Army Group Press

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Under Heeres- or army group newspapers (in the Soviet sphere Front newspapers ) are military newspapers understood the German after the occupation and Austrian (but just as well as Italian and Japanese) areas by the propaganda units Allied issued troops since the end of 1944 in the language of the occupied country. In the beginning they were only aimed at the opposing troops, but with the advance on German and Austrian territory they were mainly aimed at the civilian population. The editors were individual larger military units, army or army groups or fronts . In these armies there were special departments for propaganda and psychological warfare , which dealt not only with newspapers, but also with radio, book and theater.

The army group newspapers had the task of informing the population, but at the same time also to promote confidence, to break the will to resist and thus to facilitate the occupation work for the troops. Later, when the publishing of the newspapers was transferred from the fighting army groups to the military administration entrusted with occupation tasks, political re-education and the call for reconstruction were added as essential tasks . The newspapers tried to achieve this by bringing news about the successes of Allied troops, reporting on the reconstruction successes in other regions or by letting previously ostracized writers have their say in the feature pages. Official announcements that repealed Nazi laws and issued new orders were also important. Another task in Austria was to promote an independent national consciousness and to drive out "Pan-Germanic" ideas from the population. Similar military newspapers were briefly distributed by the Allies during their advance in other countries in liberated Europe.

The newspapers only appeared temporarily for a few weeks or a few months, depending on the occupying power. A number of German and Austrian daily newspapers emerged from them (see licensed newspapers ), which still occupy a leading position today.

American Army Group Press

The Braunschweiger Bote ,
No. 1 from May 4, 1945
First edition of the Ruhr Zeitung on May 12, 1945

The 6th and 12th American Army Group were active in Germany, and their Psychological Warfare Division published army group newspapers. While these newspapers were initially simply called Mitteilungen and had a supraregional distribution area, from the beginning of April a regional army group press was created, which appeared in those larger cities that were located in the area occupied by US troops south of a line Osnabrück-Braunschweig.

The 12th American Army Group published the following regional newspapers:

  • Kölnischer Kurier , April 2, 1945–16. June 1945, then handed over to the advancing British;
  • Frankfurter Presse , April 21, 1945–26. July 1945, then given to German publishers as Frankfurter Rundschau ;
  • Hessische Post (Kassel), April 28, 1945-22. September 1945, then handed over to German publishers as Hessische Allgemeine (today Hessische / Niedersächsische Allgemeine / (HNA));
  • Braunschweiger Bote , May 4, 1945–8. June 1945, then handed over to the British who followed, who stopped running the newspaper due to a lack of paper;
  • Ruhr Zeitung (Essen), May 12, 1945–16. June 1945, then handed over to the advancing British;
  • Bavarian Day (Bamberg), May 19, 1945–13. November 1945, later given to German publishers as Franconian Day ;
  • Münchner Zeitung , June 9, 1945–6. October 1945, then handed over to German publishers as Süddeutsche Zeitung ;
  • Süddeutsche Mitteilungen (Heidelberg), June 16, 1945–1. September 1945, then given to German publishers as Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung ;
  • Weser Bote (Bremen), June 23, 1945–15. September 1945, then handed over to German publishers as Weser-Kurier ;
  • Regensburg Post , June 29, 1945–16. October 1945, then given to German publishers as Mittelbayerische Zeitung ;
  • Augsburger Anzeiger , July 13, 1945–23. October 1945, then handed over to German publishers as Schwäbische Landeszeitung (from 1959 Augsburger Allgemeine );
  • Stuttgart Voice , August 3, 1945-14. September 1945, then handed over to German publishers as the Stuttgarter Zeitung .

The 6th Army Group published the news sheet Die Mitteilungen from April 14 to September 1, 1945 , which had also appeared in a regional edition in Heidelberg in May. The Bayerische Landeszeitung was published between May 18 and June 1, 1945, and the press activities of the 12th Army Group were later transferred.

These newspapers appeared once or twice a week and had a circulation between 150,000 ( Weser Bote ) and over a million ( Hessische Post ). On average, there was one newspaper for every five residents.

British Army Group Press

On the British side, the 21st Army Group initially published the supraregional reports and later the regional Army Group newspapers. When the British took over their actual area of ​​occupation (see zone of occupation ), they also took over some of the US Army newspapers.

It appeared:

  • Hamburger Nachrichtenblatt , May 9, 1945–28. March 1946, then discontinued;
  • Lübecker Nachrichtenblatt , May 10, 1945–28. March 1946, then given to German publishers as Lübecker Nachrichten and Lübecker Freie Presse (discontinued May 30, 1957);
  • Flensburger Nachrichtenblatt , May 11, 1945–28. March 1946, then given to German publishers as Flensburger Tageblatt ;
  • Neue Westfälische Zeitung (Oelde), May 19, 1945–30. July 1946, then in Bielefeld publication of various party-affiliated newspapers;
  • New Hannoverscher Kurier , May 29, 1945–16. July 1946, then publication of various German party-affiliated newspapers;
  • Nordwest-Nachrichten (Oldenburg), June 2, 1945–24. April 1946, then given to German publishers as Nordwest-Zeitung ;
  • Hannoversches Nachrichtenblatt , June 2, 1945–31. May 1946, then discontinued;
  • Neues Oldenburger Tageblatt , June 6, 1945–31. May 1946, then discontinued;
  • Kieler Nachrichtenblatt , June 4, 1945–30. March 1946, then handed over to German publishers as Kieler Nachrichten , Norddeutsches Echo (discontinued August 12, 1956) and Schleswig-Holsteinische Volkszeitung (discontinued 1974);
  • Neue Hamburger Presse , June 9, 1945–30. March 1946, then publication of various German party-affiliated newspapers;
  • Kölnischer Kurier , April 1945–26. February 1946, taken over by the US troops withdrawing into their occupation zone , in the end handed over to German publishers as Kölnische Rundschau and Rheinische Zeitung (discontinued in 1951) and Volksstimme (discontinued on August 17, 1956);
  • Ruhr Zeitung (Essen / Dortmund), June 23, 1945–27. February 1946, taken over by the US troops withdrawing into their occupation zone, finally handed over to German publishers as Rhein Ruhr Zeitung and Westfälische Rundschau ;
  • Neue Rheinische Zeitung (Düsseldorf), June 18, 1945–27. February 1946, then transferred to German publishers as Rheinische Post und Freiheit ;
  • Lübeck Post , July 25, 1945–30. March 1946, then given to German publishers as Lübecker Nachrichten and Lübecker Freie Presse (discontinued May 30, 1957);
  • Kieler Kurier , July 25, 1945–30. June 1946, then handed over to German publishers as Kieler Nachrichten , Norddeutsches Echo (discontinued August 12, 1956) and Schleswig-Holsteinische Volkszeitung (discontinued 1957);
  • Der Berliner , August 2, 1945–1. May 1946, then in favor of the Telegraf (discontinued on June 30, 1972) and the Spandauer Volksblatt (discontinued on June 24, 1994 or converted into an advertising paper);
  • Lüneburg Post , August 6, 1945–11. January 1946, then handed over to German publishers as the Lüneburger Landeszeitung (today the Landeszeitung für die Lüneburger Heide );
  • Norddeutsche Zeitung (Hamburg), 14. – 20. September 1945, then discontinued;
  • Braunschweiger Neue Presse , October 12, 1945–7. January 1946, then given to German publishers as the Braunschweiger Zeitung ;
  • Osnabrücker Rundschau , March 1, 1946–15. September 1946, then handed over to German publishers as Neues Tageblatt (today Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung ).

The circulation ranged between 12,000 and a million copies, which also meant around five residents per newspaper.

Soviet Army Group Press

The Soviet Army Groups (" Fronts ") only published one or two newspapers (" Frontzeitungen ") at a time.

  • The Deutsche Zeitung , the front newspaper of the 2nd Belorussian Front , appeared from May 20 to June 10, 1945 in Stettin with the distribution area Mecklenburg and Western Pomerania . Subsequently, the Soviet editorial staff was relocated to Liegnitz in Silesia , where it published a newspaper with the same title Deutsche Zeitung until autumn 1946 , which began again with number 1 and was now subtitled Published by the Red Army for the German population wore.
  • The daily newspaper for the German population , the newspaper of the 1st Ukrainian Front , was published in Dresden and appeared from May 22 to August 1, 1945 in the Saxony area.
  • The Berliner Zeitung was published by the 1st Belorussian Front from May 21 to June 21, 1945 and then handed over to the Berlin magistrate. It still appears today.
  • The Daily Rundschau - also produced by the 1st Belorussian Front - appeared in Brandenburg from May 15, 1945, from summer 1945 - no longer a front newspaper - it became the central supraregional organ of the Soviet Military Administration in Germany ( SMAD ), the highest occupation authority . The Daily Rundschau was published throughout the GDR until June 30, 1955.

The circulation of the Soviet front newspapers was between 50,000 and 200,000 copies. These newspapers were preceded by news papers published by the army groups, which were simply called news or news papers (for the German population) .

French occupation

In the French sphere of influence there was no army group press, as the French troops did not enter German soil as a separate army group, but fought within the US army groups. Instead, local and national military commanders published their own newspapers and newsletters, for example:

  • the Gazette officielle du Gouvernement Militaire du pays de Bade (Zone Française) ,
  • the Bulletin d'information de la ville et du Landkreis de Loerrach / Mitteilungs-Blatt for the city and the Landkreis Lörrach or
  • the Informations du Gouvernement Militaire de Friborg ville et campagne / Communications of the military government of Freiburg city and country .

Originally founded as a newspaper that was only supposed to print official notices, these papers soon began regular reporting.

Army group press in Austria

In Austria , too , which had belonged to the German Reich as " Ostmark " from 1938 , after the liberation or the establishment of zones of occupation by the Allies, army group newspapers were founded, from which some Austrian daily newspapers that are still in existence today developed.

The US Army founded the Austrian Courier on May 30, 1945 in Salzburg , which was replaced after three issues on June 7, 1945 by the (still published) Salzburger Nachrichten , and on June 11, 1945 the Upper Austrian (also still published) News handed over to Austrian publishers on October 23 and October 8, 1945. The Tiroler Tageszeitung , founded on June 21, 1945, was handed over to the French army advancing into its occupation zone on July 9, 1945. In the Austrian capital, on August 27, the US troops finally founded the Wiener Kurier , "Published by the American armed forces for the people of Vienna". The newspaper was converted into a weekly newspaper on October 16 and discontinued on July 2, 1955. Two days after the daily publication frequency was discontinued, the Austrian owners published the Neue Kurier as a replacement .

The British 8th Army took over on July 22, 1945 after the Red Army had cleared the Styria and retreated into their own zone of occupation, the Austrians operated by New Styrian newspaper and turned it into an army group newspaper. As early as May 16, 1945, the army founded the Kärntner Nachrichten , after the bulletin had been published . Both army group newspapers were closed on December 31, 1945. From September 18, 1945, the world press also appeared , "Published by the British World News Service". The last British-owned edition came out on August 31, 1950, the paper was then sold and finally discontinued in 1958.

The 3rd Ukrainian Front published the Austrian newspaper for the first time on April 15, 1945 , "Frontzeitung für die Menschen Österreichs", which became the official organ of the Soviet occupying power on August 23, 1945 and was set on July 31, 1955.

When the French armed forces took over their occupation zone on July 9, 1945, the Tyrolean daily newspaper was taken over by the British and gradually handed over to Austrian hands on February 8, 1946 (the newspaper is still published today). Except for the daily newspaper Welt am Abend , which was only founded in Vienna on October 1, 1946 , the French military administration did not set up any German-language newspapers. Die Welt am Abend was taken over on March 1, 1948 by the SPÖ -nahen Welt am Montag newspaper publishing company and was discontinued a little later (on October 30, 1948).

(See also Austrian post-war media )

Army group press in Italy

As in the German Reich, the Allied troops also published army group newspapers during the conquest of Italy . The beginning was made in August 1943 with the newspaper Sicilia Liberata from Catania, which was published until November 1944 . Such newspapers were also distributed in other areas: Corriere di Roma , Giornale lombardo in Milan , Giornale alleato in Trieste , Corriere alleato in Turin , Corriere del Mattino in Florence , Risorgimento in Naples , Giornale di Brindisi , Giornale di Salerno , Giornale di Palermo , Corriere Alleato and later Corriere Ligure in Genoa .

Army group press in France

In France, newspapers initiated and controlled by Anglo-American propaganda units were only initially distributed, as local newspaper publishers soon appeared on the scene. As a weekly newspaper was published as early as June 23, 1944, and so soon after the Allied landing in Normandy on June 6 in Bayeux , the newsletter La Renaissance Du Bessin , from 3 July in Cherbourg then the daily newspaper La Presse Cherbourgeoise , both little later passed completely into French hands. The press Cherbourgeoise was driven out after the liberation of other French areas in the surrounding area. Since the logistical problems became too great with the conquest of further regions, the Allied troops only published wall newspapers afterwards. Before the Allied conquest, the British Royal Air Force dropped the newspaper Le Courrier de L'air from 1941 on France .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See World War II War Diaries, 1941-1945, Rep of ops in the invasion of Normandy, France, 10/20/43 - 8/1/44, p. 515; The Psychological Warfare Division, Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force: An Account of its Operations in the Western European Campaign, 1944-1945. Bad Homburg 1945, p. 59.
  2. ^ Tim Brooks: British Propaganda to France, 1940-1944: Machinery, Method and Message. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007, pp. 45ff.

literature

  • Elisabeth Matz: The newspapers of the US Army for the German population (1944-1946). (= Studies on Journalism, Vol. 12.) Münster: Verlag CJ Fahle, 1969
  • Stefan Matysiak: The British Army Group newspapers and the rebirth of the Lower Saxony local press 1945/46. In: Osnabrücker Mitteilungen, Vol. 107/2002, pp. 233-251.
  • Stefan Matysiak: The development of the East German daily press after 1945. Break or transition? Göttingen: Dissertation 2004 ( as pdf );
  • Gabrielle Melischek / Josef Seethaler: The Viennese daily newspapers. Frankfurt / M. u. a .: Peter Lang Verlag 1999.
  • Alejandro Pizarroso Quintero: Stampa, radio e propaganda. Gli alleati in Italia 1943-1946. Milan: F. Angeli 1989, ISBN 88-204-3499-7
  • The Psychological Warfare Division, Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force: An Account of its Operations in the Western European Campaign, 1944-1945. Bad Homburg 1945.

Web links

See also