Der schwarze Kanal
Encyclopedia
Der schwarze Kanal was a series of political propaganda
programmes broadcast weekly between 1960 and 1989 by East German television. Each edition was made up of recorded extracts from recent West German television programmes re-edited to include a Communist commentary.
The programme was hosted by Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler
and began on 21 March 1960. The name "Black channel" is a play on words in that in the German language "black channel" is a term used by plumbers to describe a sewer. The name and the concept of the programme were originally a reaction to a West German programme named Die rote Optik ("The red viewpoint") authored by journalist Thilo Koch, which ran between 1958 and 1960 and analysed East German television clips. Although the programme was primarily intended for domestic (East German) consumption, the programme makers (at least in the early days) hoped that those in the West who could receive DFF would also watch.
The geography of the divided Germany
meant that West German television signals (particularly ARD
) could be received fairly readily in most of East Germany other than parts of Eastern Saxony
around Dresden (earning the latter the nickname "valley of the clueless" for this reason). Whilst radio signals from international broadcasters like the BBC
and the American
-backed local station RIAS
in West Berlin
could be jammed
, it was diplomatically and technically awkward to block West German television as it would have been impossible to do so (with any degree of effectiveness) without affecting reception in parts of West Germany as well which in turn could have prompted the West Germans to retaliate against Eastern broadcasts.
The solution, as seen by Deutscher Fernsehfunk
, was to record items from the ARD and ZDF
that were unwelcome in the East or provided a different spin on a news story and replay the items on the main DFF1 channel with a commentary "explaining" what was really "meant" by the item, or how the item was "untrue" or "flawed".
The programme was not popular in East Germany. In the book Stasiland
, Anna Funder
quotes an urban myth portraying engineers in power stations as struggling to stop a blackout
from the power surge
due to East Germans switching off their sets when the programme came on. This may be exaggerated, as viewers could have switched to DFF2 or even West German television instead. The 20-minute programme was usually scheduled for transmission at around 21.30 on Monday evenings, before or after a film or some other popular item. in the hope that viewers tuning in early to catch the film would see the programme. According to some sources official surveys gave a programme a 5% audience figure although it's difficult to verify the accuracy of such a survey in the atmosphere of cold war Germany.
The programme ceased broadcasting on 30 October 1989, just ahead of the opening of the borders with the west on 9 November, at which point the East German television service declared itself "free of government interference" before merging less than a year later with its formerly rival West German television networks as a result of German reunification
.
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
programmes broadcast weekly between 1960 and 1989 by East German television. Each edition was made up of recorded extracts from recent West German television programmes re-edited to include a Communist commentary.
Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler
Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler was an East German journalist, propagandist, and host of the television show Der schwarze Kanal from March 21, 1960 to October 30, 1989....
and began on 21 March 1960. The name "Black channel" is a play on words in that in the German language "black channel" is a term used by plumbers to describe a sewer. The name and the concept of the programme were originally a reaction to a West German programme named Die rote Optik ("The red viewpoint") authored by journalist Thilo Koch, which ran between 1958 and 1960 and analysed East German television clips. Although the programme was primarily intended for domestic (East German) consumption, the programme makers (at least in the early days) hoped that those in the West who could receive DFF would also watch.
The geography of the divided Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
meant that West German television signals (particularly ARD
ARD (broadcaster)
ARD is a joint organization of Germany's regional public-service broadcasters...
) could be received fairly readily in most of East Germany other than parts of Eastern Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
around Dresden (earning the latter the nickname "valley of the clueless" for this reason). Whilst radio signals from international broadcasters like the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-backed local station RIAS
Rundfunk im amerikanischen Sektor
RIAS was a radio and television station in the American Sector of Berlin during the Cold War. It was founded by the US occupational authorities after World War II in 1946 to provide the German population in and around Berlin with news and political reporting and was initially only broadcast on...
in West Berlin
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
could be jammed
Radio jamming
Radio jamming is the transmission of radio signals that disrupt communications by decreasing the signal to noise ratio. Unintentional jamming occurs when an operator transmits on a busy frequency without first checking whether it is in use, or without being able to hear stations using the frequency...
, it was diplomatically and technically awkward to block West German television as it would have been impossible to do so (with any degree of effectiveness) without affecting reception in parts of West Germany as well which in turn could have prompted the West Germans to retaliate against Eastern broadcasts.
The solution, as seen by Deutscher Fernsehfunk
Deutscher Fernsehfunk
Deutscher Fernsehfunk , known from 1972 to 1990 as Fernsehen der DDR , was the state television broadcaster in East Germany.-Foundation:...
, was to record items from the ARD and ZDF
ZDF
Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen , ZDF, is a public-service German television broadcaster based in Mainz . It is run as an independent non-profit institution, which was founded by the German federal states . The ZDF is financed by television licence fees called GEZ and advertising revenues...
that were unwelcome in the East or provided a different spin on a news story and replay the items on the main DFF1 channel with a commentary "explaining" what was really "meant" by the item, or how the item was "untrue" or "flawed".
The programme was not popular in East Germany. In the book Stasiland
Stasiland
Stasiland: Oh Wasn't it so Terrible - True Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall Stasiland: Oh Wasn't it so Terrible - True Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall Stasiland: Oh Wasn't it so Terrible - True Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall (Stasiland: Ach, war es nicht so schrecklich - Wahre...
, Anna Funder
Anna Funder
Anna Funder is an Australian writer who grew up in Melbourne. She studied creative writing at the University of Melbourne, also later studying at the Free University of Berlin as the recipient in 1994 of a DAAD Scholarship...
quotes an urban myth portraying engineers in power stations as struggling to stop a blackout
Power outage
A power outage is a short- or long-term loss of the electric power to an area.There are many causes of power failures in an electricity network...
from the power surge
Voltage spike
In electrical engineering, spikes are fast, short duration electrical transients in voltage , current , or transferred energy in an electrical circuit....
due to East Germans switching off their sets when the programme came on. This may be exaggerated, as viewers could have switched to DFF2 or even West German television instead. The 20-minute programme was usually scheduled for transmission at around 21.30 on Monday evenings, before or after a film or some other popular item. in the hope that viewers tuning in early to catch the film would see the programme. According to some sources official surveys gave a programme a 5% audience figure although it's difficult to verify the accuracy of such a survey in the atmosphere of cold war Germany.
The programme ceased broadcasting on 30 October 1989, just ahead of the opening of the borders with the west on 9 November, at which point the East German television service declared itself "free of government interference" before merging less than a year later with its formerly rival West German television networks as a result of German reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
.
See also
- Aktuelle KameraAktuelle KameraAktuelle Kamera was the state television newscast of the former German Democratic Republic . On air from December 21, 1952 to December 14, 1990, Aktuelle Kamera was one of the main propaganda tools of the East German government.- Editorial line :In the very early days of East German television...
- Karl-Eduard von SchnitzlerKarl-Eduard von SchnitzlerKarl-Eduard von Schnitzler was an East German journalist, propagandist, and host of the television show Der schwarze Kanal from March 21, 1960 to October 30, 1989....
- Cold War propaganda in Germany
- Eastern Bloc information disseminationEastern Bloc information disseminationEastern Bloc information dissemination was controlled directly by each country's Communist party, which controlled the state media, censorship and propaganda organs...