Association of Journalists of the GDR
The Association of Journalists of the GDR (VDJ) was an organization for journalists , initially under the umbrella of the FDGB of the trade union art and literature (and liberal professions) as a professional representation of interests and after breaking away from the FDGB in the early 1950s exclusively as a professional organization for journalists acted in the German Democratic Republic .
With the separation of the association from the trade union, it increasingly developed into an educational and steering body of the GDR government. The association, in which around 90% of all GDR journalists were organized, had around 8,500 members. About 85% of them were members of the SED .
He belonged to the National Front of the GDR and was a member of the International Organization of Journalists (IOJ) and the League for the United Nations in the GDR . Long-time chairman of the association was Harri Czepuck , also deputy chairman of the IOJ. His successor was Eberhard Heinrich in 1981 . At the end of January 1990 he was replaced by the radio journalist Gerd Kurz, who headed the association until it was dissolved in September 1990.
history
There was a professional association for journalists already in the Weimar Republic : the National Federation of German press (RDP), the figures such as Georg Bernhard ( editor in chief of the Voss newspaper presided) before the RDP by the Nazis from 1933 in Germany and 1938 in Austria was brought into line (see also editors law ).
The Association of Journalists of the GDR emerged from the post-war Association of the German Press (VDP), which was approved by the Allied Control Council on October 10, 1945 . The anti-fascist and pro-Soviet orientation of the VDP can be seen in the fact that the VDP also selected German applicants for the Soviet News Office (SNB) in the Soviet zone of occupation .
The association had the following names:
- 10 October 1945 approved as the Association of the German Press (VDP);
- Renamed the Association of German Journalists (VDJ) on May 30, 1959 ;
- 1972 renamed the Association of Journalists of the GDR (VDJ).
tasks
In the spirit of socialist journalism, the VDJ had to promote the political , ideological and technical education of its members and to represent their interests.
He supervised the training of journalists, which was only possible at the journalism section of the Karl Marx University in Leipzig , and was responsible for the further training of young journalists at the association's own technical school for journalism in Leipzig. He was the mediator in the enforcement of media-relevant party congress resolutions of the SED, state laws and ordinances and influenced the selection process for trips to non-social foreign countries.
At the same time, the association operated numerous foreign policy activities and maintained relationships with organizations and journalists in Europe , North , Central and South America as well as in Africa and Asia . He was also responsible for looking after foreign journalists in the GDR.
The VDJ was the organizer or co-organizer of current activities, e.g. B. on March 24, 1953 the working conference of film critics and editors of the GDR in the House of the Press in Berlin. Main lecture: Sepp Schwab , "The film criticism in our press and measures to improve it". Organizer: State Committee for Film and Association of the German Press.
organization
The highest organ was the congress of the VDJ at which the chairman and the members of the central board were elected.
The association held general assemblies (e.g. the 1st general assembly of the VDP on April 7, 1946 in the Ratskeller of the Schöneberg town hall ) as well as conferences of delegates (e.g. the VI Central Delegate Conference of the Association of the German Press in Berlin, which made the change of the name in the Association of German Journalists and the election of Georg Krausz as chairman).
The VDJ published the association magazine “Neue Deutsche Presse” and was the publisher of other magazines, books and pamphlets, e.g. B .:
- Handbook of the Democratic Press. Edited by Association of the German Press. Berlin, Die Wirtschaft, 1955.
- Freedom of the press in West Germany - phrase and reality. A documentation.
- Wolff, Wilhelm (1809–1864): The misery and the turmoil in Silesia (June 1844); The Casemates (November 1843); Also a billion (March 1849) / the original works by Wilhelm Wolff; [with an introduction by Karl Bittel], Berlin: Association of the German Press, 1952, Otsuka ** W * 304 ** (128099216);
- Journalistic Handbook of the GDR , VDJ Leipzig 1960.
The Franz-Mehring-Badge of Honor was awarded annually from 1956 onwards as the association's highest honor . Other awards included the VDJ's Journalist Award, the “Johannes R. Becher Award” and the “Golden Feather”.
Association chairwoman
| Period | Surname |
|---|---|
| 1945-1947 | Paul Ufermann |
| 1947-1951 | Fritz Apelt |
| 1951-1953 | Karl Bittel |
| 1953-1957 | Rudi Wetzel |
| 1957 | Deba Wieland , acting |
| 1957-1967 | Georg Krausz |
| 1967-1981 | Harri Czepuck |
| 1981-1990 | Eberhard Heinrich |
| 1990 | Gerd short |
Members were journalists from the GDR, including
- Walter Franze , 1st chairman of the VDP Berlin
- Emil Dittmer (1873-1960)
- Dr. Maximilian picking
literature
- Jürgen Wilke (Hrsg.): Journalists and journalism in the GDR . Böhlau Verlag, Cologne 2007, ISBN 978-3-412-36205-8 .
See also
Individual evidence
- ^ Press in the GDR. Online encyclopedia on Back then in the GDR at the MDR , January 28, 2009, archived from the original on October 3, 2009 ; Retrieved July 25, 2014 .
- ↑ Meyer's Universal Lexicon in four volumes , VEB Bibliographisches Institut Leipzig, 1st edition 1980, Volume IV, S 445.
- ↑ The VDJ at the time of reunification and the dissolution of the association , pp. 27–29. In: Jürgen Wilke (ed.): Journalists and journalism in the GDR . Böhlau, Cologne 2007.
- ↑ Peter Strunk in edition education and science, Volume 2, Censorship and censors: Media control and propaganda politics under Soviet occupation in Germany , Akademie Verlag Berlin, 1st edition 1996, ISBN 3050028505 ISBN 9783050028507 , OCLC: 36865400, p. 119. Restricted preview in the google book search.
- ^ Minutes of the workshop of film critics and editors of the GDR ; Deutsche Filmkunst, 1/1953, pp. 110–119, 2/1953, pp. 168–176, 3/1953, p. 176
- ^ History - sales offer from Antiquariat Dieter Trier ( Memento from September 12, 2004 in the Internet Archive ) In: antiquariat-dieter-trier.de
- ↑ Honoring Honored Journalists . In: Berliner Zeitung , February 7, 1956, p. 2.
- ↑ Andreas Herbst (eds.), Winfried Ranke, Jürgen Winkler: This is how the GDR worked. Volume 2: Lexicon of Organizations and Institutions, Do-It-Yourself Movement - Customs Administration of the GDR (= rororo-Handbuch. Vol. 6349). Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1994, ISBN 3-499-16349-7 , p. 1092.