Reichsleiter for the press
The position of Reichsleiter for the press was established during the time of National Socialism in Germany and qualified for the presidency of the Reich Press Chamber. It served to bring society into line in the entire press area. The position was held from June 28, 1933 by Max Amann ; the Vice President of the Reich Press Chamber was Otto Dietrich .
assignment
After the takeover of the Nazi party in control of the press reached a new dimension. The new regime tried to bundle all German publishers and their assets in the Munich Eher-Verlag , the central publishing house of the NSDAP, which was chaired by the Reichsleiter for the press, Max Amann. This was an ardent supporter of Hitler , who as a soldier under him in the First World War had served.
history
As one of the 18 Reichsleiter, Amann held one of the highest party positions and was therefore directly subordinate to Hitler or his deputy. The total of all 18 Reichsleiter formed the Reichsleitung of the NSDAP .
As Reichsleiter for the press, Amann had various tasks, which he carried out according to an order of the Reich Press Chamber of April 24, 1935. They were issued on the basis of Section 25 of the First Ordinance on Implementing the Reich Chamber of Culture Act of November 1, 1933. Amann's duties as Reichsleiter included monitoring the publishing area. Publishing houses were allowed by him at will or even expropriated without compensation. Eher-Verlag usually appeared as the only bidder for publishers up for sale. Transactions were carried out through apparently neutral holding and financing companies. The Reich trustee was Max Winkler . Publishers that belonged to the scandal press were banned by him, publishers who were offended by the Nazi leadership lost their position. Jewish publishers, limited partnerships based on shares, stock corporations, foundations, GmbHs, cooperatives or publishers operated as foundations were excluded from membership in the publishers' association. In 1941, a ban on increasing the circulation of newspapers was even issued.
He developed the Völkischer Beobachter into the NSDAP's most important newspaper.
According to his order from 1935, the Reichsleiter für die Presse had the option of closing newspaper publishers in order to eliminate unhealthy competitive conditions. Smaller publishers that needed higher print runs to achieve profitability could be closed. The healthy publishing principles, freely interpretable by Amann, were the measure here . In terms of content, newspapers were no longer allowed to be printed if they were tailored to a confessional, professional or interests-based readership.
From 1939 the Reichsleiter also had the option of punishing unpleasant publishers with paper withdrawal due to the war situation, which was tantamount to closure.
As Reichsleiter Amann had despite Goebbels' Editor Law major impact on the staffing of newsrooms. However, due to the overlapping of their responsibilities, there was often tension. Goebbels, who was Reich Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, was also President of the higher Reich Chamber of Culture and thus chief Amanns. But since he was the head of the Eher publishing house and thus the main publisher of the Goebbels books, Goebbels received steadily larger amounts of money from his publishing house. This created a dependency between the two Reich leaders.
Amann remained Reichsleiter for the press until the end of the Second World War . With the Control Council Act No. 2 of October 10, 1945, the position as part of the Nazi organizations was banned by the Allied Control Council and the property was confiscated.
literature
- Christian A. Braun: Press control in the Third Reich 2004 on the homepage Future needs memories