“From advertisements to propaganda to personal interest stories, the newspapers of Communist East Germany are a historical wellspring. Thanks to a four-year digital achiving project, three major papers are now available for free online.” – thus reports Charly Wilder in Digitizing the GDR: East German Papers Offer Glimpse of History Der Spiegel, June 27, 2013.
A 1948 cover of Neues Deutschland, the official newspaper of East Germany’s Communist Party, devotes its cover to “100 Years of the Communist Manifesto.”
In ZEFYS (Zeitungsinformationssystem), the DDR-Presse offers access to three historical East German newspapers. They are:
- Neues Deutschland [ND] (23. April 1946 – 3. Oct 1990)
- Berliner Zeitung [BZ] (21. May 1945 – 31. December 1990, until 1993 in progress)
- Neue Zeit [NZ] (22. July 1945 – 5. July 1994)
These important historical newspapers therefore cover the period of Soviet occupation 1945-49 and the DDR itself (1949-1990) with also some coverage beyond the fall of the Berlin Wall and reunification in 1990.
Neues Deutschland
Financed and published by the SED, it appeared first on 23 April 1946. It reflects strongly party-political views on all matters, also relating to culture, literature, sports and social affairs.
Berliner Zeitung
This is Berlin’s oldest continuous daily, first published as early as 21 May 1945, so very soon as German surrender. Despite being located in the capital and close to the SED, it was able to maintain its own distinct profile.
Neue Zeit
This newspaper was the party newspaper of the conservatives, CDU, in East German. It first appeared on 22 July 1945. It is aimed reach those for the Neues Deutschland did not appeal.
Access
Access is free but you will need to register. If you are a registered reader of the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin (SBB), you can login with the readers card login. For information regarding access, see https://zefys.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/.
Forthcoming resources:
East Germany from Stalinization to the New Economic Policy, 1950-1963
This online resource reproduces the State Department Decimal Files 762B, 862B and 962B from the General Records of the Department of State, in the custody of the National Archives. It was originally microfilmed as Records of the U.S. Department of State, relating to the Internal Affairs of East Germany.
It specifically looks at in depth the creation of the East German state, living conditions and its people. Documents included in this collection are predominantly instructions to and dispatches from U.S. diplomatic and consular personnel, regarding political, military, economic, social, industrial and other internal conditions and events in East Germany.
[update 3 August 2023]
Hi Claire,
thanks for the offer. Sounds potentially interesting. Could you email isabel.holowaty@bodleian.ox.ac.uk a bit more detail (newpaper title, approx size, condition). Many thanks, Isabel
I have a number of East German newspapers from 3 October 1990 (Reunification Day). Can I donate them to the university?
Reblogged this on European languages across borders and commented:
On-line access to East German newspapers is especially useful in a Cambridge context. We have no print access to these titles, so they provide a valuable complement to the Stefan Heym Archive and our strong holdings on East German history and politics.