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TheJoan Shorenstein Barone Center

PRESS. POLITICS

. PUBLICPOLICY.

HarvardUniversity JohnF. KennedySchool of IurnooucrroN

Since Dieter Buhl wrote this Discussion Paper the peopleof the East for radical change.But the in the amazingwinter/spring months of 1990as a news,while impoftant/ did not trigger the revolu- Fellow at the |oan ShorensteinBarone Center on tion; once started,it merely acceleratedit. the Press,Politics and Public Policy,history has Buhl's study suggeststhat television functions continued to roll through his native Germany at on at least two levels:it can educatepeople, and a thunderouspace. On fuly 1, the currenciesof so it did for many years,one eveningafter another East and West Germany were merged(whether feedinginformation from the West into millions the FederalRepublic bought at in- of East German homes; and it can havea direct flated exchangerates is still an open question), influence on political events.Buhl tells about the and on fuly 16,Helmut Kohl, the likely Chancellor demonstrationsin I*ipziglast fall, which ultimately of a reunited Germany,and Mikhail Gorbacheg fired the imaginations of the once-docileEast the Presidentof a fractured Soviet(Jnion, reached Germans.'Without TV lightsi'Buhl writes,"these an historic agreementon the political and mili- weredignified manifestations for freedom-quiet, tary horizons of the new German .By early patient, yet very powerfull'Then, Monday after December,elections are almost certain to be held Monday,with metronomic regularity,the crowds in both Germanies,leading to reunification. The kept swelling until finally they becamea"story": unfinished businessof World War II, namely the they attracted the attention of Westem cameras. division of Germany in the heart of Europe,will "Suddenlyi'observes Buhl, referring to television havebeen done. as "an intruderi"'the quiet dignity and the impres- Buhl is one of Germany'stop reporters-for the sive restraint were gonel'In the United Statesas past 25 years,a specialiston European-American well as in East Germany,anywhere in fact that it relations.Educated at the FreeUniversity of Berlin, functions on a broad scale,television can be an he has also attendedthe University of Minnesota, 800 pound gorilla. But if, during the Leipzig Harvard and has lectured at Hamburg University. demonstrations,television encouraged"extreme His doctoral dissertationexamined "Science slogansi"'nationalistichyperbole" and "right-wing Reportingin RegionalNewspapers !' Since 1969, extremists/'as it did, it also converteda political he has been the Senior Political Editor of Die aspirationinto a passionatenationwide demandfor Zeit, a mass circulation weekly. change,one that could no longer be postponed. His researchhere focusedprimarily on the way Much of Buhl's researchrotates around a superb television from the Westernpart of Germany in- reporter'seye and feel, his senseof what hap- fluenced recent political developmentsin the pened and why. So far the scholarshave not Easternpart of Germany.(Somehow the terms dipped into the rich material that undoubtedly 'nWestGermany" and "East Germany" alteady exists in the closedCommunist archives.There seem dated.)It is a casestudy of the power of is little doubt that the old Marxist bureaucrats technology to changepolitics. When the Berlin must havekept recordson the impact of Western Wall still stood as a hideous reminder of the bru- television on their unhappy and impatient wards. tality of Communist rule, Ronald Reagansaid: The Department of fournalism atLeipzig Univer- "The biggestof Big Brothersis helplessagainst sity is supposedto havedone work on this subject, the technology of the Information Agel'There is though it used to deny it. Maybe now, in the new a smug, satisfying quality to the former Presi- Germany,where free inquiry will theoretically be dent's statement/but we ought to remember that cherished,scholarship will be able to join hands the peoplein East Germany had accessto West- with journalism and producea valuable study on ern news and information since the early 1970s this important theme. In the meantime, readBuhl. but didn't-perhaps couldn't-move decisively There'sno one better. againsttheir oppressiveregime until late 1989, when Gorbachevvisited East Berlin and, with a Dlarvin Kalb, few well-chosenwords about the importance and Edward R. Murrow Professor inevitability of change,encouraged the revolution Director, foan Shorenstein that no one, not evenGorbachev himself, had en- Batone Center on the Press, visaged.The news from the West had prepared Folitics and Public Policy WINDOW TO THE WEST How Televisionfrom the FederalRepublic InfluencedEvents in EastGermanv

Only a short time aftera member of the East West Germany enjoyedunsurpassed freedom and German Politburo (SED)had announceddramatic prosperity.Then they had watched the Soviet changesin travel regulations and after West Ger- Union and other communist countries being man television had interpretedthem on the eve- changedby g/asnost andperestroifta. Should their ning news,East Berlinersbegan to flock to the state turn into the last resort of ? This Wall. After having been denied free movement for becamean evermore anxious question. decades,most of them were still skeptical wheth- Isolated from the West and increasingly insu- et on this 9th of November, 1989,they would fi- lated in the East,the German Democratic Repub- nally be allowed to crossthe border into the oth- lic threatenedto become the outcast of Middle er part of the city. Their doubts were confirmed Europe.Its citizens didn't find much solacein the when the border guards stopped them with their marginal concessionsof the Communist regime. all too well known bureaucratic intransigence. Certainly, it had loosened its grip a bit on travel At Checkpoint Bornholmer Streetin the to the West.But those who had been allowed to meantime/ thousandsof people thronged impa- visit relativesin the FederalRepublic had to ei- tiently. They beganto shout, full of angerand ther be of retirement age or leave behind pawns, "Let 'We'll impatience. us goi'they demanded. their children, wives, husbands.When they come backi'they assuredthe .The guards returned after their all-too-short acquaintance stood unmoved. The situation changed,however, with a free society, they asked even more urgent- when suddenly the lights of a Westerntelevision ly why they at home still had to endure all the crew flared up. Now there was an international detriments of a repressivesystem. witness to yet another example of the arbitrari- Freedomof information in particular had been nessof the East German government.The Peo- even more curtailed during recent years.The ple'sPolice bowed to the signs of the times. It just govemment had always tightly controlled the steppedaside and peoplerushed through the for- press.East Cerman papershad to write along tified demarcationline to West Berlin. For the strict Party lines and Westem publications were first time in 28 yearsEast Berliners could go to not allowed into East Germany. The vast majority the other part of the city that was a world most of East Berliners, for instance, had never seen one had seenonly on television. of the paperswhich were produced only a few Another critical moment of the East German miles away on the other side of the Wall in West revolution had passedpeacefully and Westerntele- Berlin. But, fearing the dangerof infection of glas- vision again had provedits authority. As the nost, the Honecker govemment turned the screw Communist rulers could neither eliminate nor still tighter. It even prohibited the import of censorthe electronic media from the West,they some Soviet papers,which contained critical arti- for decadeshad been a beaconof truth and free- cles about Stalinism. dom for the East Germans.Television especially In this increasingly absurdand frustrating situ- provedto be a mighty intruder for this hermeti- ation, the East Germans more than everused a cally closed society.It provided a suppressedpeo- unique advantage.Unlike other peoplesunder ple with reliable information about the world, it communist rule, they shared the same language, psychologicallyopened a small, but straight path the same cultural and historical backgroundwith out of the misery of socialism and it finally gave the citizens of a neighboring country in the West. critical support to the oppositional forcesthat This gavethem the chanceto utilize the elec- swept awaythe despisedone party rule. tronic media of that country the FederalRepub- In the Eastempart of the divided Germany, lic. And so they did, without any qualifications. tension and despairhad been building for a long For as successful as the East German government time. First, citizens of East Germany had asked had been in building a concretewall, an electron- why they had to suffer from political suppression ic wall it could not build. and economic mishap while their countrymen in Thus, all East Germans could receiveat least

Dieter Buhl 1 half a dozen Westem networks. Their ratings by Becauseof this disadvantage,those regions far surpassedthose of the East German stations, were not very popular among East Germans. If especially RIAS, an American-controlled network they had to change jobs or their place of resi- "the in West Berlin, which enioyed, by far, more dence, they usually tried to avoid valley of listeners in the East than in the West. the unsuspectingl' (Dresden)or the Greifswald This penetration by radio from the West distin- area. Cable television, in the meantime, guished EastGermany from all other communist promised to change that condition. According to countries. None of them was as exposedto West- a report in the Frankfurter Allgemeine,by 1984 ern broadcastsin a widely understoodlanguage. more than 2.3 million of the 11million house- In North Koreaor the People'sRepublic of China, holds in East Germany were connectedto cable statesthat exist in a divided nation, the situation television. And EastBerlin, giving in to the impa- is markedly different. In North Korearadio sets tient demand of its people,even had fed the most are exclusively programmed for government sta- important West German public TV channels- tions, and Taiwan has to coverdistances too long ARD and ZDF-into its cable system. to reachMainland China comprehensivelywith Then there was television by satellite. Though its airwaves. they cost around 25,000 East Marks, far more Due to the specialgeographic and geopolitical than the averageyearly income, many East Ger- conditions, the citizens of East Germany there- mans bought parabolicantennas. With them they fore experienceda certain kind of g/asnostlong could receivenearly all West German private tele- beforethis notion becameknown worldwide as a vision stationE-amongthem Eins Plus,Sat l, synonym for more transparency.This privilege of RTL Plus-though not ARD andZDF. its people,of course,created difficult problems This penetration by West German electronic for the regime. media had alwaysgiven a headacheto the East German authorities. Rulers in Moscow,for exam- Control of the Airwaves ple, were able to jam Westernstations like the SinceCommunist parties sprangup at the Voice of America or Radio FreeEurope, but offi- beginning of this century in every revolutionary cials in Berlin had neverbeen able to cut off the situation the control of information had been one electronic intrusion from neighboring West of their most important maxims. In former times Germany. that meant taking possessionof the printing As authorities had no technical means to lock presses.Later the supervisionof airwavesbecame out Westernthoughts, they tried ideological ones. an evenmore powerful urge of the Communists. 'The enemy of the peoplestands on the roofi' East German rulers, however,just could not complained Walter Ulbricht, East Cermany's follow that traditional advice.They did own near- strong man until 1971.At the height of the cold ly all the printing facilities as well as all radio War the regime began to eliminate the tempta- and television stations in their country but they tion by violent means.Fighting brigadesof the did not have any weapon againstthe electronic Communist FreeGerman Youth (FD|) climbed invasion from the West.And if Westernradio was the roofs and cut down the antennas,but there dangerous,Western television posedeven greater were just too many of them pointed to the West threats for them. to be destroyed.Therefore, the West Berlin 'Thgesspiegel" 'The The East Berlin government,therefore, had rea- could declare rightly: SED son enough to be alarmed.In 1989,95% of all can determine what may be printed and broad- East German householdsowned a TV set (half of cast within the GDR, but in their own living- them color); most of them were also able to re- room people allow the class enemy to take the ceive broadcastsfrom the West, and they even floorl' saw them in color. For though all EasternEurope- Attempts to fight the electronic adversaryon an countries use the French Secamsystem, with East German airwavesbackfired as well. The the help of (costly)transformers East Cermans broadcast of the notorious agitator Karl-Edward could receiveWest German TV using the PAL von Schnitzler, for instance, had no impact on system/ in color. the East Germans.His'tlack channel" show in West German television reached80-85% of the which he commented on manipulated segments East German area. Western broadcastscould now of West German television drew extremely low reach all East Germans with the exception of ratings. those living in the valley of the River Elbe around At the ninth plenum of the Central Commit- Dresden and in the northem edge of the country tee in I97},Erich Honecker for the first time had 'TV'estem around the city of Greifswald. openly admitted the influence of mass

2 Window to the West media, especially radio and television of the Fed- Hesse'sresearch did bring to light the first deeper eral Republic, which here everybody can switch insight to East German television habits and the on and off as he likesl'As the East German attitude people had towards West German TV. govemment could not prevent the people from Hesse'smost important findings reveal the watching West German TV, it gradually gavein. extent to which the East Germans used West Still, paperslike the EastBerlin'T,ltemhaus und Cerman television. Eighty-two percent of them Schule" ('?arentd House and School") as recently watched it regularly, 17"/" often or occasionally, as 1983tried to warn parentsabout the dangersof and only 1% seldom. (Other poll results prove bad moral influence for their children and that the reception of West German radio was "parents, demandedthat by their own discipline even more extensive, especially in those regions in using mass media/ set an example for their where Westem TV could not be received; nearly children." two-thirds of those polled listened only to West- One can imagine how the regime suffered em radio and never tuned in to East German sta- from the fact that the East Germans had tions.) The ratings for East German TV cor- unimpeded accessto Western television. Not respondinglytumed out to be very low: just 10% only could the people act as a truth squad, tuned in the state television channel often or challenging everything that was said and done by dally, L9o/"occasionally, 72Y" very seldom or the Communist regime, it opened the window to never. Only in areasnot reached by Westem TV Westemsocieties. The people of the first'Wor- were the ratings up for Eastem television; there, kers and PeasantsState on German soili'as the 49o/o,28o/", 23o/o, rcspectively, watched it. regime proudly called itself, had an undiluted and unfiltered view of the Westem way of life. Quality of Broadcasting They were able to compare, and what they found West Cerman television was without a doubt a out certainly did not speak for their system. most important sourceof information-and en- West German television provided them with teftainment. A major reason/one suspects/may authentic information about how people in the havebeen the drabnessof EastGerman broad- West lived and worked, how they loved and quar- casting,which rarely providedentertaining pro- reled, how they enfoyed and suffered. On their grams.As all other mass media, it was subordi- screensthey could watch the image of a society nated to the Department of Agitation of the which was completely different from their own, Politburo. Freedomof the presswas indeed grant- free and prosperous. ed under Article 27(21ofthe Constitution, but The impact of the signals from the West is as only in a Communist sense.'The socialist press yet unmeasured. The effects of Western television may not be free in the sensethat it disorientates undoubtedly have been investigated by East Ger- the socialist consciencei it said in a commentary man institutions. The Department of |oumalism of the Constitution. at l.e,ipzigUniversity, which is suspectedof hav- Television had to be a tool of the Party and it ing done such research,denies any involvement. proved to be a clumsy one. As Lenin had demand- The director of the Institute for Intemational ed of the Party papersin 1901,East German tele- Poliry and Economy (Institut fuer Intemationale vision tried to be "collective propagandist'f,,col- 'tollective Politik und Wirtschaft der DDR), ProfessorMax lective agitatori and organizeri'It did it Schmid, has reported that many years ago his in- with embarassingresults. East German network stitute had watched West German media and its news in particular never came close to fulfilling coverageof East Germany, but long before the fall its mission. It was orderedin its statute to con- 'bf of the Wall, maintains Schmid, they had come to vince the audience the law of victorious so- the conclusion that their way of looking at the cialism and the processof demarcationbetween problem was wrong. Therefore, he claims, they the socialist German national state and the im- had stopped working on this project. perialist state,FRGI'But the many horror pictures In West Cermany, the most comprehensive in- of the FederalRepublic transmitted from the vestigation up to now was done by Kurt R. Hesse headquarters of East German TV in Adlershof of the University of Bamberg,published in the only miles away from the center of West Berlin book, I,VestMedia in the GDR: Utilization, Im- missed their goal. age and Effects of West German Radio and Tble- Not only did the people not trust the news uision. BetweenAugust 6 and 16,1985,he inter- coming out of Adlershof, they were bored by it. vie-wed205 emigrees from East Germany in the Minutes-long recitations of the names and titles refugee camp of Giessen, West Germany. Despite of visiting foreign delegations or the usual reports the small, select nature of his sample group,

Dieter Buhl 3 about yet another record harvest or a workers' meant to switch off the socialist reality, to take hero kept the ratings at low ebb. 'They treated us refuge from gloomy every-daylife. They preferred like childreni'observedGoeran Haiek, social psy- everything they saw on the screen/ from commet- chologist at LeipzigUniversity, "working by the cials for Cornflakes or Volkswagensto Westem motto: tomorroru we will tell you another fairy showmasters or newscasters,to what they tale!' experienced in their own environment. 'It Author Stephan Heym strikingly described the increased fascination with the Westem shortcomings of East German TV. In a self-trial, worldi' observessocial psychologistHaiek. {f he had stayed away from West German newscasts East Germans saw anything on their television and for four weeks only watched the East Ger- that satisfied them, they used to praiseit by judg- man "Aktuelle Kamera"(AK|. His results cor- ing it'nearly as good as in the West1" respondedwith the impressionsof the great Kurt R. Hesse,with the help of his poll, tried majority of his countrymen:'You can do auto- to find out what attractedEast Germans most to genous training also in a more direct wayi he Westem channels.Pluralism and opennessof the stated. "My right arm stafts sleeping, my left program ranked first (56olol.Other attractions the (arm) starts sleeping,I begin to sleepl' East German audiencefound in programsbeamed The East German station's underdevelopedap- from acrossthe border were: quality of single peal was also proved by the media expert and broadcast142'/"1, variety 120"/"1,quality of infor- former East GermanFranz Coeser.Though it was mation (80%),and relaxedpresentation 140%1. placedbetween ZDF news (7:00p.m.) and ARD In the eyesof EastGerman viewers,all other news (8:00p.m.), AK iust did not draw much at- advantagesof Westem TV were surpassedby its tention. 'TVhenit begins at 7:30 p.m.i' Coeser credibility. Eighty percent iudgedit more or claimed severalyears ago/"it has a rating of 3o/", much more credible that EastBerlin's state televi- at 7:3I the rating is down to O.2"/"'! sion. This helped WesternTV news to become There may be doubts about the scientific basis the outstanding sourceof information. The main of this assertion,but there can be no doubt that news programs,Tagesschau (ARD) andHeute the East German television never fulfilled its fun- (ZDFI, enjoyedmuch higher relative ratings in damental task, defined at its founding. Heinz the East than in the West. Sixty-fivepercent of Adamek, for many years chairman of the State the East German TV audiencewatched Tagess- Commission on TV, had hope at the beginning chau regtlarly, as Hesse found out, and 357o for "the povrer of the creation of TV to shape the occasionally; the ratings f.orHeute were 460/" and mental developmentof manl'It neverworked out. 43o/o,rcspectively. Party-controlled media, East German television The East German propagandacondemned the "electronic proved again and again,iust cannot win the in- attractivenessof Westem newscastsas terest and imagination of people,much less their imperialisml'The people in the Workersand hearts.In the end, Easterntelevision becamea PeasantsState, however, cherished the authentici- laughing stock.'tast German televisioni' mocked ty and honesty of West German television news. "becomes West Berlin filmmaker Harun Farock, As Antony |ohn Goss points out in his book, Pic- ever more similar to a pupil's presentation of tures of Germany in Tblevision,they trusted West German TVI' Westem news four times as much as the news This comment should not be understoodas a programs provided by Eastern TV. West Germans, wholehearted endorsement of television in the in reference to contradictory news items, con- FederalRepublic. The severalprivate stations and sider TV as a much more trustworthy informant the two main public channels have their own (69%l than radio (30%)and newspapers(ll%). It shortcomings. ARD andZDF are publicly con- can be suspectedthat the often betrayedEast trolled systems.West German political parties try Germans rllied even more heavily on news (from to have as much influence as possible on the pro- the West) which they could see with their own gram and on personal structure. This occasional- eyes. ly leadsto broadcaststhat are either too biasedor As dangerousas the rulers considered the too balanced. Granted existence by state treaties news from the West, they were not much less and regulated audience fees are additional rea- frightened by entertainment offered on Westem sons for a certain lack of flexibility and for com- channels. Shows and movies tumed out to be an placency of the public networks. important vehicle for Westem ideology. They For viewers in the East, however,West German demonstrated how free people think and act, how television provided unrivaled information and freely they can talk and travel, and what a high distraction. To switch on a Western channel standard of living they enjoy.

4 Window to the West There has been only limited researchas yet on reports without mentioning them. Readersof the the reception of Westem entertainment. Hesse,in paper,who had not watched West German TV his studies, concentrated on two of the most the evening before, wondered why it published popular series.He found out that 4oo/oof the East certain stories that seemedto come out of the German women polled and 2I% of the men blue. watched Dallas regularly; Dynasty each week The best effect analysis to date, though not attracted37o/o oI the female viewers, 18% of the very systematic, has been by West German jour- males.As Dr. ShepardStone, former director of nalists who worked in East Germany. Fritz Pleit- the Berlin Aspen Institute and an experienced gen, former ARD correspondent in East Berlin, witness of East German developments, observed gavea typical example: 'If Honecker made a long there were especiallytwo reasonsfor the wide- speech about foreign policy, people would register spreadfascination: 'Gast German women were it only after Westem news reported about iti' just overwhelmedby the elegantdresses wom in Sometimesreports in West German television these series,and the men loved the wonderful even created hysteria on the other side of the bor- cars berng driven around Dallas and Denverl' der. When Tagesschauannounced an imminent, It was these seriesthat causeda deepsplit dramatic change of the Intershop system, where among the TV audience. At least as many view- East Germans could buy rare Western goods with ers as were fascinated by the American family valuta, long lines appearedin front of the stores sagasdespised them. The ruling party in particu- the next moming. People were afraid that they lar condemnedthese modem fairy tales as Soft would not be able to use their precious hard cur- agitationl',tsut they are somehow made so welli' rency any more. admitted an East German functionary //that you An especially striking example of its influence can watch them, even if you know the reason for and credibility was made when West German TV these undertakingsl' did a very positive review on the East German fb Westem newscaststhe regime did not react movie "Solo Sunnyl'Its box office, it tumed out, so permissively; however,there was not much was much better in regions where Westem televi- they could do about them. After many years of sion could be receivedthan in those where it indoctrination, the desireof the people for truth could not. was buming too brightly to be extinguished.The Western correspondents,however/ never had an East German authorities were only left with the easy task in East Germany. Until 1971 they were hope that Aldous Huxley's Soma effect might hardly allowed into the country. Only for special work, that finally all of the positive influx from occasions,such as political eventsin EastBerlin the West would lead to assist in stabilizing, or the leipzig Tiade Fair, could they get license to paralyzingsatisfaction. But as the East German shoot. revolution proved, even this last hope tumed out A change for the better occurred when, in to be an illusion. December IgTL,bothGerman statessigned the Sasic Treaty" which established new relations Folitical Credibility between them. West German correspondents News is power. Coming from the West it per- were allowed to become accredited in East Berlin manently undermined the alreadyminute credi- and were granted some freedom of reporting. It bility of the governing Party. It counterbalanced tumed out to be limited. Only one year later, the constant attempts of disinformation. It new regulations warned against any defamation helped peopleto decodethe propagandain the of the government and granted indoor shooting or official Party papers.And in many casesit con- interviews with "leading personalities" only with tradicted the gloomy picture East German TV special permission. Many correspondentsfell into painted of the FederalRepublic. This "truth the traps of these regulations and were expelled squad" effect was multiplied by communication from East Germany. Among them was ARD cor- at the working place and in private circles, for respondent Lothar Loewe, who became a cause West German newscastsalways provided the peo- celdbre; he was thrown out of the country after ple in EastGermany with one of their most he had claimed in a commentary that everybody popular topics of conversation. in the GDR knew "that the border troops have The attempts of the East German leadership to strict orders to shoot people like haresl' defuse explosive news items from the West occa- West German journalists were watched by sionally led to a special kind of shadow boxing. security forces and had to endure an official ob- Thus, the Communist central organ/ Neues server at their side when they traveled, but they Deutschland, tried to refute Westem television experienced a lot of satisfaction as well. The

Dieter Buhl 5 govemment provoked so many contradictions that he experienced first-hand the brutality of the that correspondentscould correct with great im- state security ()many times. pact. They interpreted travel regulations, which As in the SovietUnion and Poland,intimida- East Berlin purposely kept blurry or they report- tion of the media did not help the EastGerman ed about important church meetings,which East govemment. More and more East Germans who German television nearly alwaysneglected com- iust could not bear the arbitrarinessof the regime pletely. either cried out their despairor, by fleeing rnto Becauseof their important function, Westem Westem embassies,tried to find an escaperoute TV iournalists were not only well known out of the .Many times West Ger- throughout the German Democratic Republic, man television was there to recordthe protest. they were celebrated wherever they appeared. Televisionthen becamean evermore important Becauseof their influence and their reputation, force in East German politics. The functionaries those correspondentsalso played a decisivepart of the ruling party tried to calm the people down in the East German revolution. and promise them change.They warned against When exactly the revolution startedonly his- instability, a notion intended to frighten the peo- tory will tell. There is no doubt, however,that ple who had been led by the nose for so many West German camerasaccompanied it. Ronald years.But watching West German news each eve- Reagan,who himself had alwaysused communi- ning, the EastGermans could registerhow many cations so well, was particularly on target in the of their countrymen felt about the official caseof the East German upheavalwhen he said: promises and warnings. 'The biggestof Big Brothersis helplessagainst the technology of the Information Agel' Tblevisionand Unification It was,for instance,the technology of the most Since the Wall was built in August oI196I, powerful loudspeakersthat demonstratedthe there had alwaysbeen a great desirefor escape helplessnesso{ the Communist regime.When on from the East. Even though a growing number of Whit Sundayof.1987 there was a giant pop festival East Germans had been allowed to leavethe in West Berlin near the border,the soundsof rock country legally in recent years,there remained music roaredfar into the other part of the city. many still who didnt want to wait for the official Hundreds of East Berlin youths crowdedat their permit, which could take yearsto get. They side of the Wall to enjoy the music from a world thereforetried to escape,though even in the age out of their reach.West German cameracrews were of the new detentethis could mean death. As late there to capture this unique gathering and the as spring of 1989,people were killed while trying enthusiasm of the young people.The scenetumed to flee acrossthe .On Febru- ugly, however,when East German ary 26, a 20-year-oldlocksmith was shot by bor- beganto harassthe Westem journalists and, ac- der guards;only four weeks later a 32-year-old companiedby the crowd shouting "the Wall must man fell to death while trying to escapewhen his goi'smashedthe equipment of TV crews. self-madeballoon failed. This spontaneousaudience near the Branden- Televisioncould not cover tragic eventslike berg Gate set an early example of courageof East these,for they happenedwithout warning. It was Germans in the face of an almighty and omni- present,however, when the countdown finally presentpolice state.Many were to follow, and beganfor the collapseo{ the Communist rule. often Western TV was there to record them. For The counting started in the early days of August East Germans it not only demandeda lot of cour- 1989,when Hungary hesitatingly perforatedthe ageto protest in full public, it was also the only way which had separatedEast and West to alarm the world and, via West German tele- for over four decades.East Germans,for whom vision, shake up their o$/n countrymen. Hungary had been one of the few foreign coun- So by the end of 1988more and more citizens tries where they could spendtheir holidays,used of East Germany stood up in front of Westem their chance.Initially Hungarian border guards cameras to expresstheir anger and contempt for tried to prevent them from fleeing, but Westem the Communist regime.'?eople hoped to be pro- television coveredthe border and interviewed tected by the cameras/'explainedZDF correspon- those who successfullycrossed it, asking them dent Michael Schmitz, "and they therefore tried about the risks and the best escaperoute. The to protect the reportersl'Quite often, though, the East Germans, who still were imprisoned in their mutual protection didr/t work. Not only were the country were able to watch all this on West Ger- demonstrators beaten up, but the reporters as man television. If they were mobile and coura- well; Michael Schmitz, for instance,recounts geous enough, they followed suit.

6 Window to the West Thus, the Exodus from East Germany began. A Public OpinionJ'we shall assume that what each vote by feet occurred that, in the end, set the man does is basednot on direct and certain stagefor the unification of Germany. knowledge, but on pictures made by himself or By becoming an ever more important pulpit given to him'l-therefore had a special meaning for dissidents and by massively supporting the for television audiences in East Germany. escapefrom East Germany, West German tele- If East Germans watched both East and West vision (and to some degreeradio) permanently in- German TV, they were exposedto two complete- creasedthe pressureon the EastGerman rulers. ly oppositepictures of the world, and especially The electronic needleagain and againpunctured of the two Germanies. In its newscastsand news the seemingly safe arnor of the regime. magazines,Eastern television offeredan East Ger- East Germans were also, through television, many without deficiencies.It used the darker witnessesto the most open humiliation of the colors to portray West Germany. At the average, Communist system. While the regime celebrated lo"h of the news was dedicated to unemploy- its 4oth anniversary with paradesand pompous ment/ housing problems or the crime rate in speeches,Westem camerascaptured the less West Germany. fustirremood of the people.Though police tried Only after the borders were opened were most with brutal force to prevent television from East Germans able to acquire direct knowledge of shooting, the cameras neverthelesswere able to the West. Though they had been exposedto recordthe mass manifestationsof dissidentsthat much insight by Westem media, there still were took place in EastBerlin while, at the same time, surprises.'The most striking impressioni' recalls govemment officials were acting like the orches- Goeran Hajek, "was how colorful and orderly this tra on the Titanic. country isl' From then on, East Germans were able to ob- Contrary to the agitators at Adlershof, ARD serve in their own living rooms how dramatically andZDF used only 1.5"/"of. their newscastto their oppressorswere losing their power. West report on the other Germany. This, among others, German, not EastGerman, television daily was one of the reasonswhy West Germans knew offered them an insight into the historic process relatively little about East Germany. 'Tor a long that at the end swept the old guard from power. timei'states Volker Herres in his book Kennzeichen "people For the first time, therefore-though it only Q in the FederalRepublic knew more about becameapparent later-the public media of West Belgium or Great Britain than about the GDRi' Germany came closer to fulfilling its own politi- Though they were exposedto comprehensive cal mandate.The treaty betweenthe public indoctrination by their media, East Germans broadcastsystem North German Radio (NDR) developedtheir own ideas about the country on and its three supporting states,for instance/says, the other side of the barbed wire. When the wave 'The programsof the NDR shall . . . stand up for of refugeesgushed into the West, East Germans the unity of Germany in peaceand freedoml'The could watch on thefu screenshow warmly and treaty requiresthat programs'shall servethe re- generously those who had left everything behind unification of Germany in peaceand freedom and them were received by their kin in the Federal the understandingbetween the peoplel'In this Republic. connection it demandsfrom TV the willingness There were also complaints about the heavy- "to and ability conveya picture of German handednessof the pictures of people fleeing to reality." freedom. Fritz Pleitgen, editor-in-chief of West But which picture of the FederalRepublic did German Radio (WDR), repofted: 'Young members West German television offer the viewers on the of the (EastGerman) opposition are sick and tired other side of the border?It certainly did not pres- of the emotional approach of West German tele- ent a country without faults. As products of a vision. They don't want any more of their coun- pluralistic society which automatically keepsits trymen being shown while they climb the fence distance towards state and govemment, the sta- of the West German embassy in Praguel"That tions painted very contradictory images of West hurts our dignityi Pleitgen quoted them. Germany.'Tor the buildup of cumulative knowl- But the vast majority of East Germans were edge and securedunderstanding of political con- elated by what they watched. They knew that tacts" it is not suited, judged media expert Win- they finally could leave their country without fried Schulz. This is especially convincing, permission by an arbitrary bureaucracy,and that becauseEast Germans were not able to comple- freed them of their fear. Already in early summer ment news from a free TV system by deepening of 1989,members of the new and, for the first information from a free press.'The world outside time, organized opposition had appearedto East of our reacW'that Walter Lippman described in Germans on West German television, for the

Dieter Buhl 7 Communists/ not astonishingly, concealed them people took to the streets, they were surrounded from the public. During the summer, Westem TV by heavily armed police and militia. But because more and more became the stagefor opponents of of the appeasingintervention of Kurt Masur, con- the East German regime. With electronic help, ductor of Leipzig's world famous Gewandhaus the dissidentscould present their deepresent- Orchestra,and five other leading citizens, people ment and criticism of Honeckels misrule and were able to demonstratepeacefully, and a blood- could air their own political conceptions. bath was prevented. These presentations were instrumental in No television was at hand when this hap- bringing the people to the streets in many East pened. Nor was it present during the following German cities. Machiavelli, who has provided so two or three Monday rallies. Without TV lights, much insight into the psychology of the political these were dignified manifestationsfor process/proved only half right in this case.'The freedom-quiet, patient, yet very powerful. For reformer/'he had once claimed, 'has enemies in two hours the peopleof Leipzig marched around all those who profit from the old order and only their inner city, through darkness and devastating lukewarm supporters in those who profit from smog. It turned out that by their sheerpresence the new orderi'Those demonstratorswho and their fighting slogan,'nW'e are the peoplei'the demanded immediate reforms were not luke- Leipzigersdid more than any other EastGermans wflrrn; they marched in the face of large contin- to topple their regime. gents of police and militia-and {at least at the Then television appeared.First it could only beginning)without the protection of West Ger- secretly take shots of the revolting masses.Later, man TV. with the state authorities losing control, it was As Westem correspondentsat this time (late able to coveropenly and the rallies changedfor Septemberand early October) were not allowed to the worse.Television in kipzig acted as an cover the demonstrations, there were only ama- intruder, for suddenly the quiet dignity and the teur cameramen, if anyone/ recording them. Ver- impressive restraint were gone. The Monday bal news about the manifestations in Westem demonstrationsbecame a TV event with extreme media, however,proved sufficient enough to help slogans,with nationalistic hyperbole,and finally provoke an avalanche of protests all over East evenwith right-wing extremists from West Ger- Germany. many using the scenefor their repulsive The absenceof Westem TV, in some casesat purposes. least, was also very important. It prevented the phenomenon that is known from many demon- Conclusion strations in Westem democracies:as soon as tele- The best surveysof the dramatic events during vision lights flare up, people behavedifferently. the fall and winter of 1989for East Germans were Being in the limelight in many casesnot only given by West German television. Its correspon- leadsthem to become more courageousand out- dents in East Germany used the accelerating spoken, but to act more artificially and even ag- breakdown of authority to neglect the impeding gressively.They do things for the cameras that working rules and roam the country. Especially they would never do without them. Besidesthat, revealing were the interviews with members of television -willingly or unwillingly- tends to the formerly powerful Communist elite. For the forge the image of demonstrations, becauseas an first time, East Germans could watch their op- optical instrument it is attracted by symbols and pressorsbeing interviewed thoroughly and actions. aggressivelyby Westem joumalists, which con- The events in the city of I-eipzig set a vivid ex- firmed the ignorance and mediocrity they had ample for this phenomenon.In this second always suspectedexisted at the top. Even the East largest East German city, from very early on, Berlin state-controlled TV began to shake off services in the Nikolai Church had been a cata- some of its chains and to tum from ideology to lyst for the movement for peace and freedom. reality. During the entire summer of 1989,dissidents Since then, the speedyprocess of rapproche- had congregatedthere to demand reforms of the ment between the two German states has also Peasantsand Workers State. More and more peo- promoted cooperation between television on both ple joined the services and started to assemble in sides of the border. |oint German TV productions the streets afterwards. are envisaged,and even West German commer- Leipzig finally became known as the hotbed cials on East German television are anticipated. ("city of.heroesi'as one poet called it) of East Ger- With the hard currency eamed by the commer- man revolution. When on October 9 some 70,000 cials, officials in Adlershof calculate, they will be

8 Window to the West able to buy additional Westem TV production. One outcome at least can be anticipated now As EastGerman television adjuststo its new already.It would not be surprising if in this con- freedom,it may, as long as it survives,become nection Sigmund Freud'slist of the three impossi- more interesting for the audiencein the West.In ble professions- government,education, psycho- 1988,only l0o/oof those people in the Federal analysisJ'in which you can be sure from the Republic who could receiveEast German televi- beginning to only reach unsatisfactory resultsi' sion used this opponunity. Livelier, less ideologi- would have to be expanded to include TV journal- cally impregnatedprograms already attract more ism. For though West German TV for many years and more of the l0 million potential West Ger- helped the EastGermans with vital information man viewersin the EastGerman transmission and occasionallyvitalizing entertainment, it range,as the company for consumption research could teach them only marginally how to live in in Nuerenbergfound out. a free society and how to copewith the chal- The rmpact of West German television on pub- lengesof a democracy.Television can deliver lic opinion and behavior in East Germany, how- images, it may be proved again soon, but it can- ever,will remain a subject of researchfor many not replaceexperience. )'ears to come. With empirical investigation now possible, it may yield many new and astonishing findings.

Literutufe

Anthony, fohn Goss;Deutschlandbilder im Herres,Volker; KennzeichenD, Ueber die Fernsehen.Koeln, 1980. Schwierigkeiten,ein deutsch-deutschesFern- sehmagazinzu machen. Dusseldorf, 1983. Blumler, fay and McQuail, D.; klevision in PoIi- tics. London,1968. Hesse,Kurt R.; Westmedienin die DDR. Koeln, 1988. Burrichter, Clemens; Fernsehenund Demokratie. Bielefeld.1970. Wir sind das VoIk: Eine Chronik in Dokumenten und Bildern Muenchen, I99O.

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