Wheels must roll for victory!
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“ Wheels have to roll for victory! “Was the title of a propaganda advertising campaign by the Deutsche Reichsbahn in 1942. The main aim of the campaign was to increase transport performance at the turn of the Second World War .
background
"Wheels must roll for victory,
unnecessary journeys prolong the war"
on a railway building in Blankenheim, the separation station (2013)
The reason for the campaign were increasing supply problems in the Russian campaign , for which the railways were largely blamed. The German troops' invasion of the Soviet Union, which began on June 22, 1941, came to a halt in the winter of 1941/42, not least due to supply problems.
At the same time, the number of civilians carried during the war increased from 2.21 billion in 1939 to 3.53 in 1943. As a consequence, the number of passenger trains has been restricted, discounts have been canceled and the use of certain passenger trains is only allowed with admission cards.
As a personal consequence of the supply problems, the State Secretary in the Reich Ministry of Transport , Wilhelm Kleinmann , was replaced in May 1942 by the younger Albert Ganzenmüller at the instigation of Albert Speer . Ganzenmüller had at the main railway Directorate East of the Eastern Railway made with the remedying of supply problems in the hinterland of the front a name.
At the end of June 1942, Gerhard Sommer, press officer at the Reich Ministry of Transport, called together the press officers of the western Reich railway directorates to accompany the planned measures with a propaganda campaign. The new State Secretary Ganzenmüller developed the motto “Wheels must roll for victory!” . In a transcript of the meeting he is quoted as saying: “This view must be conveyed to the German people as quickly and impressively as possible. The participation of the people in the work and performance of the Deutsche Reichsbahn must necessarily become much greater; the understanding of the special achievements for the homeland must grow. "
In particular, a series of measures was intended to increase the availability of empty wagons so that finished goods can be loaded promptly. By reducing the loading and unloading times, as well as a corresponding compression of the timetables , their availability should be increased. The transport performance of the Reichsbahn was to be further increased by the thus accelerated circulation.
media
As part of the campaign, a series of advertisements with different motifs appeared. Most of these depictions urged the reader to refrain from unnecessary travel. One motif showed a train compartment in which a soldier in marching gear stands in front of a seated, demonized traveler . Above it was written in large letters: “Will your journey help you win?”, Combined with the sub-line “Do you have to steal car space from the front ?”.
Other motifs were directed at railway workers and freight transport customers , in which stylized military personnel pointed out the importance of each individual car for the front-line supply. "Each car more " was equated , depending on the motif, with, for example, "One more tank against the enemy", "Steel for 1000 grenades " or "600,000 rounds for MG !", With a drawing of the respective worker or soldier over a large area emblazoned on the motif.
Special advertisements for trade magazines contained additional information and advice on how the transport capacity could be maximized: "Save wagon space!", "Prevent wagon damage!", "Load and unload even at night!" And "Do not leave any wagon corners empty!" Calls to the employees involved in the transport.
Motives turned to the population that encouraged them to refrain from private travel. Drawings of soldiers on their travels were framed by requests such as: “ He goes first! You renounce ! - Every place for front vacationers ! ”,“ Wehrmacht goes first! Renounce you to the Christmas travel "and" First win - then travel! ".
The advertisements were not limited to employees and passengers of the Reichsbahn. For example, an advertisement was sent to inland navigation operators with the words: “Every barge more - 60 freight wagons free for the front. Help with! Relieves the Reichsbahn. Load and unload the barges as quickly as possible! ”.
The daily press was commissioned to publish twelve advertisement motifs. These were initially switched twice a week, later once a week. In addition, advertisements in magazines and the political press as well as 30,000 DIN A2 posters were planned. In addition, the Reichspost was supposed to introduce a postmark with the slogan "First win, then travel" .
In addition to the posters, corresponding signs increasingly shaped the image of the train stations. In addition, increasing attention was drawn to the danger to trains from low-flying aircraft. The Reichsbahn also provided many of its locomotives and locomotive tenders with the slogans.
Before Christmas 1942, a film was also produced in which the population was asked not to travel. The three-minute film with the working title “Let it go!” Was produced by Döring-Filmwerke with a budget of 23,300 Reichsmarks . The film ran in 600 cinemas in the opening act.
As part of the campaign, the Reichsbahn calendar was also published in 1943. Due to a lack of paper, it was originally supposed to be discontinued when the 1942 edition appeared. It appeared to a lesser extent as a weekly instead of a daily calendar with 52 (previously 160) pages.
Transition to direct war propaganda
Starting in 1943, the advertising campaign was replaced by direct war propaganda that was carried out until a few months before the end of the World War. The slogan “We're going anyway!” Replaced “Wheels must roll for victory” in the face of increasingly massive air strikes .
Against the background of increasing bomb damage, maintaining rail operations became increasingly difficult, and most recently practically hopeless. Further campaigns, until shortly before the end of the war, appealed to the willingness of German railway workers to defend themselves and make sacrifices.
Corruption by opposition members
Already during the war, various corruptions or anti-proverbs were formed from the slogan, mainly as an expression of resistance against National Socialism (e.g. from the Edelweiss pirates in the form of wheels must roll for victory / Nazi heads roll after the War ).
literature
- Andreas Engwert: From "patriotic advertising" to "anti-travel propaganda" - advertising on the Reichsbahn 1933–1945 . In: DB Museum (Ed.): Go easy Go Bahn . Nuremberg 2008, ISBN 978-3-9807652-9-9 , pp. 115-120.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b DB Museum (ed.): In the service of democracy and dictatorship . 2nd edition 2004. Verlag DB Museum, Nuremberg 2004, ISBN 3-9807652-2-9 , pp. 108-110.
- ^ Hans-Christoph Blumenberg : Resistance in Cologne. In: The time . July 4, 1980. Retrieved November 25, 2019 .