8 , pp. 43–45.
  23. ↑ a b Oron J. Hale : Press in the Straitjacket 1933-45 , Droste, Düsseldorf 1965, German translation of The captive press in the Third Reich , University Press, Princeton 1964, p. 281.
  24. ↑ Heinz-Werner Eckhardt: The front newspapers of the German army 1939-1945 . Wilhelm Braumüller Universitäts-Verlagsbuchhandlung, Vienna / Stuttgart 1975 (= series of publications by the Institute for Journalism at the University of Vienna; Volume 1), ISBN 3-7003-0080-8 , pp. 37–38.
  25. ^ Friedemann Siering: Newspaper for Germany. The founding generation of the Frankfurter Allgemeine. In: Lutz Hachmeister, Friedemann Siering (ed.): The gentlemen journalists. The elite of the German press after 1945. Munich 2002, ISBN 3-406-47597-3 , p. 54.
  26. ↑ Aviation death of the PK man. In: Kösliner Zeitung , 10./11. October 1942, p. 5 and Not returned ... On the death of colleague Kurt Teege. In: Deutsche Zeitung in the Netherlands , October 9, 1942, p. 5.
  27. ↑ Erika Martens: For example, "Das Reich". On the phenomenology of the press in the totalitarian regime. Verlag Wissenschaft und Politik, Cologne 1972, ISBN 3-8046-8459-9 , p. 74.
  28. ↑ Walter Habel (Ed.): Who is who? Arani, Berlin 1958, p. 724.
  29. ^ Friedemann Siering: Newspaper for Germany. The founding generation of the Frankfurter Allgemeine. In: Lutz Hachmeister, Friedemann Siering (ed.): The gentlemen journalists. The elite of the German press after 1945. Munich 2002, ISBN 3-406-47597-3 , p. 54.
  30. ↑ a b Universitetsbiblioteket i Oslo (ed.): Norske aviser 1763-1969. En bibliografi. 1: Alfabetisk fortegnelse. Universitetsbiblioteket i Oslo, Oslo 1973, ISBN 82-7000-028-0 , p. 110.

Remarks

  1. ↑ Probably identical to the sports journalist and chess master Paul Tröger , which is particularly indicated by the doctoral degree in both of them.