Germany broadcaster (GDR)

This article deals with the German broadcaster, which was now also called the voice of the GDR . The Deutschlandsender is not to be confused with the Deutschlandfunk or the Deutschlandsender transmission systems near Königs Wusterhausen, which were destroyed in 1945

Deutschlandsender was the radio program of the State Committee for Broadcasting of the GDR .

Frequencies

From January 1946 on, a German-language radio program called Deutschlandsender was broadcast for the first time from the area of ​​the Soviet occupation zone . It was broadcast on the long wave frequency of 191 kHz from the historic transmitter location in Königs Wusterhausen, 20 kilometers southeast of Berlin city center. With a transmission power of 100 kW, the station was powerful enough to be heard all over Germany.

The aim of the programs from the very beginning was to broadcast for all of Germany.

From March to August 1950 the German broadcaster could not be heard on long wave because the GDR , which had been founded in the meantime, no longer had any long wave frequency available after the Copenhagen Wave Plan came into force . Since the surrounding countries hardly adhered to the treaty, the GDR took the right to broadcast the German station on 263 kHz long wave from August 1, 1950. The shortwave frequencies 6115 and 7150 kHz used in the meantime have been retained.

At the end of 1953, after the completion of the new broadcasting center in Burg (near Magdeburg) , the Deutschlandsender was able to broadcast on medium wave for the first time. The frequency 782 kHz with 250 kW was used for this. At the same time, the long wave was switched to 185 kHz and the short wave frequencies to 6185 and 9730 kHz. In the course of 1954, shortwave transmission was limited to 6115 kHz.

The year 1959 brought serious frequency changes for the German broadcaster. First, the newly installed 500 kW transmitter in Zehlendorf near Oranienburg was put into operation for long wave , but it continued to use the 185 kHz frequency. Medium wave operation was then expanded to include the new frequencies 692 kHz (from Wachenbrunn ) and 728 kHz (from Schwerin ). Both locations were particularly suitable for broadcasting in the Federal Republic. In 1959 the German broadcaster began broadcasting on VHF. In 1962 the transmission power of the Zehlendorf long wave was increased again to 750 kW. When the program of the German broadcaster was discontinued in 1971, it had the following frequencies:

• Long wave: Zehlendorf 185 kHz
• Medium wave: Schwerin 728 kHz, Burg 782 kHz, Suhl 692 kHz
• Shortwave: 7185 kHz, 6115 kHz
• VHF: Berlin 97.65 MHz, Brocken 97.4 MHz, Dequede 98.9 MHz, Dresden I 97.25 MHz, Inselsberg 97.15 MHz, Karl-Marx-Stadt 97.03 MHz, Leipzig 96.6 MHz, Marlow 96.65 MHz, Schwerin 95.25 MHz, Sonneberg 94.2 MHz

program

The German broadcaster's program was designed as a full program from the start. Messages were initially sent every two hours, later every hour. In addition, news magazines such as Zeitfunk am Morgen and Mit dem Funk durch die Zeit were added later . The claim to broadcast for all of Germany was underpinned with programs such as News from West Germany , We speak for West Germany or From Germany's Capital . Magazine programs were produced for the GDR population on the subjects of working life, economy, agriculture and science. Children's radio, school radio and youth radio were broadcast for the young listeners. Music programs that included all categories took up a large part of the daily program of the German broadcaster.

Program for Friday, November 12th, 1971
(excerpt):

08.05	Just between us
09.05	From opera and ballet
10.20	Melody and rhythm
11.30	Songs and dances
12.10	Entertainment at noon
14.15	One to the other
May 15	Singer portrait
16.05	Schlager cocktail
17.00	With the radio through time
19.00	Music Express
21.15	Violins invite
10/22	International politics
22.25	Famous soloists
05/23	Thoughts at the time
23.25	Contemporary music

At the beginning of the 1970s, GDR policy said goodbye to the idea of ​​a unified Germany, the demarcation from the Federal Republic had reached its climax. All designations relating to Germany were gradually erased in all areas; Exceptions were the daily newspaper "Neues Deutschland" and the party "Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands" (SED). In the course of this, the radio program “Deutschlandsender” was also discontinued. It was replaced on November 15, 1971 by merging with the “Berliner Welle” program by the new “ Voice of the GDR ” program .

literature

• Siegfried Hermann, Wolf Kahle, Joachim Kniestedt: Der deutsche Rundfunk , ISBN 3-7685-2394-2 , p. 174 ff.
• Klaus Arnold: Cold War in the ether. The German broadcaster and the GDR's western propaganda. Lit, Münster 2002, ISBN 3-8258-6180-5 .
• Ansgar Diller: Broadcasting in Germany III. Broadcasting policy after 1945 I. 1945–1962. DTV, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-423-03185-9 .

Web links

• New Germany daily newspaper, years 1946–1971 at zefys.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de
• Station data at oldtimeradio.de

Individual evidence

1. ↑ oldtimeradio.de: Sender Leipzig-Wiederau