''Die Neue Zeitung'' (''"The New Times"'', abbreviated ''NZ'') was a newspaper published in the American Occupation Zone of Germany after the Second World War. It was comparable to the daily newspaper '' Die Welt'' in the British Occupation Zone and was considered the most important newspaper in post-war Germany.

History

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

American Occupation Authority 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, ...

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 of Berlin 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 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, covering literature, art, and culture – was under the direction of Friedrich Luft, 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 and became editor of Merkur, 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 ...

(fine arts) and Hans Heinz Stuckenschmidt (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 ( Feuilleton). Robert Lembke, later a television personality, directed the section on domestic politics. Other prominent contributors include: * Theodor W. Adorno * Alfred Andersch * Heinrich Böll *

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 *

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 *

* Romano Guardini * Hildegard Hamm-Brücher * Hans Habe * Hermann Hesse * Stefan Heym * Wolfgang Hildesheimer * Karl Jaspers * Alfred Kerr *

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 *

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 * Siegfried Maruhn * Alexander Mitscherlich * Martin Niemöller *

Heinz Ohff The H. J. Heinz Company is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 1869. Heinz manufactures thousands of food products in plants on six contin ...

* Sigismund von Radecki * Luise Rinser * Oda Schaefer *

Franz Joseph Schneider Franz may refer to: People * Franz (given name) * Franz (surname) Places * Franz (crater), a lunar crater * Franz, Ontario, a railway junction and unorganized town in Canada * Franz Lake, in the state of Washington, United States – see Fran ...

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 * Anna Seghers *

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 Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi ...

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 *

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 The political cartoonist was Paul Flora.

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