Media and Politics in the GDR: Distorted Visions of West Germany 1971-1989
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Media and Politics in the GDR: Distorted Visions of West Germany 1971-1989 RHIANNON HEALEY BA History (Hons) MAY 2019 Presented as part of the requirement for an award within the Academic Regulations at the University of Gloucestershire. DECLARATION This dissertation is the product of my own work and does not infringe the ethical principles set out in the university’s Handbook for Research Ethics. I agree that it may be made available for reference via any and all media by any and all means now known or developed in the future at the discretion of the university. Rhiannon Healey 07 May 2019 i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Throughout the writing of this dissertation I have received an immeasurable amount of support and guidance. I would first like to thank my supervisor, Professor Melanie Ilic, whose expertise was invaluable throughout the formulation of my research topic and the methodology required to carry out this project. I would also like to thank Martina Seidel (Deutsches Rundfunkarchiv) and Sieglinde Hartmann (Bundesarchiv Dienststelle Berlin) for their correspondence and assistance in the conduction of my research during my time in Berlin and Potsdam. With their help, I had the opportunity to broaden the scope of my topic. I would also like to acknowledge Eusbio Locatelli (Staatsbibliotek zu Berlin) for granting me access to the Zeitungsinformationsystem so that I was able to browse relevant newspaper articles. Additionally I would also like to thank Subject Librarian Rachel Reid who kindly provided me with a wealth of secondary material that perfectly befit my topic, and to Lisa Print for encouraging me to develop my interests in history over the years. I am especially grateful to my friends Lisa Weigel and Gwen Milka with their native knowledge of the German language for their help in the translation of numerous documents. Finally, I would like to thank my friends and family for their support during this process. ii ABSTRACT On 9 November 1989, 30 years ago, Berlin was reunited, marking the end of an era of division between the East and West both physically and emotionally. However, life in Germany, particularly the East in the aftermath of the Second World War was not always so simple. During the later years of the German Democratic Republic, East Germany was essentially run by ‘the two Erichs’ for almost two decades. Honecker was considered the face of East Berlin while Mielke was responsible for the surveillance of not only the Republic’s own population, but also of the enemies in the Federal Republic of Germany. Both men were committed to socialist principles and to a system of authoritarian control until the end of the GDR in 1989. Consisting of a one-party system, the Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands were keen to repress political dissidents and reassert the superiority of the GDR by strategically projecting the FRG as the enemy of the state. One method was the monopolising of the press and media. However, the absence of the freedom of the press meant that GDR citizens sought alternative information services for the truth. These saw the increase in the consumption of Western media outlets, especially television and radio broadcasts as well as the creation of alternative spaces. Despite attempts to bring the media under central control, the presence of West German media was inescapable. The same policies of censorship that were designed to protect the GDR would also be the ones that were responsible for undermining the credibility of the state, thus bringing Communist rule in Germany and Eastern Europe alike to an end. iii Table of Contents DECLARATION ........................................................................................................... i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................... ii ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................ iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................ vi Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1 Chapter 1: How was West Germany portrayed as the “class enemy” through various media outlets? ............................................................................................................ 5 Chapter 2 – Why was the SED unable to fulfil its political agenda despite the use of censorship and manipulation of the media? ............................................................. 15 Chapter 3: A Case Study of Censorship – Punk as Subversion ............................... 27 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 38 Bibliography ............................................................................................................. 42 Primary sources: ................................................................................................... 42 Archival Sources; .............................................................................................. 42 Books; ............................................................................................................... 45 Unpublished Sources; ....................................................................................... 45 Newspaper/ Magazines / Periodicals / Journals; ............................................... 46 Music Albums: ................................................................................................... 47 Secondary sources: .............................................................................................. 48 Books; ............................................................................................................... 48 Journal Articles; ................................................................................................. 52 Unpublished Dissertations and Thesis’s ........................................................... 56 Websites; .......................................................................................................... 57 iv List of Figures Figure 1, Konsequenz einer Gesetzesverletzung/Consequence of a violation of the law, ZEFYS Zeitungsportal / DDR-Presse, Berliner Zeitung, Di. 15. Mai 1979, Jahrgang 35 / Ausgabe 113 / Seite 2 ....................................................................... 22 Figure 2, Stasi map showing the jamming campaign against the dissident radio show, Radio Glasnost. ............................................................................................. 25 Figure 3, Stasi Museum exhibition of a police mugshot of an arrested punk. ........... 29 v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ADN – Allgemeine Deutsche Nachrichtendienst (General German News Service) ARD – Arbeitsgemeinschaft der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Consortium of public-law broadcasting institutions of the Federal Republic of Germany) DFF – Deutscher Fernsehfunk (this would later change to ‘Fernsehen der DDR in 1972-1990) FRG – Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) GDR – German Democratic Republic (East Germany) IM – Inoffizieller Mitarbeiter (Unofficial Informer) SED – Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands (Socialist Unity Party of Germany) USSR – Union of Soviet Socialist Republics vi Introduction As Europe saw an increasing development in technology in the post-war years, it was in 1948 that the head of broadcasting in the Soviet occupation zone of Berlin, Hans Mahler predicted that in the near future: “a new and important technical step forward in the field of broadcasting in Germany will begin its triumphant march: television. There still stand numerous obstacles in the way of its development, but of this I am sure: they will be overcome”.1 Following the firm establishment of the socialist GDR state in 1949, the responsibility for media directives was transferred from the Soviet authorities to the SED leadership. In turn, the SED administration retained central control of public life through the apparatus of mass media, in order to ensure ideological and political conformity were adhered to. Moreover, the state’s burgeoning interest in the capability of television meant that in 1950, plans for a nationwide television service began to take shape, with test transmissions beginning in 1952, although a definitive network was not established until 1956. Meanwhile, over in West Germany, test broadcasts had already started in 1949 and daily broadcasts were televised to audiences in 1952. These West German television programs were popular in both states but especially with the East German population, thus posing a significant threat to the GDR's own television stations and other media outlets alike. 1 Joerg-Uwe Fischer, ‘Fernsehzentrum Berlin/Deutscher Fernsehfunk/Fernsehen der DDR 1952-1991’ in Das Schriftgut des DDR-Fernsehens. Eine Bestandsübersicht. (Potsdam-Babelsberg: Deutsches Runfunksarchiv, 2001) p.13 1 All too often the rivalry between the two German nations has been overshadowed by the overwhelming nature of the Russo-American discourse, thus leaving in its wake an abundant lack of serious scholarship regarding the importance of the GDR media in understanding how state antagonism further fuelled the division of the twentieth-century dreamworlds of the two nation states. Additionally, what little academia exists on this topic comes from the intellectual sphere, characterised by the