Figure 1.--This 1931 photogrph shows a Berlin children's brodcast with Mme. Gertrude von Eyseren. A press caption read, "Under the direction of Mme. Gertrude von Eyseren, Berlin, Germany, has ingurated a children's radio land, whereyoung artists are trained to sing and speak into the the microphone. Above is a bit of very lose harmony with Mme. Eysbern in the center helping the yiung vocakts along." The photogrph was dated July 7, 1931. Von Eyseren became the director-assistant at the Funk-Stude Berlin. She was the first woman to become the broadcaster's announcer. This was noted and resulted in conservative protests. Some Germans did not believe that women were suited to be a broacast announcer. We are not sure what happened after he NAZI s seized power (1933).

As in the rest of Europe, radio rapidly developed in Germany after World War I in the 1920s. This was the result of advances in radio technology which occurred during the War. Radio was introduced to Germany after the War and the industry grew rapidly. The first official German radio broadcasts occured a year after the War (December 22, 1920). This began with the Königs Wusterhausen transmitter. Radio very rapidly became an important part of German cultural life. A factor here was music, a vital component of German culture, Radio was perfectly suited to transmit music. The visual aspect of music is smaller than all he other arts. Radio stations were established ll over Germany. The first entertainment program was broadcasted (October 29, 1923). The German Reichspost (Post Office) meaning the Government played a central role in the new industry. The Reich Broadcasting Corporation (RBC) controlled programming. The restrictions imposed on Germany by the Allies, the first German radio station was commissioned (1920). The medium wave radio station 'Deutsche Welle' began broadcasting as the country's first national radio program (1924). The decade also saw the introduction of shortwave broadcasting and the inauguration of the Berlin radio tower (1926). The first radio stations had low-powered transmitters meaning that they only broadcasted locally. Germany's first high-power medium wave transmitter began broadcasting in Mühlacker (1930). We do not yet have much information on the nature of early German broadcasting, both the commercial development and the government role. The radio industry by this time in only a decade had become a major employer in German cultural activities. There were 1,500 production, with nearly 1,500 RBC employees and around 40,000 freelancers. We do know that several companies began making home radios. The Germans made very good radios, but they tended to be rather expensive. The number of licensed radio sets in Germany totaled 4.2 million (1932). The population at gthe time was about 65 million people. This means that while many families had radios, many German families did not--primly working-class families. As in many other industrial areas, German companies did not develop the mass production of inexpensive sets as began to occur in America. Thus many German workers could not afford a radio. This was not a uniquely German phenomenon, but a general pattern throughout Europe.

Created: 2:47 AM 3/23/2026
Last updated: 2:47 AM 3/23/2026