People's Watch (Bielefeld)

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People's Watch.
Organ for the working people
Newspaper Volkswacht Bielefeld 1933.jpg
description daily newspaper
publishing company Gustav Slomke until August 1891
First edition July 1,  1890
attitude February 27,  1933
Frequency of publication Every day
Editor-in-chief u. a. Carl Severing , Carl Schreck , Bruno Schumann , Carl Hoffmann

The People's Watch. Organ for the working people was a social democratic newspaper in Bielefeld , which was founded in 1890 and existed until 1933.

history

It was founded in 1890 shortly before the end of the Socialist Law . The actual founder and initial publisher was Gustav Slomke, who issued share certificates for the establishment of the newspaper. After the party was able to work legally again, a meeting decided in 1891 to transfer the paper into party ownership against repayment of the contributions of the previous shareholders. Many of the partners, however, waived their claims. The local party set up a publisher in the form of a general partnership. The success of the paper in Bielefeld and the surrounding area was remarkable. The paper was the organ of the SPD for the area of East Westphalia and Lippe . She had reporters in various towns and cities. The main editorial office and printing plant were located in Bielefeld.

As a newspaper of the social democratic opposition, the People's Watch was often exposed to police and public prosecutor investigations into offenses against the press law . Emil Groth, the first senior editor, was imprisoned for a year and a half and sentenced to numerous fines. The situation was similar under the successors Bruno Schumann and Carl Hoffmann .

Former Volkswacht building in Arndtstrasse

The People's Watch was a central link for the local party and trade union organizations. From 1894 Carl Severing wrote for the paper. From 1912 to 1919 he was editor and in fact head of the newspaper, ever since Hoffmann was ailing. Even under Severing, the paper remained an instrument of agitation that served to win new members for the party or union. However, there was a certain modernization of the sheet through a new layout and the introduction of new categories. This included a kind of feature section and cultural contributions based on the socialist monthly issues. During this time, foreign authors such as Wilhelm Keil also came to the sheet. During his time in Bielefeld in 1912/1913, Ernst Reuter was also represented as an author in the People's Watch. In 1912 the People's Watch moved into a new building on Arndtstrasse. The editorship, printing and bookstore of the “People's Watch” were based there. The representative architecture expressed the influence that had grown since its foundation. On this occasion Severing formulated the goal of the newspaper: “ For its readers, the social democratic press is a teacher, educator, educator and fighter at the same time. “After his retirement as editor, Severing remained connected to the newspaper as an author.

During the Weimar Republic , the newspaper was more moderate in tone than before the First World War. At the end of the republic, the People's Guard vigorously and sometimes again with class struggle tones turned "against the brown flood." Since 1931, it had been the regional organ of the Iron Front . After the start of National Socialist rule, a temporary ban was imposed at the end of February 1933. In the last edition of February 27, 1933, it was still confidently said: “Bielefeld is red and will remain red!” As a result, the employees were persecuted, arrested or driven into exile. The publisher's buildings and property were confiscated on May 2, 1933.

After the Second World War, the Free Press continued the Volkswacht tradition with Severing as editor-in-chief and Emil Groß as publisher. Today the Neue Westfälische ties in with it.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Thomas Alexander: Carl Severing. Social democrat from Westphalia with Prussian virtues. Westfalen-Verlag, Bielefeld 1992 p. 22
  2. ↑ Thomas Alexander: Carl Severing. Social democrat from Westphalia with Prussian virtues. Westfalen-Verlag, Bielefeld 1992, pp. 68-71
  3. ^ The mouthpiece of the working class by Bernd J. Wagner, published in the Neue Westfälische on July 31, 2010, accessed on August 10, 2010

Coordinates: 52 ° 1 ′ 29.7 ″  N , 8 ° 31 ′ 47.2 ″  E