East German observer

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Ostdeutscher Beobachter was the title of a German daily newspaper that appeared from 1939 to 1945 with the additional title Organ of the NSDAP - proclamation sheet of the Reich Governor in Reichsgau Wartheland and his authorities in Posen . The Posener Tageblatt , which was founded in 1861 and financed entirely by the German state from 1924, is considered the predecessor newspaper .

The East German Observer should not be confused with the weekly newspaper of the same name , which was published in Sibiu from 1932 to 1934 and was subtitled the Kampfblatt for the honestly working people .

precursor

The Posener Tageblatt is considered the predecessor of the East German observer . The newspaper was published in 1861. Before the First World War it was the government organ of the Prussian province of Posen , and later the “ mouthpiece ” of the Ostmarkenverein . Between April 1920 and December 1921 the Posener Tageblatt was under compulsory administration by the Polish state. In the interwar period, the newspaper developed into an important press organ for the German minority in Poland and was repeatedly banned by the Polish authorities. It appeared in the Poznan Book Printing and Publishing Company AG . The publishing house was taken over by Konkordia Literarian Gesellschaft mbH in 1924 and headed by Johannes Scholz . The publisher stated the circulation of the Posener Tageblatt in 1924 as 12,000 copies.

The Konkordia was a camouflage company created by Max Winkler , who served as an economic advisor to the governments in the Weimar Republic , the Third Reich and in the Federal Republic of Germany in concealing state newspaper holdings. That means that from 1924 the Posener Tageblatt belonged 100% to the German state . Background: According to the provisions of the Versailles Treaty, the province of Poznan had to be ceded to Poland immediately and without a referendum, which was felt by the vast majority of the German population as unjust. In fact, no government in the Weimar Republic recognized the ceding of territory to Poland. Rather, German policy under Gustav Stresemann pursued the goal of convincing the German minorities in Poland to stay in order to use them as levers for future border revisions .

However, the Posener Tageblatt represented a conservative, “loyal to the emperor” attitude of the so-called borderland Germans living in the area of ​​the publication . The newspaper repeatedly criticized not only anti-Semitism in Poland , but also anti-Semitism in Germany. The depiction of the situation of the Jews in Poland served to criticize the Polish state, especially with regard to the increasing Polonization and increased Polish intolerance towards ethnic minorities . The Posener Tageblatt drew parallels with the Germans living in the province of Posen, which was ceded to Poland, and the Eastern Jews who were forcibly relocated to this area by the Polish government . The newspaper's conservative attitude towards the Jewish population had its origins in the assimilation and emancipation of the Jews in the German Empire . Before the First World War, the Jewish population in the eastern German regions identified strongly with the German Empire and was able to cultivate their own culture and religion.

Even before the end of the attack on Poland in September 1939, the German military district of Posen was established, the borders of which largely corresponded to the former Prussian province of Posen. On October 26, 1939, the area was officially reintegrated into the German Empire , but not as part of Prussia , but as the new Posen Reichsgau with its administrative headquarters in Posen. The previous head of civil administration Arthur Greiser was appointed Reich Governor. From January 29, 1940, the Reichsgau was called Wartheland . The last edition of the Posener Tageblatt appeared on October 31, 1939. One day later, on November 1, 1939, the first edition of the East German Observer was published. The Reich Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda published the following official short message:

“On November 1st, the Posener Tageblatt , which had been in existence for 78 years, ceased its publication in order to put its editorial and technical apparatus to the service of the National Socialist development in the Warthegau. The Posener Tageblatt had led the fight for the existence of the German ethnic group in the front line. It now appears as an East German observer . "

The year census of the Posener Tageblatt ended with 78.1939, no. 250. This means that the publication of the East German observer began on November 1, 1939 with the year number 1.1939, no. 1. In terms of press law, it was the publication of a new newspaper. The production took over the NS-Gauverlag und Druckerei Wartheland GmbH based in Poznan. Johannes Scholz remained the publishing director until 1945. The periodical was established as a party newspaper of the NSDAP . The full title was: East German Observer - organ of the National Socialist German Workers' Party - proclamation sheet of the Reich Governor in Reichsgau Wartheland and his authorities . At the same time, the publishing house published the Litzmannstädter Zeitung from 1940 to 1945 .

propaganda

The area of ​​circulation of the newspaper developed into the area with the numerically largest resettlement of Germans. Over a million Baltic Germans , Wolhynia Germans , Bukowina Germans , Black Sea Germans and other ethnic Germans were resettled in the Wartheland under the slogan “ Heim ins Reich ” . The integration resulted in a massive resettlement of the Polish population. Until the beginning of February 1940, Jews and Poles were almost completely deported to the so-called Generalgouvernement , especially from the western areas of the Wartheland .

The East German observer served the Gauleitung as a “mouthpiece”. Arthur Greiser stated very clearly in an editorial in the newspaper: “The Germanization of the Warthegau means, in my opinion, that no other people except the Germans have the right to live here. The Warthegau is our dominion. This includes the whole country, the soil, the houses, the farms, everything. ”In this article Greiser specified the basics of the National Socialist population policy in the Warthegau. Not only the civil administration should be consulted for their implementation, but all police organs, lawyers, doctors, teachers, journalists, etc. They should all become pioneers of Germanism in this area.

Accordingly, the political direction of the East German observer , in stark contrast to the Posener Tageblatt , was anti-Jewish until the last issue and anti-Polish until the beginning of April 1943. The portrayal of the Poles in 1939/40 initially concentrated on regular reports on terror against the German minority and conflicts with neighboring countries in so-called interwar Poland . In addition, the well-known stereotypes about the “ Polish economy ” and the “deterioration of the Polish national character” were memorable and vivid, in contrast to the supposed superiority of the German love of organization and order. From March 1940, Poles no longer existed in the reports of the East German observer and were only mentioned sporadically in relation to the Wartheland in connection with offenses and crimes.

Katyn represented the turning point in anti-Polish propaganda in the East German Observer from April 15, 1943. The subsequent regular pro-Polish reporting was aimed directly at the Polish population and their government-in-exile , which was intended to shake Polish loyalty to the Allies . After the mass graves were found near Katyn, German propaganda pulled out all the stops, including the solemn burial of identified corpses. Polish officers in German captivity were also kept aware of the murder of their comrades through newspaper reports. Even if there was no sympathy for the German occupiers, a large part of the truth-seeking Polish population no longer had any illusions about the policies of the Soviet Union , if they had ever harbored them at all. From then on, the East German observer referred to Poles who were still settled in the Wartheland as “our Polish protection members”.

From autumn 1944 onwards, the daily leading articles in the Ostdeutscher Beobachter were strongly influenced by perseverance rhetoric. Even after the start of the Soviet Vistula-Oder offensive, the newspaper suggested that there was no immediate danger of war in the Wartheland. Up to this point in time, the number of the German population in the former province of Poznan had increased again significantly, mainly due to the influx of bombed out from the so-called Altreich . In addition, in the last years of the war, numerous children and mothers from many major German cities were evacuated as part of the Kinderland deportation, especially in the vicinity of Poznan, as the area was not considered to be “air endangered”.

resolution

The last edition of the Ostdeutscher Beobachter was published on January 20, 1945 (year number 7.1945, no. 17). While the evacuation of the population in East Prussia and Silesia took four months before the advancing Soviet army, the fate of the Germans in the Wartheland was largely decided within 24 hours. After the Soviet Army took Litzmannstadt (Lodz) in a flash, their tanks rolled towards Posen without significant resistance. Regardless of this, children still went to school in the Gau capital, adults to the office, babies saw the light of day in the hospitals and studies were still going on in the Reich University . In fact, on the morning of January 20th, normality suddenly came to an end. About the evacuation and flight of the civilian population that began that day in the Warthegau was only nebulous on the front page of the last East German observer (excerpt):

“One of the most prominent characteristics of German people is their precautionary organization. For a long time this precautionary measure has prompted the management of the district to plan precise measures, which will now be triggered in detail. Everyone in the Warthegau can and must have the feeling that they are not alone now. Of course, our Polish guardians are also considered. Everyone is treated as they deserve to be treated. Over the next few hours of our district, however, we want to put the slogan: 'Mother and child are sacred to us'. If we act and live according to these principles in the next few days, then we Warthelands will once again demonstrate to the public that we have grown fond of this new home, but also that we have earned it. We are ready to give this soil what it asks of us. We promised that for six years - now we want to act accordingly. "

It was not mentioned which “exactly planned measures” were involved. There was no mention of evacuation, evacuation or escape in the article. Far too late, Arthur Greiser ordered the evacuation of the German population from the Wartheland. The total eviction order for the district was issued at 5 a.m. and distributed in the course of the morning to authorities, institutions and loudspeakers by telephone. Stunned, people began to pack their suitcases and backpacks. An unparalleled mass upheaval began. In many places, the German population had to be ready for removal in just five minutes. There is no doubt that the Reichsbahn achieved something extraordinary in Poznan . Until January 23, an overcrowded train left the Poznań train station every half hour , the last one being shot at by Soviet tanks. With a few exceptions, all civilian German residents could be evacuated from Poznan, although they were mostly left to their own devices on their way to the west and many of them perished.

Contrary to the "precautionary organization" mentioned in the East German Observer , the evacuation of the Wartheland was completely chaotic in view of the military situation and the lack of transport capacities. Only a few Germans managed to escape from the eastern Wartheland. East of the Hohensalza – Poznan – Kalisch line , nothing other than the trek by horse and cart was available. A large number of Germans tried to escape the advancing Soviet army, but were almost all overtaken by Russian tanks en route. In Litzmannstadt, the easternmost center of the Wartheland, tens of thousands of Germans fell into the hands of the Russians before they had left. But even from the western part of the Wartheland, which is most heavily inhabited by Germans, it is estimated that only half of the German population crossed the Oder .

The district leader of the Wartheland, Arthur Greiser, who announced at the beginning of the Soviet major offensive that "not a single meter of soil would be released" in his district, fled his capital, declared a fortress , on the evening of January 20, 1945 , before the battle of Poznan began . In his entourage were, among other things, the publishing house management, propagandists and editors of the East German observer , almost all of whom escaped to the West and continued their journalistic careers in the Federal Republic of Germany .

Employees (selection)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Title information Ostdeutscher Beobachter - organ of the NSDAP - proclamation sheet of the Reich governor and his authorities, journal database , accessed on January 25, 2020.
  2. ↑ Title information Ostdeutscher Beobachter - Combat Journal for the Honestly Working People Journal database, accessed on January 25, 2020.
  3. ↑ Catherine Epstein: Model Nazi. Arthur Greiser and the Occupation of Western Poland. OUP Oxford, 2012, p. 151.
  4. ↑ Beata Dorota Lake Mountain: The German minority press in Poland 1918-1939 and its Polish and Jewish image. Peter Lang, 2010, p. 153.
  5. ↑ Stanislaus of Bernatt: The German political daily newspapers in Poland. Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat Munchen., 1926, p. 16 f.
  6. ↑ Miriam Y. Arani: Photographic self- and external images of Germans and Poles in Reichsgau Wartheland 1939–45. Publishing house Dr. Kovač, Diss., 2008, p. 326 f.
  7. ^ Helga Wermuth: Max Winkler - A helper of state press policy in the Weimar Republic. Dissertation. Munich 1975. p. 50 f.
  8. ↑ Christian Lotz: The interpretation of the loss. Political memory controversies in divided Germany about flight, expulsion and the Eastern Territories (1948-1972). Böhlau Verlag Köln Weimar, 2007, p. 48.
  9. ↑ Mark Mazower: Hitler's Empire: Europe under the Rule of National Socialism. CH Beck, 2009, p. 52.
  10. ↑ Beata Dorota Lake Mountain: The German minority press in Poland 1918-1939 and its Polish and Jewish image. Peter Lang, 2010, pp. 130-131.
  11. ^ Martin Broszat : National Socialist Poland Policy 1939–1945 . Fischer Bücherei, 1965, p. 38.
  12. ↑ Title information Posener Tageblatt magazine database , accessed on January 27, 2020.
  13. ^ Reichsverband der Deutschen Presse (Ed.): Deutsche Presse. Volume 29. Verlag Franz Eher Nachf. GmbH, 1939, p. 400.
  14. ↑ Title information Ostdeutscher Beobachter - organ of the NSDAP - proclamation sheet of the Reich governor and his authorities, journal database , accessed on January 25, 2020.
  15. ^ Litzmannstädter Zeitung of August 21, 1943, Die Führer wartheländischer Wirtschaft , p. 1. Wielkopolska Biblioteka Cyfrowa (University Library Poznan), accessed on January 29, 2020.
  16. ↑ Title information Litzmannstädter Zeitung magazine database , accessed on January 29, 2020.
  17. ↑ Eckhart Neander, Andrzej Sakson (Ed.): Resettled - Displaced. Baltic Germans and Poles 1939-1945 in the Warthegau. Herder Institute Marburg, 2010, p. 48.
  18. ↑ Eduard Kneifel: The Evangelical Church in Wartheland-Ost (Lodz) - its structure and its confrontation with National Socialism 1939–1945 Vierkirchen, 1976, p. 23.
  19. ↑ Eckhart Neander, Andrzej Sakson (Ed.): Resettled - Displaced. Baltic Germans and Poles 1939-1945 in the Warthegau. Herder Institute Marburg, 2010, pp. 48, 92 f.
  20. ↑ Miriam Y. Arani: Photographic self- and external images of Germans and Poles in Reichsgau Wartheland 1939–45. Publishing house Dr. Kovač, Diss., 2008, p. 339.
  21. ↑ Reinhold Schmitt, Gerhard Stickel (Ed.): Poles and Germans in Conversation. Gunter Narr Verlag, 1997, p. 310, footnote 13.
  22. ↑ Miriam Y. Arani: Photographic self- and external images of Germans and Poles in Reichsgau Wartheland 1939–45. Publishing house Dr. Kovač, Diss., 2008, p. 343.
  23. ^ Andrej Angrick: Aktion 1005. A "secret Reich affair" in the area of ​​tension between the turn of the war and propaganda. Wallstein Verlag, 2018, p. 414.
  24. ↑ Sample article "Our home"; East German observer from January 20, 1945; P.1. Wielkopolska Biblioteka Cyfrowa (University Library Poznan), accessed on January 27, 2020.
  25. ↑ Miriam Y. Arani: Photographic self- and external images of Germans and Poles in Reichsgau Wartheland 1939–45. Publishing house Dr. Kovač, Diss., 2008, p. 346.
  26. ^ Joachim Rogall: The evacuation of the Reichgau Wartheland. Thorbecke, 1993, p. 5 f.
  27. ↑ Title information Ostdeutscher Beobachter - organ of the NSDAP - proclamation sheet of the Reich governor and his authorities, journal database, accessed on January 25, 2020.
  28. ^ Andreas Mueller: Tatort Warthegau. Wagner Verlag, 2007, pp. 47–48.
  29. ↑ East German Observer , "Our Home", January 20, 1945, p.1. Wielkopolska Biblioteka Cyfrowa (University Library Poznan), accessed on January 27, 2020.
  30. ^ Andreas Mueller: Tatort Warthegau. Wagner Verlag, 2007, pp. 47–48.
  31. ^ Joachim Rogall: The evacuation of the Reichgau Wartheland. Thorbecke, 1993, p. 5 f.
  32. ^ The flight of the German population from the western Polish areas Center against Expulsions , accessed on January 28, 2020.
  33. ^ Andreas Mueller: Tatort Warthegau. Wagner Verlag, 2007, pp. 47–49.
  34. ↑ The “Poznan Voices”, our most important medium, the Community of Evangelical Posener eV, accessed on January 28, 2020.
  35. ↑ Miriam Y. Arani: Photographic self- and external images of Germans and Poles in Reichsgau Wartheland 1939–45. Publishing house Dr. Kovač, Diss., 2008, p. 331 f.