Otto Pesch

Otto Pesch (born February 21, 1917 in Rheydt ; † October 31, 2007 in Aachen ) was a German journalist .

Life and work

Pesch, born on February 21, 1917, came from a family of printers and publishers in Rheydt. Wounded during the Second World War, he was on convalescence leave when the Americans forced Aachen as the first major German city to surrender on October 31, 1944. Pesch was the first editor to come to the “Aachener Nachrichten” , which appeared for the first time on January 24, 1945 with the American license number 1.

He was also the first post-war editor in liberated Germany. His name had to be kept secret at first because the "Psychological Warfare Division" (PWD) , an agency of the US administration, feared attacks by National Socialists. At that time, Aachen was still a liberated island in the Nazi-dominated area of Germany and working for the victorious powers there was life-threatening.

For the “Aachener Nachrichten” and its issue of May 9, 1945, Pesch formulated the lead headline on page 1: “The war is over”.

Pesch later switched to the newly founded "Aachener Volkszeitung" (AVZ, today "Aachener Zeitung", AZ) and was in charge of the service until his retirement .

Pesch died on October 31, 2007 in Aachen at the age of 90.

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personal data
SURNAME	Pesch, Otto
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German journalist
DATE OF BIRTH	February 21, 1917
PLACE OF BIRTH	Rheydt
DATE OF DEATH	October 31, 2007
Place of death	Aachen