''Der schwarze Kanal'' (german: The Black Channel) was a series of political

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

programmes broadcast weekly between 1960 and 1989 by

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

television Deutscher Fernsehfunk. Each edition was made up of recorded extracts from recent

West German West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

television programmes re-edited to include a

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

commentary. The programme was hosted by

Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler (28 April 1918 – 20 September 2001) was an East German journalist, communist propagandist and host of the television show '' Der schwarze Kanal'' (german: link=no, The Black Channel) from 21 March 1960 to 30 Octobe ...

and began on 21 March 1960. The name "Black Channel" is a play on words: in the German language "black channel" is a

euphemism A euphemism () is an innocuous word or expression used in place of one that is deemed offensive or suggests something unpleasant. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the user wishes ...

by plumbers for a sewer (compare English soil pipe). The name and the concept of the programme were originally a reaction to a West German programme named ''Die rote Optik'' ''("The red viewpoint")'' authored by journalist Thilo Koch, which ran between 1958 and 1960 and analysed East German television clips. Although the programme was primarily intended for domestic (East German) consumption, the programme makers (at least in the early days) hoped that those in the West who could receive DFF would also watch. The geography of the divided

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

meant that West German television signals (particularly ARD) could be received fairly readily in most of East Germany. Areas with no reception (black) such as parts of Eastern

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

around

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

were jokingly referred to as "Valley of the Clueless" ''(

Tal der Ahnungslosen In culture of East Germany, Tal der Ahnungslosen (''Valley of the Clueless'') was a sarcastic designation for two regions in the southeast and northeast parts of East Germany that generally were not able to receive TV broadcasts from West Germany ...

)''. West German acronyms ZDF and ARD accounted for ''Zentrales Deutsches Fernsehen Außer Rügen und Dresden'' (Central German TV except

Rügen Rügen (; la, Rugia, ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic city of Stralsund, where ...

and Dresden). Whilst radio signals from international broadcasters like the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

and the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

-backed local station RIAS in

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

could be jammed, it was diplomatically and technically awkward to block West German television as it would have been impossible to do so (with any degree of effectiveness) without affecting reception in parts of West Germany as well which (apart from being outlawed by treaty) in turn could have prompted the West Germans to retaliate against Eastern broadcasts. The solution, as seen by DFF, was to record items from the ARD and

ZDF ZDF (, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; ; "Second German Television") is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all fe ...

that were unwelcome in the East or provided a different spin on a news story and replay the items on the main DFF1 channel with a commentary "explaining" what was really "meant" by the item, or how the item was "untrue" or "flawed". The 20-minute programme was usually scheduled for transmission at around 21.30 on Monday evenings, before or after a film or some other popular item in the hope that viewers tuning in early to catch the film would see the programme. According to some sources, official surveys gave a programme a 5% audience figure. The programme ceased broadcasting on 30 October 1989, just ahead of the opening of the borders with the west on 9 November, when the East German television service declared itself "free of government interference" before it merged less than a year later with its formerly-rival West German television networks as a result of

German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

. The programme was featured in the 1999 movie '' Sonnenallee'' and the 2019 TV series

Deutschland 86 ''Deutschland 86'' () is a 2018 German television series starring Jonas Nay as an agent of East Germany in 1986, in relation to the Angolan Civil War. It is a sequel to the 2015 series ''Deutschland 83'' and precedes the 2020 series ''Deutschl ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwarze Kanal 1960s German television series 1970s German television series Television in East Germany 1960 German television series debuts Criticism of journalism 1989 German television series endings Propaganda television broadcasts 1960 establishments in East Germany 1989 disestablishments in East Germany German-language television shows

See also

References