ABSTRACT

In the years following the end of World War II and the suppression of the Nazi regime by the Allied forces, press, broadcasting and film were reorganised in the Western Zones (later to become the Federal Republic of Germany). All existing publishing companies had to stop the production of their newspapers and the Allies gave licences for new newspapers to individuals who had not been connected politically with the Nazi regime. Consequently, numerous regional and several national newspapers came into being; among these are some that are still among the leading national quality press, such as Süddeutsche Zeitung, Frankfurter Allgemeine, Frankfurter Rundschau, Die Welt, Die Zeit and Der Spiegel. These were inextricably linked with the Allied concept of re-education aimed at the democratisation of German society, and they assumed important functions in the creation of a critical and educated populace.