Germany calling
Germany calling was during the Second World War to propaganda equipped and in about 30 languages on shortwave transmitting international broadcasting service from Germany . The programs were initially produced in Berlin and from 1943 in Stuttgart . The broadcasts were mostly recorded on wax plates and sent to the shortwave stations. At the end of 1940, 500 people were employed in foreign language radio and 147 hours of programming were produced every day. The station announcement read: Germany calling! Here are the Reichssender Hamburg, station Bremen . In fact, it was not broadcast from Bremen, but from the secret station Osterloog .
The establishment of this service was initiated by the then Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels . The target group of the programs were in particular listeners in Great Britain and the USA , but also in all other parts of the world. The English- language programs have meanwhile achieved a certain popularity with allegedly up to six million listeners in Great Britain alone, which, however, quickly declined in the course of the war.
The main components of the English-language program were news and initially jazz music , which, however, increasingly caused displeasure among high-ranking National Socialists . Charlie and His Orchestra in particular achieved particular fame . Various moderators, known by the contemptuous nickname " Lord Haw-Haw " , appeared as speakers . Sometimes prisoners of war were given the opportunity to send greetings back home personally. Since the names were announced in advance, this increased the attention of the English-speaking listeners, as many families were waiting for news from their relatives.
Web links
- Deutschlandfunk through the swing band Charlie and His Orchestra
- mp3 recordings by Charlie and His Orchestra
- Original recordings from Germany Calling at Archive.org
Individual evidence
- ↑ Propaganda recordings ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://www.rundfunk-nostalgie.de/sendero.html
