In the 1930s, the Nazi party relied heavily on propaganda in order to spread its political and social views across Germany under the Third Reich. While this spread of ideas was most infamously carried out using military power, the government was also able to find its way into the homes and heads of the German people in a more subtle manner. The radio, a new invention in the twentieth century, quickly became popular in businesses and homes as a means of communication following the first news and entertainment broadcasts in 1920. The Nazi party capitalized on this popularity, developing the Volksempfänger, or “People’s Receiver,” line of radios in 1933 at the request of Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels.
With its production subsidized by the government, the Volksempfänger VE 301 allowed the Third Reich to monopolize German airwaves unchecked. This small, unassuming radio was produced to commemorate Hitler’s appointment as chancellor of Germany on January 1, 1933, indicated by its model number, “VE 301,” printed on the front. As purpose-built propaganda devices, the Volksempfänger radios allowed their listeners to tune in to only the nearest local stations. This limitation served to further the radios’ ultimate aim, as stated in a 1936 propaganda poster: Ganz Deutschland hört den Führer mit dem Volksempfänger (“All of Germany hears the Führer with the People’s Receiver”). The Nazi party was not subtle in its indoctrination. The Propaganda Ministry’s slogan was Rundfunk in jedes Haus, or “Broadcasting in every home,” and this radio allowed it to become a reality. The cheap, standardized model was readily accessible to buyers, and roughly twelve and a half million units were sold by the start of World War II in 1939.
Emily Kress is a Krueger Intern in the Product Design and Decorative Arts Department, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
3 thoughts on “The People’s Receiver”
Thomas Blackmar on August 31, 2019 at 2:27 pm
I am curious- since the radio presumably operated on electricity, did most German homes have electric service in the period 1933-1939? Was electric service widely available, both in cities and in rural areas? Was it more widely available in Germany than in rural areas in America at the same time (before Rural Electric Adminiatrationand electric co-ops)? Was it affordable?
Greg Coar on March 25, 2020 at 9:26 am
Re: second paragraph. Hitler became chancellor on 30 January 1933, not 1 January. VE-301 does refer to this date.
Ken Raddisson on April 19, 2020 at 8:45 am
Over twelve million is certainly an impressive number! AFAIK, this probably makes the VE301 the most produced radio model ever, anywhere. I suspect all those millions of units supplanted numerous other models that would have been produced in an open economy. After all, it marked a government take-over of the radio industry in Germany in the 1930’s. For comparison, I would ask, how many radio sets total were sold in Germany between 1933-1944, compared to UK and USA?