Lore Walb

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Lore Walb (born May 22, 1919 in Alzey ; † 2013 ) was a German journalist , feminist and long-time director of the women's and later family radio of Bayerischer Rundfunk . Walb became known through her social reporting and her accounts of the life and role of women in the late 1950s and 1960s. She last lived in Munich .

Life

Lore Walb, who was born in 1919 as the daughter of an agricultural machinery dealer in Alzey , Rheinhessen, grew up in a middle-class family. When Walb was 14 years old, the National Socialists came to power. During this time she began to write diaries. At the beginning she noted that she would not complete her diary every day:

“I now want to dedicate this diary. You can't really say a diary because I won't use it every day. Surely I don't have something important or interesting to record every day. I only want to write down what seems particularly beautiful, important or even strange to me. "

- Lore Walb

In 1936 her father was killed. To this day, she asserts that no one ever taught her to think critically and to question relationships of power. She says about herself: "I was a follower in the brown herd and what a woman, wildly enthusiastic!"

Education / professional career

Due to the global economic crisis , Walb's family also got into financial difficulties. She first attended the six-class high school and graduated from high school in Mainz . During the Second World War , Lore Walb graduated in 1944 from studying German, history and English with the state examination for teaching at secondary schools. In 1945 she fled from the Americans who were approaching her home town of Alzey. She took a job with the German politician Paul Binder , for whom she translated reports into English. Binder was transferred to Tübingen , the seat of the German government at that time, and asked Lore Walb to follow him. She did so and became his chief secretary. Through this position she was able to make many new contacts, including the director of the newly founded Südwestfunk, Friedrich Bischoff , who was considered a radio pioneer. In 1947 she decided to turn her back on politics and moved to the state broadcaster of Rhineland-Palatinate and southern Baden-Württemberg. Lore Walb wanted to work and finally live: "I didn't want to have anything more to do with politics, it was a 'dirty business' for me". In 1959 she switched to Bayerischer Rundfunk . Until her retirement in 1979, Walb headed the women's radio there.

Work at Südwestfunk

In 1946 the Südwestfunk went on air as a broadcasting company for the entire French occupation zone . When Südwestfunk (SWF) learned Walb the journalistic craft. In the newly created Frauenfunk, she worked as an office manager, editor, journalist, reporter and deputy head of department. Her passion was writing. Topics of the day were less important at women's radio, rather entertainment, as well as discussion and discussion of current issues, formed the core. In 1951, together with her colleagues, she was given the opportunity to take part in a 90-day re-education program funded by the US State Department. This educational journey broadened her spiritual and human horizons. The resulting experiences were decisive for her later specializations in radio programs. She saw herself as an advocate for the weak and voiceless. In 1959 she moved from SWF to Bayerischer Rundfunk.

Work at Bavarian Broadcasting

On February 21, 1959, the following position was publicly advertised in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ): “Bayerischer Rundfunk is looking for a manager for its women's radio who has knowledge and experience in all the subject areas dealt with by this department. A womanly personality should correspond to your professional skills. She must have proven herself as an editor and should have worked for the radio as far as possible. ”The replacement of this position was due to Ilse Weitsch's death at the end of 1958. The task of looking for forms that should encourage the public to cooperate attracted Walb. She conceived and moderated over thirty programs of her own on family problems, which were commented on by listeners and discussed with a psychotherapist.

The women's radio

The women's radio was launched in 1945 when a listener who went by the name Ilse Weitsch complained to the American radio officers about the poor radio program. Contrary to her expectations, the officers offered her to design it herself. With two other editors and many freelancers, Weitsch built a varied radio program to help women with information and advice in their difficult post-war everyday life, to encourage and entertain them for reconstruction. After Weitsch's death in 1958, Walb took over women's radio. She redesigned the program content. Social issues remained in the program, but the program was given more columnist orientation. Social policy was overseen by its own political department. Lore Walb urged the microphone again, not wanting to discard the tried and tested. She herself could learn, but at the same time also bring in her own skills. She described her program concept as follows:

“I see the task of women's radio in the first place to strengthen the humane element in the radio and to contribute to all questions that arise, the specifically female point of view - not only in the program, but also in the radio company itself. On the other hand, it is about in all programs Above all, to give life support: whether it is consumer or educational advice, the activation of women as citizens, the rethinking of the farmer in the age of business simplification and the necessary new self-esteem of the woman in the job or the comforting example that the helps old people to cope with old age "

- Lore Walb

Thanks to Walb's commitment, Frauenfunk was able to include additional series in the program and gained more share of the airtime than ever before. Lore Walb wanted to introduce a new concept called "Woman and Society". However, this was rejected. The management of the BR was more pleased with the idea of ​​renaming women's radio in family radio. In 1968 the renaming took place, which clearly included the new male member of the editorial board of the former women's radio.

The show "The Notebook"

The program “Das Notebook” started on May 3rd, 1960. In 1968 “Magazinitis”, as Lore Walb called it, broke out on Bavarian Radio. The old magazine "The Notebook - a program for him and her" should be given a new face in order to win new listeners. As a result of this change in the program content in 1968, Walb devoted himself from then on to the notebook magazine, which was primarily aimed at the older generation. Lore Walb found her area of ​​responsibility in politics again. Walb named the focus of the political Tuesday program “Woman and the Public”. The magazine has been modernized under the motto “Think as a contemporary, act as a contemporary”. In a 1970 lecture, Walb described the concept of the notebook. "A woman of today must be able to cope with the society of the year 2000."

Thanks to a young, dynamic team, the notebook experienced an upswing. Walb counts this time as one of her most beautiful professional memories and the most efficient form of her editorial work. Initially, the political program was moderated exclusively by women in order to show that women are also concerned with politics and can take a position on it. The notebook was worked on with commitment and vehemence, which did not always meet with enthusiasm. Young listeners could be won over, but other departments saw family radio as competition. The internal and external pressure tore at Lore Walb's nerves and strength. Since she did not want to ignore the warnings from her body, another editorial position was filled. Walb gave the young colleague her most important field of work. Political Tuesday thus went to a man and the male obesity also increased in the notebook. At the age of 60, Lore Walb turned his back on Bayerischer Rundfunk. Your position has been filled by a non-specialist editor. In 1996 Lore Walb received the Journalists' Association award for her commitment and her notebook aid projects .

Literary work

At the time of her retirement, Walb felt the urge to deal with her youth. Since she had no concrete memories of that time, she began to read her old diaries. While reading, it was not possible for old Lore Walb to identify with the young one. Shocked by her worldview at the time, she processed her experiences together with the psychoanalyst Thea Bauriedl and her husband, Frieder Wölpert. The confrontation with her diaries was the focus of the processing process. With the publication of this book, Walb wanted to clarify the circumstances of the cheering and silent majority during the Nazi era. The book is intended to stimulate the people of their generation to think about themselves and to protect the following generations from the "dangers of this world".

I, the old woman. I, the boy. Confrontation with my diaries 1933–1945

The book is based on eight diaries, the contents of which describe the periods between three years in the first and three months in the eighth book. From diary to diary, Lore Walb's enthusiasm for the National Socialists and their worldview increases. The adolescents were involved in the youth groups Hitler Youth and the Bund Deutscher Mädel , to which Lore Walb also belonged, and fell victim to their ideology due to the range of activities offered. Respect and esteem were paid to the young people, for example as hospital, air raid and land helpers. Lore Walb writes enthusiastically in her diary:

“Otto / Moravia, July 29, 1940. So now the time has come. And how much better did everything go and how much nicer it is than I thought. (...) We arrived in Tabor at around 2 o'clock in the afternoon. A German military band stood in our honor at the train station, we marched through the nice little one - Czech one! - City to the market square, there a short greeting, then we all got lunch from a field kitchen. (...) At 4 o'clock we drove on, arrived in Iglau after 7 o'clock in the evening . (...) The greeting from the German population, who lined the streets, was moving. How the people beamed and cheered the German students from the Reich! "

- Lore Walb

In her late work, old Lore Walb expresses her horror at her thinking in the Hitler era, documented in the diaries and school essays. She does not give herself any absolution for her naivety in the Third Reich and that she allowed herself to be absorbed by the Führer cult, which is reflected in her diary , among other things, in the phrase “I believe our Führer is the greatest statesman the German people ever possessed” . Walb finds it particularly depressing that in her youth she hid and suppressed the terrible events. In the review of the book in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , Maria Frisé writes about Lore Walb's memories:

“The young Lore does not mention the horrors of the ' Reichskristallnacht ', the word Jew does not appear once, she has thoughtlessly adopted images of the enemy and racist slogans. Even today, the old woman does not forgive herself for not having seen the wrong. That is why this remembering is such a painful experience and not a salvation. "

The description of the role of women in the book is particularly striking. The woman under National Socialism has to be subject to the man, her true calling is marriage and the family. In the diary entry of May 21, 1940, Lore Walb writes that she wished from the bottom of her soul a life of fulfillment, the life of a woman and a mother. She could only see the meaning of life in a child. Political events also include a large part of their diaries. Sometimes you will find a structure in the description of the policy, sometimes comments are only mentioned in passing. It should be noted that some events, such as the November pogroms of 1938, are either completely missing or omitted. Lore Walb comments on the missing entry at the end of the 20th century as follows: “With the preliminary remark, I delay what I have to say at this point. Once again, I find it hard to admit the bitter truth to myself. The blank pages at the end of 1938 seem like a symbol to me. There it shows up again, bigger than before, the white spot on the map of my youth: The diary is silent about the so-called 'Reichskristallnacht' from November 9th to 10th. ”Her continuous search for love and affection is also striking . With increasing age, the need and longing for closeness increased, which in the course of the book ended in an obsessive search for happiness, love and the ideal man.

Awards

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Franke, Konrad: Memories of Lore Walb from Alzey. In: Heimatjahrbuch / Landkreis Alzey-Worms, 49 (2014), Wendelsheim, pp. 110–113.
  2. ^ Memoirs of a radio pioneer , SWR. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  3. ↑ a b c d Lore Walb: Lehrstück Frauenrolle. Aspects of a women's radio history between 1945 and 1979 . In: Christiane Schmerl: Got into the press. Representation of women in the press and women's work in the media . Böhlau, Vienna 1989, ISBN 3412037893 , p. 225.
  4. ↑ a b Lore Walb: Lehrstück the role of women. Aspects of a women's radio history between 1945 and 1979 . In: Christiane Schmerl: Got into the press. Representation of women in the press and women's work in the media . Böhlau, Vienna 1989, ISBN 3412037893 , p. 349.
  5. ↑ Anna Steinweg: Colloquium 2008 . Contributions from young Bamberg researchers. Bamberg 2008, p. 146.
  6. ↑ Lore Walb: Lehrstück women's role. Aspects of a women's radio history between 1945 and 1979 . In: Christiane Schmerl: Got into the press. Representation of women in the press and women's work in the media . Böhlau, Vienna 1989, ISBN 3412037893 , p. 350.
  7. ↑ Lore Walb: Lehrstück women's role. Aspects of a women's radio history between 1945 and 1979 . In: Christiane Schmerl: Got into the press. Representation of women in the press and women's work in the media . Böhlau, Vienna 1989, ISBN 3412037893 , p. 351.
  8. ↑ Lore Walb: Lehrstück women's role. Aspects of a women's radio history between 1945 and 1979 . In: Christiane Schmerl: Got into the press. Representation of women in the press and women's work in the media . Böhlau, Vienna 1989, ISBN 3412037893 , p. 227.
  9. ↑ Lore Walb: Lehrstück women's role. Aspects of a women's radio history between 1945 and 1979 . In: Christiane Schmerl: Got into the press. Representation of women in the press and women's work in the media . Böhlau, Vienna 1989, ISBN 3412037893 , p. 231.
  10. ↑ Bettina Hasselbring: The memory of broadcasting. The archives of the public broadcasters and their relevance for research . Wiesbaden 2014, ISBN 9783531183190 , pp. 286-291.
  11. ↑ Lore Walb: Lehrstück women's role. Aspects of a women's radio history between 1945 and 1979 . In: Christiane Schmerl: Got into the press. Representation of women in the press and women's work in the media . Böhlau, Vienna 1989, ISBN 3412037893 , p. 228.
  12. ↑ Lore Walb: Lehrstück women's role. Aspects of a women's radio history between 1945 and 1979 . In: Christiane Schmerl: Got into the press. Representation of women in the press and women's work in the media . Böhlau, Vienna 1989, ISBN 3412037893 , p. 229.
  13. ↑ Bettina Hasselbring: The memory of broadcasting. The archives of the public broadcasters and their relevance for research . 2014, p. 288.
  14. ↑ Lore Walb: Lehrstück women's role. Aspects of a women's radio history between 1945 and 1979 . In: Christiane Schmerl: Got into the press. Representation of women in the press and women's work in the media . Böhlau, Vienna 1989, ISBN 3412037893 , p. 235.
  15. ↑ Lore Walb: Lehrstück women's role. Aspects of a women's radio history between 1945 and 1979 . In: Christiane Schmerl: Got into the press. Representation of women in the press and women's work in the media . Böhlau, Vienna 1989, ISBN 3412037893 , p. 237.
  16. ^ Lore Walb: Lecture on the occasion of the 8th annual conference of the Ev. Broadcasting service on October 27, 1970 on Bavarian Broadcasting . 2 years notebook - food for thought.
  17. ↑ Lore Walb: Lehrstück women's role. Aspects of a women's radio history between 1945 and 1979 . In: Christiane Schmerl: Got into the press. Representation of women in the press and women's work in the media . Böhlau, Vienna 1989, ISBN 3412037893 , p. 238.
  18. ↑ Lore Walb: Lehrstück women's role. Aspects of a women's radio history between 1945 and 1979 . In: Christiane Schmerl: Got into the press. Representation of women in the press and women's work in the media . Böhlau, Vienna 1989, ISBN 3412037893 , p. 241.
  19. ↑ Lore Walb: Lehrstück women's role. Aspects of a women's radio history between 1945 and 1979 . In: Christiane Schmerl: Got into the press. Representation of women in the press and women's work in the media . Böhlau, Vienna 1989, ISBN 3412037893 , p. 235.
  20. ↑ Lore Walb: Lehrstück women's role. Aspects of a women's radio history between 1945 and 1979 . In: Christiane Schmerl: Got into the press. Representation of women in the press and women's work in the media . Böhlau, Vienna 1989, ISBN 3412037893 , p. 353.
  21. ↑ Lore Walb: I, the old woman. I, the boy. Confrontation with my diaries 1933–1945 . 1998, pp. 357-360.
  22. ↑ Maria Frisé: At fourteen under the swastika . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, September 10, 1997. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  23. ↑ Lore Walb: I, the old woman. I, the boy. Confrontation with my diaries 1933–1945 . 1998, p. 119.

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personal data
SURNAME Walb, Lore
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German journalist
DATE OF BIRTH May 22, 1919
PLACE OF BIRTH Alzey
DATE OF DEATH 2013