''Volksstimme'' (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

: ''People’s Voice'') was a communist newspaper published between 5 August 1945 and 3 March 1991 in Vienna, Austria.

History and profile

The newspaper was first published in Vienna on 5 August 1945 under the name of ''Österreichische Volksstimme'' (German: ''Austrian People's Voice''). The paper was the organ of the

Austrian Communist Party The Communist Party of Austria (german: Kommunistische Partei Österreichs, KPÖ) is a communist party in Austria. Established in 1918 as the Communist Party of German-Austria (KPDÖ), it is one of the world's oldest communist parties. The KPÖ ...

. The founding publisher was Globus Verlag. Its sister publication was a monthly theoretical journal entitled ''

Weg und Ziel ''Weg und Ziel'' (German: ''The Road and Goal'') was a monthly Marxist–Leninist theoretical journal which was affiliated with the Communist Party of Austria. The journal was published in Vienna in the period 1935–2000. Its subtitle was ''Mona ...

''. The paper was renamed as ''Volksstimme'' on 21 February 1957. Its frequency was also changed over time: it was started as a daily, but then it began to be published on a weekly basis. It published news on national and international affairs as well as official party documents. The paper was also a platform for the fractions within the party to express and defend their views about the events. Georg Auer worked for the paper as a motoring correspondent in the 1950s. ''Volkstimme'' was deeply affected from the Soviet activities in Europe during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

due to its reports and the different approaches in the Communist Party. After the 1956 events in Hungary the paper was censored by the

Austrian Chancellor The chancellor of the Republic of Austria () is the head of government of the Austria, Republic of Austria. The position corresponds to that of Prime minister, Prime Minister in several other parliamentary democracies. Current officeholder is ...

Julius Raab Julius Raab (29 November 1891 – 8 January 1964) was a conservative Austrian politician, who served as Federal Chancellor of Austria from 1953 to 1961. Raab steered Allied-occupied Austria to independence, when he negotiated and signed the Austr ...

. Following the

Prague Spring The Prague Spring ( cs, Pražské jaro, sk, Pražská jar) was a period of political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected First Sec ...

and the

invasion of Czechoslovakia The Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia refers to the events of 20–21 August 1968, when the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Rep ...

by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

a conflict occurred in the Austrian Communist Party which also affected ''Volksstimme'' in that most of its reporters left the paper in 1968. It ceased publication on 3 March 1991.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Volksstimme 1945 establishments in Austria 1991 disestablishments in Austria Censorship in Austria Communist Party of Austria Daily newspapers published in Austria Defunct newspapers published in Austria Defunct weekly newspapers German-language newspapers published in Austria German-language communist newspapers Newspapers established in 1945 Newspapers published in Vienna Publications disestablished in 1991 Weekly newspapers published in Austria