A collection of inventions : radio, reeducation, and the postwar German public sphere.

Abstract

Following the Germans’ unconditional surrender in May 1945, the Allied Powers introduced a formal occupation and reeducation process, directing Germany toward democratic self-governance. This study will consider the role of radio broadcasting in the occupation project. While many works have been completed on the political revival of postwar Germany, little scholarship has been conducted with emphasis on the impact of German broadcasting’s role on reshaping German culture. Examining radio programing from Hamburg’s Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk from 1945 to 1956, this thesis explores the creation of a democratically-informed German public sphere in the decade following the Second World War. The primary research for this project was conducted in the Hamburg State Archives