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January 1935 Radio-Craft
 [Table
of Contents]
Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early electronics.
See articles from Radio-Craft,
published 1929 - 1953. All copyrights are hereby acknowledged.
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I am constantly amazed when reading
stories about how easily Adolph Hitler rose to power in Germany by encouraging and
exploiting resentment of his countrymen over being forced, among other concessions
outlined in the Treaty of Versailles, to disarm
militarily and make reparations for atrocities committed in World War I. Part
of the Nazi (National Socialist)
party success was extensive use of propaganda via print, radio, and the relatively
new technology of television. Government exercised complete control over the mainstream
media (i.e., not "underground") by dictating content that promoted the proclaimed
virtues of Nazism and the Aryan
race and the vices of just about every other form of government and race (particularly
Jewish). At the height of Hitler's reign of terror during the
Third Reich era, radio
and television sets were only permitted to use crystals tuned to state-sponsored
channels; to be caught possessing crystals for other frequencies meant certain death
- often at the hands of the infamously cruel
Gestapo. A large portion of
the German population had no idea what the true status of the war was, and were
taken completely by surprise when news of defeat finally came.
"The Sound of Music"
is an excellent film that depicts the beginning days of Hitler's proclaimed "peaceful"
invasion of Austria, where he calmly assured the citizens that if they liked their
country, they could keep their country (something about that kind of promise by
a politician sounds eerily familiar). It is one of my favorite movies.
Hitler Takes up Television
 The latest move in Germany is the establishment
of a huge network of television transmitters for disbursing propaganda.
Within the past month, Radio-Craft has received a report that Chancellor Hitler
is preparing a huge network of television stations in Germany which will probably
be used as an aid to broadcasting as a medium for disbursing Nazi propaganda.
As mentioned in the report; Hitler's plan includes the making of cheap television
sets available throughout the country. This will make Germany the first nation to
establish extensive television programs on a large scale.
Short waves will be employed for these transmissions, so that the required number
of channels can be obtained. In this way, with numerous stations properly spaced,
it is expected that even the outlying districts will be adequately covered.
Television transmitters manufactured by the Baird Television Co. of England are
said to have been ordered by the German officials. These transmitters are of special
design to cover the conditions required for each individual installation. They include
sound facilities as well as the vision units, so that the voices of Hitler and his
Nazi orators will be heard, in addition to visualizing the speakers, themselves.
While no actual data is available regarding the type of receivers which will
be merchandised, it is expected that only a single design, approved by the government,
will be manufactured by all the manufacturers. This is in line with the present
plan in Germany to make "Hitler's own" receiver (a set of small size, and relatively
insensitive so that only local programs can be picked, up) the distinctive set.
Thus, the citizens of Germany will be prevented from hearing the powerful transmitters
of Russia and other foreign countries from which undesirable programs might be heard.
Posted April 12, 2023
(updated from original post
on 8/25/2015)
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