Document Type
Thesis - University Access Only
Award Date
2009
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department / School
Journalism and Mass Communications
Abstract
At the end of World War II, radio drama became the focal artistic and literary influence in Germany. The Horspiel helped revitalize the cultural life of the ruined country. In the Soviet Zone of Occupation and ensuing German Democratic Republic, leaders recognized the propagandistic value and mustered radio drama into the service of state-defined goals. As the emerging Cold War pitted Soviet-aligned East Germany against U.S.-aligned West Germany, the diametrical tension became increasingly evident in GDR radio theater. Its depiction of America and Americans reflected those mounting intensities. Where at first radio plays addressed issues such as East-West competition for German scientists, later during the 1950s they exhibited significant polemic proportions. The United States and its representatives were interpreted in a heavily negative light through associations with greed, imperialism, warmongering, and Germany's Nazi regime, among others. However, by the early 1960s the U.S. and its citizens generally ceased to play significant roles in the genre. This study identifies thematic and dramatic tendencies in the works and suggests a framework for understanding the depiction of America in GDR radio drama between war's end and the erection of the Berlin Wall
Library of Congress Subject Headings
Radio plays, German
Public opinion -- Germany (East)
United States -- Foreign public opinion, German
Anti-Americanism -- Germany (East)
Format
application/pdf
Number of Pages
110
Publisher
South Dakota State University
Recommended Citation
Nickisch, Curt W., "The Portrayal of America in East German Radio Drama, 1945-1961" (2009). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1596.
https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd2/1596
