''Die Neue Zeitung'' (''"The New Times"'', abbreviated ''NZ'') was a newspaper published in the

American Occupation Zone Germany was already de facto occupied by the Allies from the real fall of Nazi Germany in World War II on 8 May 1945 to the establishment of the East Germany on 7 October 1949. The Allies (United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and France ...

of Germany after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It was comparable to the daily newspaper ''

Die Welt ''Die Welt'' ("The World") is a German national daily newspaper, published as a broadsheet by Axel Springer SE. ''Die Welt'' is the flagship newspaper of the Axel Springer publishing group. Its leading competitors are the ''Frankfurter Allg ...

'' in the

British Occupation Zone The British occupation zone in Germany (German: ''Britische Besatzungszone Deutschlands'') was one of the Allied-occupied areas in Germany after World War II. The United Kingdom along with her Commonwealth were one of the three major Allied pow ...

and was considered the most important newspaper in post-war Germany.

History

''Die Neue Zeitung'' was first published on 17 October 1945 in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

Kurt Koszyk. '' Presse unter alliierter Besetzung''. pp. 31–58 in Wilke: ''Mediengeschichte'', p. 38. Abdruck der Titelseite der Erstausgabe. and continued publication until 30 January 1955. The paper was initially published twice weekly, later increasing to six times a week.

''Die Neue Zeitung'' as an American-controlled media outlet

The

Information Control Division The Information Control Division (ICD) was a department of the Office of Military Government, United States (OMGUS) during the early part of the post-war Allied-occupied Germany#American Zone of Occupation, American occupation of Germany following W ...

of the American Occupation Authority acted as publisher of the newspaper. Although the Division allowed German editors and journalists to write, it never gave up ultimate editorial control of the publication. This was made clear in the newspaper's title bar: "''Die Neue Zeitung – An American newspaper for the German people." ''Die Neue Zeitung'' was considered a means of political re-education for the German population by its American publishers. It was a high quality publication, but after 1949 could not keep up with competition amid the rapid re-growth of the newspaper industry in Germany.

Berlin edition

Starting in early 1947, the

American Sector 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 ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

had its own separate edition of the ''NZ''. This Berlin edition made sense because in Berlin, the former German capital, the

Allied Control Council The Allied Control Council or Allied Control Authority (german: Alliierter Kontrollrat) and also referred to as the Four Powers (), was the governing body of the Allied Occupation Zones in Germany and Allied-occupied Austria after the end of Wo ...

had strong influence and the interests of the Soviet Union and United States were increasingly at odds. Publication of the ''NZ'' in Berlin was seen as necessary to prevent the

Sovietization Sovietization (russian: Советизация) is the adoption of a political system based on the model of soviets (workers' councils) or the adoption of a way of life, mentality, and culture modelled after the Soviet Union. This often included ...

of the Germans there. The ''NZ'' in Berlin operated autonomously under the editorship of

Marcel Fodor Marcel W. "Mike" Fodor (17 January 1890 in Budapest, Hungary - 1 July 1977 in Trostberg, Germany; often cited as M. W. Fodor), was a foreign correspondent for several British and American newspapers in Vienna during the years between the world w ...

. The feature section of the Berlin ''NZ'' – the so-called

Feuilleton A ''feuilleton'' (; a diminutive of french: feuillet, the leaf of a book) was originally a kind of supplement attached to the political portion of French newspapers, consisting chiefly of non-political news and gossip, literature and art criti ...

, covering literature, art, and culture – was under the direction of

Friedrich Luft Friedrich Luft (24 August 1911 – 24 December 1990) was a German feuilletonist and theater critic. Life Born in Friedenau, Luft was the son of a German student councilor and a Scottish mother. His older brother was the German-American ...

, long known for his theater reviews in the RIAS ("Rundfunk im amerikanischen Sektor", the radio and TV broadcasting service in the American Sector of Berlin). Hans Schwab-Felisch was another prominent contributor to the Berlin edition's ''Feuilleton''. Schwab-Felisch later worked at the

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung The ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'' (; ''FAZ''; "''Frankfurt General Newspaper''") is a centre-right conservative-liberal and liberal-conservativeHans Magnus Enzensberger: Alter Wein in neuen Schläuchen' (in German). ''Deutschland Radio'', ...

and became editor of

Merkur Merkur (, '' Mercury'') is a defunct automobile brand that was marketed by the Lincoln- Mercury division of Ford Motor Company from 1985 to 1989. Drawing its name from the German word for Mercury, Merkur was targeted at buyers of European execut ...

, Germany's leading intellectual review. Other contributors to the Feuilleton included freelancers

Will Grohmann Will Grohmann (born 4 December 1887 in Bautzen; died 6 May 1968 in Berlin) was a German art critic and art historian specialized in German Expressionism and abstract art. He was known as the "godfather of modernism". Life and work From 1908 to ...

(fine arts) and

Hans Heinz Stuckenschmidt Hans Heinz Stuckenschmidt (1 November 1901 – 15 August 1988) was a German composer, musicologist, and historian and critic of music. Life Stuckenschmidt was born in Strasbourg. At as early an age as 19, he was the Berlin-based music criti ...

(music).

Later developments and end of publication

Starting in June 1949 a Frankfurt edition of ''Die Neue Zeitung'' was established. In 1951, the Munich and Frankfurt editions were merged into a single Frankfurt edition. After September 1953, the Neue Zeitung appeared only in Berlin. In March 1955, the paper ceased operations entirely.

Contributors

The following are some of the contributors to ''Die'' ''Neue Zeitung''. The author

Erich Kästner Emil Erich Kästner (; 23 February 1899 – 29 July 1974) was a German writer, poet, screenwriter and satirist, known primarily for his humorous, socially astute poems and for children's books including '' Emil and the Detectives''. He received ...

was senior editor of the feature section (

Robert Lembke Robert Lembke (''Robert Emil Weichselbaum'') (born 17 September 1913 in Munich; died 14 January 1989) was a German television presenter and game show host. Life Lembke started to study law at the age of 18, but dropped out of college. He then ...

, later a television personality, directed the section on domestic politics. Other prominent contributors include: *

Theodor W. Adorno Theodor W. Adorno ( , ; born Theodor Ludwig Wiesengrund; 11 September 1903 – 6 August 1969) was a German philosopher, sociologist, psychologist, musicologist, and composer. He was a leading member of the Frankfurt School of critical t ...

Alfred Andersch Alfred Hellmuth Andersch (; 4 February 1914 – 21 February 1980) was a German writer, publisher, and radio editor. The son of a conservative East Prussian army officer, he was born in Munich, Germany and died in Berzona, Ticino, Switzerland. Mar ...

Heinrich Böll Heinrich Theodor Böll (; 21 December 1917 – 16 July 1985) was a German writer. Considered one of Germany's foremost post-World War II writers, Böll is a recipient of the Georg Büchner Prize (1967) and the Nobel Prize for Literature (1972). ...

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...

Alfred Döblin Bruno Alfred Döblin (; 10 August 1878 – 26 June 1957) was a German novelist, essayist, and doctor, best known for his novel '' Berlin Alexanderplatz'' (1929). A prolific writer whose œuvre spans more than half a century and a wide variety of ...

Günter Eich Günter Eich (; 1 February 1907 – 20 December 1972) was a German lyricist, dramatist, and author. He was born in Lebus, on the Oder River, and educated in Leipzig, Berlin, and Paris. Life Eich made his first appearance in print with some poems ...

Ludwig Erhard Ludwig Wilhelm Erhard (; 4 February 1897 – 5 May 1977) was a German politician affiliated with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and chancellor of West Germany from 1963 until 1966. He is known for leading the West German postwar economic ...

Max Frisch Max Rudolf Frisch (; 15 May 1911 – 4 April 1991) was a Swiss playwright and novelist. Frisch's works focused on problems of identity, individuality, responsibility, morality, and political commitment. The use of irony is a significant featur ...

Romano Guardini Romano Guardini (17 February 1885 – 1 October 1968) was a German Catholic priest, author, and academic. He was one of the most important figures in Catholic intellectual life in the 20th century. Life and work Guardini was born in Verona, I ...

Hildegard Hamm-Brücher Hildegard Hamm-Brücher (11 May 1921 – 7 December 2016) was a liberal politician in Germany. She held federal state secretary positions from 1969 to 1972 and from 1977 to 1982. She was the Free Democratic Party's candidate in the first ...

Hans Habe Hans Habe (born János Békessy; 12 February 1911, Budapest – 29 September 1977, Locarno) was a Hungarian and American writer and newspaper publisher. From 1941, he held United States citizenship. He was also known by such pseudonyms as Anto ...

Hermann Hesse Hermann Karl Hesse (; 2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. His best-known works include ''Demian'', ''Steppenwolf (novel), Steppenwolf'', ''Siddhartha (novel), Siddhartha'', and ''The Glass Bead Game'', ...

Stefan Heym Helmut Flieg or Hellmuth Fliegel (10 April 1913 – 16 December 2001) was a German writer, known by his pseudonym Stefan Heym (). He lived in the United States and trained at Camp Ritchie, making him one of the Ritchie Boys of World War II. In ...

Wolfgang Hildesheimer Wolfgang Hildesheimer (9 December 1916 – 21 August 1991) was a German author who incorporated the Theatre of the Absurd. He originally trained as an artist, before turning to writing. Biography Hildesheimer was born of Jewish parents in Hambu ...

Karl Jaspers Karl Theodor Jaspers (, ; 23 February 1883 – 26 February 1969) was a German-Swiss psychiatrist and philosopher who had a strong influence on modern theology, psychiatry, and philosophy. After being trained in and practicing psychiatry, Jasper ...

Alfred Kerr Alfred Kerr (''né'' Kempner; 25 December 1867 – 12 October 1948, surname: ) was an influential German theatre critic and essayist of Jewish descent, nicknamed the ''Kulturpapst'' ("Culture Pope"). Biography Youth Kerr was born in Breslau, ...

Hermann Kesten Hermann Kesten (28 January 1900 – 3 May 1996) was a German novelist and dramatist. He was one of the principal literary figures of the New Objectivity movement in 1920s Germany. The literary prize Hermann Kesten Medal has been given in his hon ...

Elisabeth Langgässer Elisabeth Langgässer (23 February 1899 – 25 July 1950) was a German author and teacher. She is known for lyrical poetry and novels. Her short story '' Saisonbeginn'', for example, provides a graphically human portrayal of a 1930s German Alpine ...

Eugen Kogon Eugen Kogon (2 February 1903 – 24 December 1987) was a historian and Nazi concentration camp survivor. A well-known Christian opponent of the Nazi Party, he was arrested more than once and spent six years at Buchenwald concentration camp. Kogon ...

Heinrich Heinrich may refer to: People * Heinrich (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Heinrich (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Hetty (given name), a given name (including a list of peo ...

and

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novella ...

* Siegfried Maruhn * Alexander Mitscherlich *

Martin Niemöller Friedrich Gustav Emil Martin Niemöller (; 14 January 18926 March 1984) was a German theologian and Lutheran pastor. He is best known for his opposition to the Nazi regime during the late 1930s and for his widely quoted 1946 poem " First they ca ...

* Heinz Ohff * Sigismund von Radecki *

Luise Rinser Luise Rinser (30 April 1911 – 17 March 2002) was a German writer, best known for her novels and short stories. Early life and education Luise Rinser was born on 30 April 1911 in Pitzling, a constituent community of Landsberg am Lech, in Upper B ...

Oda Schaefer Oda Schaefer (really Oda Lange, born December 21, 1900, in Berlin-Wilmersdorf as Oda Krus; died September 4, 1988, in Munich) was a German writer and journalist. Life Oda Schaefer was the daughter of Eberhard Kraus, one of the early Baltic wri ...

* Franz Joseph Schneider *

Wolf Schneider Wolf Dietrich Schneider (7 May 1925 – 11 November 2022) was a German journalist, author, and language critic. After World War II, he learned journalism on the job with ''Die Neue Zeitung'', a newspaper published by the US military government. ...

Kurt Schumacher Curt Ernst Carl Schumacher, better known as Kurt Schumacher (13 October 1895 – 20 August 1952), was a German politician who became chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Germany from 1946 and the first Leader of the Opposition in the West ...

Anna Seghers Anna Seghers (; born ''Anna Reiling,'' 19 November 1900 – 1 June 1983), is the pseudonym of a German writer notable for exploring and depicting the moral experience of the Second World War. Born into a Jewish family and married to a Hungarian ...

Wolf Jobst Siedler Wolf Jobst Siedler (17 January 1926 – 27 November 2013) was a German publisher and writer. Life Born in Berlin, he studied at the Freie Universität and worked as a journalist. His publishing house ''Wolf Jobst Siedler Verlag'' was bought ...

* Hans Wallenberg *

Günther Weisenborn Günther Weisenborn (10 July 1902 – 26 March 1969) was a German writer and fighter in the German Resistance against Nazism. He was notable for collaborating with Bertolt Brecht, along with Hanns Eisler, Slatan Dudow, on the play, '' The Mother ...

Franz Werfel Franz Viktor Werfel (; 10 September 1890 – 26 August 1945) was an Austrian-Bohemian novelist, playwright, and Poetry, poet whose career spanned World War I, the Interwar period, and World War II. He is primarily known as the author of ''Th ...

Ernst Wiechert Ernst Wiechert (18 May 1887 – 24 August 1950) was a German teacher, poet and writer. Biography Wiechert was born in the village of Kleinort, East Prussia, (now Piersławek, Poland). He was one of the most widely read novelists in Germany ...

Carl Zuckmayer Carl Zuckmayer (27 December 1896 – 18 January 1977) was a German writer and playwright. His older brother was the pedagogue, composer, conductor, and pianist Eduard Zuckmayer. Life and career Born in Nackenheim in Rhenish Hesse, he was t ...

The political cartoonist was

Paul Flora Paul Flora (6 June 1922 – 15 May 2009) was an Austrian caricaturist, graphic artist, and illustrator, known for his black ink line drawings. "Flora was one of Europe's most profiled illustrators since the 1960s. He worked for British newspapers ...

Sources

* Jessica C. E. Gienow-Hecht: ''Art is democracy and democracy is art: Culture, propaganda, and the Neue Zeitung in Germany.'' In: ''Diplomatic History'' (1999) 23#1, S. 21–43. * Jessica C. E. Gienow-Hecht. ''American Journalism as Cultural Diplomacy in Postwar Germany, 1945–1955''.

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...

: Louisiana State University Press, 1999. * Wilfried F. Schoeller (editor): ''Diese merkwürdige Zeit. Leben nach der Stunde Null. Ein Textbuch aus der „Neuen Zeitung“''. (''This remarkable time: Life after the Zero Hour. A textbook from the Neue Zeitung''.) Frankfurt am Main: Büchergilde Gutenberg, 2005. . * Irmtraud Ubbens: ''Amerikanisches Leben als Erfahrung und Erlebnis. Moritz Goldstein schreibt von 1950–1954 für die „Neue Zeitung“.'' (''American Life as Lived Experience: Mortiz Goldstein writes for the Neue Zeitung from 1950–54.'') In: ''Jahrbuch für Kommunikationsgeschichte'', Bd. 14. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner 2012, ISSN 1438-4485, S. 152–185. * Jürgen Wilke (editor): ''Mediengeschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland'' (''History of the Media in the Federal Republic of Germany''), Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung Schriftenreihe, Band 361, Bonn 1999.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Neue Zeitung Daily newspapers published in Germany German-language newspapers Mass media in Frankfurt Newspapers published in Berlin Newspapers published in Munich Newspapers established in 1945 Publications disestablished in 1955