英语论文网

and transcribe foreign broadcasts”(Herzstein 178). From this monitoring confidential information was received and shared among the various high ranking officers of his choice. Then German radio was responsible to respond to whatever was transmitted and undermine any unapproved rumors that might have been started as a result.

Fritzsche’s presence demanded respect behind scenes of German radio and on air. Herzstein describes him as “the most important broadcaster during the war”(182). He is said to have spoken over a thousand times and each time his voice and character would get the attention of the masses. Weekly he could be heard giving updates on the war and the progress of the Germans. The wit and ridicule combined with the sarcastic, ironic, supercilious tones in his voice attracted many listeners. He had a clever way of seizing information from Allied camps and developing theory around them, making the listeners feel as though they were getting an inside scoop. He also tended to refer to the conquered in such a manner that uplifted the confidence of the Germans and convince even the doubters of German superiority. An even greater part of Fritzsche’s appeal to the public was his seeming honesty that would come through non-victorious periods (Herzstein 186). The German people often claimed to hear the nervousness in his voice and as time progressed became less skeptical of government censorship at least while he was on the air. Towards the end of the war, Fritzsche was also depended upon to provide the German public with inspiration and motivation. He once claimed that, “Bombing will not break our will” (Herzstein 185). He is also credited with telling the German public that secret weapons were being developed that would guarantee the success of the Third Reich. He held the German public in the palm of his hand. Radio was his strings and the public was his puppets.

During the wartime, German radio typically consisted of two nationwide daily broadcasts. Radio personnel reworked materials so that they were broadcast ‘friendly’ but they were not permitted to advance their personal viewpoints or release any private information. To reinforce that everything must be done with his approval, Goebbels required radio commentators and news editors to attend his ministerial conferences (Herzstein 179). The broadcasts were not strictly news and information on the progress of the war. Goebbels was aware that people listened to the radio for relaxation and music. In response to this desire he required that there be light music played on a somewhat regular basis. Passed off as music for relaxation, German radio played military music. The German marches are said to have stirred even the most apathetic of citizens during times of victory and new occupation. German radio’s use of music “demonstrated its hold that party ideologues and fanatics had over the medium”(Herzstein 180). Stations were even encouraged to play Austrian and Prussian war songs to demonstrate the close alliance between the three nations. German poetry and classical music was used to keep pious Germans out of church and stuck next to their radios.

As seen through the above example, media affects war by providing an informative basis for the public to know the wars progress and helping build citizen morale and support. However there is a flip effect as well. Wars often are important to the media by providing it with a topic