Wochenpost

The Wochenpost (English: Weekly Post) was an East German weekly.[1][2] It was founded in 1953, and circulation peaked at over one million copies per issue from 1971 to the German reunification. The academic Deirdre Byrnes writes that the paper was "one of the most influential" in East Germany.[3] Its highest circulation was around 1.2 million copies,[4] making the paper the most popular weekly in East Germany.[5] It was considered a paper for intellectuals.[6]

History

The paper published its first issue on 22 or 23 December 1953, around Christmas.[7][8][9][10] The cover of the first issue was a depiction of a child blowing a candle out with the words "to all who are of goodwill."[10] It was co-founded by Margot Pfannstiel,[11] who also worked as chief reporter,[12] Heinz Knobloch, who took responsibility for "puzzles, mental recreation and humour" ("Rätsel, Denksport und Humor"),[13] and Hilde Eisler.[14] Pfannstiel left in 1958,[15] and returned in 1968.[16] Work on the Wochenpost quickly became a principal vehicle for Knobloch's professional success over more than three decades. He served as its Culture Editor from 1957 to 1965, and between 1968 and 1988 contributed a weekly Feuilleton-format opinion column.[17] Its first editor-in-chief was Rudi Wetzel.[18] Circulation of the paper peaked at over one million copies per issue from 1971 to the German reunification. The academic Deirdre Byrnes writes that the paper was "one of the most influential" in East Germany.[3]

The paper was characterized by providing "practical advice", such as how to decorate an apartment and how to dress fashionably.[19]:232 Wochenpost was not an opposition paper; the journalist Klaus Polkhen, who worked at the paper for many years, noted that it was "no more opportunistic than its readers".[10]

After the German reunification, the paper was purchased by Gruner + Jahr and Robert Maxwell and relaunched in Berlin.[4] From 1983 to 1991, Brigitte Zimmermann was editor in chief of the paper.[20] By 1994 it was selling around 100,000 copies per week. The Independent compared the paper to Die Zeit.[21] The paper was struggling by 1996 and ceased publication in late December.[9][22][23]

References
  1. Augustine, Dolores L. (2018-05-22). Taking on Technocracy: Nuclear Power in Germany, 1945 to the Present. Berghahn Books. ISBN 978-1-78533-904-2.
  2. Darnton, Robert (1993). Berlin Journal, 1989-1990. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-31018-4.
  3. Byrnes, Deirdre (2011). Rereading Monika Maron: Text, Counter-text and Context. Peter Lang. pp. 18–19. ISBN 978-3-03911-422-1.
  4. Sutton, Douglas (21 April 1993). New Weeklies Battle for Share Of the Print Media's Market. Paris: International Herald Tribune.
  5. Marshall, Matt (1995-01-11). "Walls of Resentment Between East, West Run Through German Newsrooms". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  6. Thompson, Wayne C. (2015). Nordic, Central, and Southeastern Europe 2015-2016. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4758-1883-3.
  7. Polkehn, Klaus (1997). Das war die Wochenpost: Geschichte und Geschichten einer Zeitung (in German). Ch. Links Verlag. p. 9. ISBN 978-3-86153-141-8.
  8. "Stichtag - 22. Dezember 1953: Lizenz für DDR-Zeitung "Wochenpost" ausgestellt". www1.wdr.de (in German). 2018-12-22. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  9. Knipping, Franz. "Heißbegehrt und ausverkauft (neues deutschland)". www.neues-deutschland.de (in German). Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  10. Applebaum, Anne (2012-10-30). Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1944-1956. McClelland & Stewart. ISBN 978-0-7710-0765-1.
  11. "Margot Pfannstiel" (PDF). Source includes photo-portrait. Horst-Werner Dumjahn, Mainz. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  12. Klaus Polkehn (1997). Das war die Wochenpost: Geschichte und Geschichten einer Zeitung. Ch. Links Verlag. p. 27. ISBN 978-3-86153-141-8.
  13. "Heinz Knobloch: Biografie". Freundeskreises Heinz Knobloch. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  14. Karin Hartewig (2000). Zurückgekehrt: die Geschichte der jüdischen Kommunisten in der DDR. see also footnote 175 at the bottom of the same page. Böhlau Verlag Köln Weimar. pp. 241–242. ISBN 978-3-412-02800-8. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  15. Djurdja Bartlett (2010). FashionEast: The Spectre that Haunted Socialism. MIT Press. pp. 160, 177. ISBN 978-0-262-02650-5.
  16. Bernd-Rainer Barth. "Pfannstiel, Margot * 18.6.1926, † 10.10.1993 Journalistin, Chefredakteurin der "Sibylle"". Wer war wer in der DDR?. Ch. Links Verlag, Berlin & Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur, Berlin. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  17. Bernd-Rainer Barth; Andreas Kölling. "Knobloch, Heinz * 3.3.1926, † 24.7.2003 Schriftsteller, journalist". Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur: Biographische Datenbanken. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  18. Michael F. Scholz (2000). Rudolf (Rudi) Wetzel (1909-1992). Skandinavische Erfahrungen erwünscht?: Nachexil und Remigration ; die ehemaligen KPD-Emigranten in Skandinavien und ihr weiteres Schicksal in der SBZ/DDR. Franz Steiner Verlag. p. 380. ISBN 978-3-515-07651-7.
  19. Föllmer, Moritz (2013-01-17). Individuality and Modernity in Berlin: Self and Society from Weimar to the Wall. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-62038-3.
  20. Bernd-Rainer Barth. "Zimmermann, Brigitte * 22.5.1939 Chefredakteurin der Zeitung "Wochenpost"". Wer war wer in der DDR?. Ch. Links Verlag, Berlin & Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur, Berlin. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  21. "Young magazines challenge German publishing world: A trio of new". The Independent. 1994-01-06. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  22. Zeitung, Berliner. "Die "Wochenpost" war in der DDR beliebt und suchte nach der Wende eine neue Identität: Nähe zum Alltag der Leser". Berliner Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  23. "Lesen Sie zeit.de mit Werbung oder im PUR-Abo. Sie haben die Wahl". die Ziet. Retrieved 2021-01-18.

Further reading
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