Domestic Broadcasting in Wartime Nazi Germany, 1944-1945 by Gerald Kirwin

Domestic Broadcasting in Wartime Nazi Germany, 1944-1945 by Gerald Kirwin

This book covers the period from the approach of Allied and Soviet armies to the Reich frontiers in late summer 1944 right up to the final collapse in May 1945. With Nazi Germany facing invasion and eventual defeat, Nazi broadcasters now had the insoluble task of having to perform a tightrope act between holding on to ‘normality’, at odds with outside reality, and of running the risk of losing all trust among listeners. Access to the BBC Monitoring Reports enabled a detailed account of domestic broadcasting during the very last weeks, including the Flensburg spell. In this unprecedented situation facing the Reich, the principal focus lies in radio policy and tactics, as echoed in the conferences held in the Radio Department of the Propaganda Ministry, the programmes themselves, and the response of German listeners to the programmes. Detailed attention is paid to two insurmountable hurdles undermining the entire broadcasting effort: reception problems; and the illegal practice of tuning into enemy and neutral stations. In addition, there are detailed accounts of the controversy surrounding the broadcast of purported ‘jazz’, as well as Nazi radio's handling of the final wartime Christmas. Two surprising elements of the final months are also examined: the partial resumption of religious broadcasting; and the short-lived station, Radio Werewolf. In short, the period covered provides a fascinating case study in wartime broadcasting in a totalitarian state when all seemed lost and defeat only a matter of time.

Gerald Kirwin's professional career consisted of lecturing in history in Germany and freelance radio work for both domestic and external German radio stations. He has published three articles dealing with retaliation propaganda before and during the V1 and V2 attacks on London in 1944-5, Nazi propaganda’s treatment of the Allied bombing campaign, and a more recent account of German radio in the final months of the Second World War.