Herbert Geßner

Herbert A. Geßner (often written as Gessner ; * May 14, 1920 in Munich ; † January 6 or 7, 1956 in Berlin , GDR ) was a German political radio commentator who moved from the American to the Soviet zone to Berlin in 1947 out of political conviction Radio changed.

Life

Geßner was born on May 14, 1920 as the son of the miner Arno Geßner and his wife Lina in Munich. He attended secondary school and was temporarily a member of the Hitler Youth . He had to give up his mechanical engineering studies after discovering his now opposing attitude towards the Hitler regime . He went on to private studies, which he financed with temporary work at Munich Central Station until he was called up for military service on the Eastern Front in October 1939 . In 1943 he was transferred to a penal company for " decomposing military strength " . There was no trial because his unit collapsed outside Stalingrad and all documents were lost. He deserted from the penal company in December 1944. As a wounded man, he joined a resistance group belonging to the FAB ( Freedom Action Bavaria ) in February 1945 in the Nymphenburg hospital of the Barmherzige Brüder .

After the end of the war, Geßner proved himself to be an analyst of world events in a letter to his favorite BBC commentator, Lindley Fraser, which is why the letter was forwarded to the staff responsible for building up the broadcasting system in Munich, which Geßner hired on July 9, 1945. At Radio Munich he was initially responsible for the morning news and the weather report, but in September 1945 he received his own program Comment on Time , which was broadcast twice a week. On May 1, 1946, he joined the SED . In the course of 1946 he met Michael Storm (the pseudonym Markus Wolfs ) who was employed by the Berlin radio at the Nuremberg war crimes trials . This contact should soon become important for Geßner. At the same time, he got the feeling that he was working in the wrong place. His sharp criticism of the lax denazification practice of Dr. Anton Pfeiffer rubbed him down so much that he voluntarily retired from service at the end of November 1946.

He was gladly accepted by the Berlin radio. On February 1, 1947, he continued his political mission there under Soviet supervision. He was the first of a series of fellow commentators who followed at short intervals, including (from Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk in Cologne) Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler , who would later become more famous , the figurehead of Hessian broadcasting , Helmut Schneider, and culture editor Günther Cwojdrak from Hamburg , the economic expert Karl Gass (like Schnitzler from Cologne's NWDR) and the editor -in- chief Karl-Georg Egel, who is fleeing from difficulties in Munich . The aforementioned formed the core of the weekly discussion series Treffpunkt Berlin , which was led by Markus Wolf alias Michael Storm until he was appointed Ambassador to Moscow . It first went on air on January 1, 1948. In July of the same year Geßner graduated from the SED cadre school. In 1950 he went on a lecture tour through Bavarian cities, which was organized by the Society for the Study of the Soviet Union , which met with harsh criticism in the southern German press. The years 1950 and 1951 were not easy for Geßner, because he came into the focus of the state security . Among other things, he had complained that the prescribed reproductions of complete speeches by party functionaries , were counterproductive because they drove the receiver only to the transmitters of which one would they actually keep. He was only allowed to go back to work in August 1951, but was under Stasi surveillance.

In the aftermath of the June 17 events, Geßner wrote a broadcast manuscript on July 2, 1953 in which undesirable developments in radio work should be openly stated. He was reprimanded and his text censored, but the toned down statement sent on July 8th contained severe criticism of the radio makers. There was talk of problem-suppressing whitewashing, a lack of self-reflection and journalistic amateurism. Von Schnitzler followed suit on July 11th. Their efforts did not fundamentally change the structure of the state, with its intrinsic mouthpiece role. The insignificant changes in the program scheme were referred to as "re-profiling" and had already been initiated on June 25, before the commentator offensive. It was up to Geßner and von Schnitzler to acknowledge their alleged wrong path and to distance themselves from their proposals. They avoided worse consequences. In the following years, both of them consolidated the legend of the failed fascist coup attempt on June 17, 1953 in numerous radio commentaries .

In October 1953 Herbert Geßner was accepted into the Writers ' Association after the association had delayed for some time. Until July 1955 he was active in agitation by radio and magazine articles. Why not beyond that is unclear. His death on the night of January 6th to 7th, 1956, occurred under mysterious circumstances. According to official reports from the state intelligence service ADN , the death occurred after a "prolonged illness". He was married without children.

reception

In the Western program he presented himself as a resolute anti-fascist, which earned him the charge of being too “Russian-friendly”. His zeal in exposing those who remained unmolested was his undoing. Furthermore, he wanted to introduce young people to democracy and personal responsibility. Nonetheless, his comments “can be read today as a compendium of post-Nazi and pre-restorative tendencies in Germany in 1946”. On broadcasting in the Soviet-occupied zone, his main focus was on the progressive integration of the three other occupation zones into the West. As a listener survey in the fall of 1946 revealed, Geßner enjoyed broad approval among workers and craftsmen, but was met with deep rejection from students. Professional colleagues recognized his extraordinary journalistic talent, but increasingly noted a loss of style and level due to his left fanaticism drifting into hatefulness. After his geographical change of side, his pointed manner made him the listener's favorite of the population under Soviet influence as well as the favorite of the SED functionaries who gave him propaganda assignments. He called himself not only a journalist, but also a politician.

Excerpt from comments

“Anyone who advocates a certain policy, whoever is convinced of it - and only rags represent a policy of which they are not convinced - also wants to convince those he addresses of this policy and win them over. We make no secret of this either - and when I make my comments, it is not to win supporters for the policies of Herr Müller-Jabusch or the American military government, but for the camp that I represent and to convince them that our cause is is just and that the future belongs to her ... But we find it, frankly, insincere and hideous when certain colleagues want us or their listeners and readers to believe that they are hovering over events like a god and are where they inevitably either have to be for or against something, 'objective'. Let them honestly say that they are for capitalism and against socialism, for the employers and against the workers, for the American fascist government in Greece and against the freedom struggle of the Greek people, for the war plans of the transatlantic atomic bombs. Specialists for the degradation of the masses in West Germany to the role of mercenaries and cannon fodder in the plans of the new warmongers - let them at least say that honestly. We will of course fight them with the means that are given to radio; we will also then regard them as reactionaries: but at least as reactionaries who make no secret of their convictions. "

Fonts

Herbert Geßner: Comments . tape 1 . Freitag-Verlag, Munich 1946.
Herbert Geßner: Comments . tape 2 . Freitag-Verlag, Munich 1946.
Herbert Geßner: The gray racket . General German Publishing House, Berlin 1949.
Herbert Geßner: Stalin's writings. A maximum of popularity and simplicity . Dietz Verlag , Berlin 1952.

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Herbert Geßner . Political commentator for the Berliner Rundfunk. In: Munzinger-Archiv GmbH (Hrsg.): Internationales Biographisches Archiv - Personen current . Munzinger-Archiv GmbH, January 23, 1956, ISSN 0020-9457 ( munzinger.de ).
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Veronika Diem: Attention, attention! The broadcaster of the Freedom Action Bavaria speaks ... The FAB won the power of government tonight. The Bavarian Freedom Campaign - uprising against the Nazi regime . In: House of Bavarian History (Ed.): Edition Bavaria . Rebels - visionaries - democrats. About resistance in Bavaria. Special issue, no. 6 . Verlag Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-7917-2571-0 , Resistance against the Nazi dictatorship, p. 144–148 ( hdbg.de - subsection “Herbert Gessner - From Soldier to Political Commentator”, p. 147 f.).
^ ^A ^b Rüdiger Bolz: Radio and literature under American control. The program offered by Radio Munich 1945–1949 (= book scholarly contributions from the German Book Archive Munich . Volume 26 ). Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1991, ISBN 3-447-02869-6 , The first generation of employees, p. 50 .
^ Rüdiger Bolz: Radio and literature under American control. The program offered by Radio Munich 1945–1949 (= book scholarly contributions from the German Book Archive Munich . Volume 26 ). Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1991, ISBN 3-447-02869-6 , The first generation of employees, p. 50 f .
^ Rüdiger Bolz: Radio and literature under American control. The program offered by Radio Munich 1945–1949 (= book scholarly contributions from the German Book Archive Munich . Volume 26 ). Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1991, ISBN 3-447-02869-6 , The first generation of employees, p. 51 .
↑ Horst Heydeck: Motor of the New. Probation in the anti-fascist upheaval . In: State Committee for Broadcasting at the Council of Ministers of the GDR (ed.): Contributions to the history of broadcasting. Broadcasting of the GDR . No. 2/1973 . Verlag des Lektorats Rundfunkgeschichte, Berlin May 18, 1973, p. 64-69 .
^ Rüdiger Bolz: Radio and literature under American control. The program offered by Radio Munich 1945–1949 (= book scholarly contributions from the German Book Archive Munich . Volume 26 ). Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1991, ISBN 3-447-02869-6 , possibilities of new freedom of expression, p. 104 ff .
^ Heinz H. Schmidt: Director of the Democratic Broadcasting in West Berlin 1947 to 1949 . In: State Committee for Broadcasting at the Council of Ministers of the GDR (ed.): Contributions to the history of broadcasting. Series of publications of the GDR radio . No. 2/1975 . Verlag des Lektorats Rundfunkgeschichte, Berlin October 10, 1975, “Everyone hears the Berliner Rundfunk”, p. 5–19 (the article under the Treatise category has no real title).
↑ Lektorat Rundfunkgeschichte: Historically important data for the program-political work of the radio in the GDR . In: State Committee for Broadcasting at the Council of Ministers of the GDR (ed.): Contributions to the history of broadcasting. Series of publications of the GDR radio . No. 1/1982 . Verlag des Lektorats Rundfunkgeschichte, March 30, 1982, ISSN 0138-113X , p. 61-72 .
^ Rüdiger Bolz: Radio and literature under American control. The program offered by Radio Munich 1945–1949 (= book scholarly contributions from the German Book Archive Munich . Volume 26 ). Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1991, ISBN 3-447-02869-6 , change of course - personnel revision and transfer into German hands, p. 65 .
^ Christoph Classen: Revolution on the radio. On the institutional development of radio in the Soviet Zone / GDR . In: Klaus Arnold, Christoph Classen (Ed.): Between Pop and Propaganda. Radio in the GDR (= research on GDR society ). 1st edition. Christoph Links Verlag, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-86153-343-X , effects on the program, p. 47–66 ( limited preview in Google Book Search - here p. 58).
^ Ingrid Pietrzynski: June 17, 1953 on the radio of the GDR. Causes, course and consequences . In: Klaus Arnold, Christoph Classen (Ed.): Between Pop and Propaganda. Radio in the GDR (= research on GDR society ). 1st edition. Christoph Links Verlag, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-86153-343-X , reactions to the radio program from June 17, p. 113–129 ( limited preview in Google Book search - here p. 121).
↑ ^a ^b Ingrid Pietrzynski: June 17, 1953 on the radio of the GDR. Causes, course and consequences . In: Klaus Arnold, Christoph Classen (Ed.): Between Pop and Propaganda. Radio in the GDR (= research on GDR society ). 1st edition. Christoph Links Verlag, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-86153-343-X , Coping with the crisis through the broadcasting committee, p. 113–129 ( limited preview in Google Book search - here p. 127).
^ Editing of radio history: Chronicle of radio broadcasting in the GDR 1953 . In: State Committee for Broadcasting at the Council of Ministers of the GDR (ed.): Contributions to the history of broadcasting. Series of publications of the GDR radio . No. 4/1976 . Verlag des Lektorats Rundfunkgeschichte, Berlin January 5, 1977, p. 68-99 (here p. 87).
^ Klaus Arnold: A program for the West? The German broadcaster . In: Klaus Arnold, Christoph Classen (Ed.): Between Pop and Propaganda. Radio in the GDR (= research on GDR society ). 1st edition. Christoph Links Verlag, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-86153-343-X , editorial, p. 191–208 ( limited preview in Google Book search - here p. 197).
^ Ingrid Pietrzynski: June 17, 1953 on the radio of the GDR. Causes, course and consequences . In: Klaus Arnold, Christoph Classen (Ed.): Between Pop and Propaganda. Radio in the GDR (= research on GDR society ). 1st edition. Christoph Links Verlag, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-86153-343-X , reform concepts as a result of June 17, 1953, p. 113–129 ( limited preview in Google Book search - here p. 123).
^ Rüdiger Bolz: Radio and literature under American control. The program offered by Radio Munich 1945–1949 (= book scholarly contributions from the German Book Archive Munich . Volume 26 ). Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1991, ISBN 3-447-02869-6 , change of course - personnel revision and transfer into German hands, p. 64 .
^ Rüdiger Bolz: Radio and literature under American control. The program offered by Radio Munich 1945–1949 (= book scholarly contributions from the German Book Archive Munich . Volume 26 ). Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1991, ISBN 3-447-02869-6 , possibilities of new freedom of expression, p. 104 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c Ingrid Pietrzynski: June 17, 1953 on the radio of the GDR. Causes, course and consequences . In: Klaus Arnold, Christoph Classen (Ed.): Between Pop and Propaganda. Radio in the GDR (= research on GDR society ). 1st edition. Christoph Links Verlag, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-86153-343-X , [Notes], p. 113–129 ( limited preview in Google Book search - here p. 129).
^ Rüdiger Bolz: Radio and literature under American control. The program offered by Radio Munich 1945–1949 (= book scholarly contributions from the German Book Archive Munich . Volume 26 ). Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1991, ISBN 3-447-02869-6 , possibilities of new freedom of expression, p. 107 .
^ Rüdiger Bolz: Radio and literature under American control. The program offered by Radio Munich 1945–1949 (= book scholarly contributions from the German Book Archive Munich . Volume 26 ). Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1991, ISBN 3-447-02869-6 , change of course - personnel revision and transfer into German hands, p. 69 .
^ Herbert Geßner: Reflections on a film . In: The world stage . Weekly for politics, art, economy. No. 23/1947 , December 1, 1947, pp. 1018-1021 .
↑ An audience meeting that people talked about for a long time . In: State Committee for Broadcasting at the Council of Ministers of the GDR (ed.): Contributions to the history of broadcasting. Series of publications of the GDR radio . No. 3/1978 . Verlag des Lektorats Rundfunkgeschichte, Berlin December 28, 1978, leafed through broadcast manuscripts, p. 80–87 (therein Herbert Geßner's “Sonntagskommentar” from February 29, 1948).

personal data
SURNAME	Geßner, Herbert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Gessner, Herbert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German political radio commentator
DATE OF BIRTH	May 14, 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH	Munich
DATE OF DEATH	January 6, 1956 or January 7, 1956
Place of death	Berlin , GDR

[Munzinger-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Herbert Geßner . Political commentator for the Berliner Rundfunk. In: Munzinger-Archiv GmbH (Hrsg.): Internationales Biographisches Archiv - Personen current . Munzinger-Archiv GmbH, January 23, 1956, ISSN 0020-9457 ( munzinger.de ).

[EdBay-2] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Veronika Diem: Attention, attention! The broadcaster of the Freedom Action Bavaria speaks ... The FAB won the power of government tonight. The Bavarian Freedom Campaign - uprising against the Nazi regime . In: House of Bavarian History (Ed.): Edition Bavaria . Rebels - visionaries - democrats. About resistance in Bavaria. Special issue, no. 6 . Verlag Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-7917-2571-0 , Resistance against the Nazi dictatorship, p. 144–148 ( hdbg.de - subsection “Herbert Gessner - From Soldier to Political Commentator”, p. 147 f.).

[Bolz50-3] A ^b Rüdiger Bolz: Radio and literature under American control. The program offered by Radio Munich 1945–1949 (= book scholarly contributions from the German Book Archive Munich . Volume 26 ). Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1991, ISBN 3-447-02869-6 , The first generation of employees, p. 50 .

[4] Rüdiger Bolz: Radio and literature under American control. The program offered by Radio Munich 1945–1949 (= book scholarly contributions from the German Book Archive Munich . Volume 26 ). Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1991, ISBN 3-447-02869-6 , The first generation of employees, p. 50 f .

[5] Rüdiger Bolz: Radio and literature under American control. The program offered by Radio Munich 1945–1949 (= book scholarly contributions from the German Book Archive Munich . Volume 26 ). Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1991, ISBN 3-447-02869-6 , The first generation of employees, p. 51 .

[6] Horst Heydeck: Motor of the New. Probation in the anti-fascist upheaval . In: State Committee for Broadcasting at the Council of Ministers of the GDR (ed.): Contributions to the history of broadcasting. Broadcasting of the GDR . No. 2/1973 . Verlag des Lektorats Rundfunkgeschichte, Berlin May 18, 1973, p. 64-69 .

[7] Rüdiger Bolz: Radio and literature under American control. The program offered by Radio Munich 1945–1949 (= book scholarly contributions from the German Book Archive Munich . Volume 26 ). Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1991, ISBN 3-447-02869-6 , possibilities of new freedom of expression, p. 104 ff .

[8] Heinz H. Schmidt: Director of the Democratic Broadcasting in West Berlin 1947 to 1949 . In: State Committee for Broadcasting at the Council of Ministers of the GDR (ed.): Contributions to the history of broadcasting. Series of publications of the GDR radio . No. 2/1975 . Verlag des Lektorats Rundfunkgeschichte, Berlin October 10, 1975, “Everyone hears the Berliner Rundfunk”, p. 5–19 (the article under the Treatise category has no real title).

[9] Lektorat Rundfunkgeschichte: Historically important data for the program-political work of the radio in the GDR . In: State Committee for Broadcasting at the Council of Ministers of the GDR (ed.): Contributions to the history of broadcasting. Series of publications of the GDR radio . No. 1/1982 . Verlag des Lektorats Rundfunkgeschichte, March 30, 1982, ISSN 0138-113X , p. 61-72 .

[10] Rüdiger Bolz: Radio and literature under American control. The program offered by Radio Munich 1945–1949 (= book scholarly contributions from the German Book Archive Munich . Volume 26 ). Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1991, ISBN 3-447-02869-6 , change of course - personnel revision and transfer into German hands, p. 65 .

[11] Christoph Classen: Revolution on the radio. On the institutional development of radio in the Soviet Zone / GDR . In: Klaus Arnold, Christoph Classen (Ed.): Between Pop and Propaganda. Radio in the GDR (= research on GDR society ). 1st edition. Christoph Links Verlag, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-86153-343-X , effects on the program, p. 47–66 ( limited preview in Google Book Search - here p. 58).

[12] Ingrid Pietrzynski: June 17, 1953 on the radio of the GDR. Causes, course and consequences . In: Klaus Arnold, Christoph Classen (Ed.): Between Pop and Propaganda. Radio in the GDR (= research on GDR society ). 1st edition. Christoph Links Verlag, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-86153-343-X , reactions to the radio program from June 17, p. 113–129 ( limited preview in Google Book search - here p. 121).

[Pietrzynski127-13] Ingrid Pietrzynski: June 17, 1953 on the radio of the GDR. Causes, course and consequences . In: Klaus Arnold, Christoph Classen (Ed.): Between Pop and Propaganda. Radio in the GDR (= research on GDR society ). 1st edition. Christoph Links Verlag, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-86153-343-X , Coping with the crisis through the broadcasting committee, p. 113–129 ( limited preview in Google Book search - here p. 127).

[14] Editing of radio history: Chronicle of radio broadcasting in the GDR 1953 . In: State Committee for Broadcasting at the Council of Ministers of the GDR (ed.): Contributions to the history of broadcasting. Series of publications of the GDR radio . No. 4/1976 . Verlag des Lektorats Rundfunkgeschichte, Berlin January 5, 1977, p. 68-99 (here p. 87).

[15] Klaus Arnold: A program for the West? The German broadcaster . In: Klaus Arnold, Christoph Classen (Ed.): Between Pop and Propaganda. Radio in the GDR (= research on GDR society ). 1st edition. Christoph Links Verlag, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-86153-343-X , editorial, p. 191–208 ( limited preview in Google Book search - here p. 197).

[16] Ingrid Pietrzynski: June 17, 1953 on the radio of the GDR. Causes, course and consequences . In: Klaus Arnold, Christoph Classen (Ed.): Between Pop and Propaganda. Radio in the GDR (= research on GDR society ). 1st edition. Christoph Links Verlag, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-86153-343-X , reform concepts as a result of June 17, 1953, p. 113–129 ( limited preview in Google Book search - here p. 123).

[17] Rüdiger Bolz: Radio and literature under American control. The program offered by Radio Munich 1945–1949 (= book scholarly contributions from the German Book Archive Munich . Volume 26 ). Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1991, ISBN 3-447-02869-6 , change of course - personnel revision and transfer into German hands, p. 64 .

[18] Rüdiger Bolz: Radio and literature under American control. The program offered by Radio Munich 1945–1949 (= book scholarly contributions from the German Book Archive Munich . Volume 26 ). Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1991, ISBN 3-447-02869-6 , possibilities of new freedom of expression, p. 104 .

[Pietrzynski129-19] Ingrid Pietrzynski: June 17, 1953 on the radio of the GDR. Causes, course and consequences . In: Klaus Arnold, Christoph Classen (Ed.): Between Pop and Propaganda. Radio in the GDR (= research on GDR society ). 1st edition. Christoph Links Verlag, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-86153-343-X , [Notes], p. 113–129 ( limited preview in Google Book search - here p. 129).

[20] Rüdiger Bolz: Radio and literature under American control. The program offered by Radio Munich 1945–1949 (= book scholarly contributions from the German Book Archive Munich . Volume 26 ). Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1991, ISBN 3-447-02869-6 , possibilities of new freedom of expression, p. 107 .

[21] Rüdiger Bolz: Radio and literature under American control. The program offered by Radio Munich 1945–1949 (= book scholarly contributions from the German Book Archive Munich . Volume 26 ). Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1991, ISBN 3-447-02869-6 , change of course - personnel revision and transfer into German hands, p. 69 .

[22] Herbert Geßner: Reflections on a film . In: The world stage . Weekly for politics, art, economy. No. 23/1947 , December 1, 1947, pp. 1018-1021 .

[23] An audience meeting that people talked about for a long time . In: State Committee for Broadcasting at the Council of Ministers of the GDR (ed.): Contributions to the history of broadcasting. Series of publications of the GDR radio . No. 3/1978 . Verlag des Lektorats Rundfunkgeschichte, Berlin December 28, 1978, leafed through broadcast manuscripts, p. 80–87 (therein Herbert Geßner's “Sonntagskommentar” from February 29, 1948).