The ''Wochenpost'' () was an

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 ...

weekly. It was founded in 1953, and circulation peaked at over one million copies per issue from 1971 to the

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 academic Deirdre Byrnes writes that the paper was "one of the most influential" publications in East Germany. Its highest circulation was around 1.2 million copies, making the paper the most popular weekly in East Germany. It was considered a paper for intellectuals. The paper continued to be published after

until it ceased publication in late December 1996.

History

The paper published its first issue on 22 or 23 December 1953, around

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

. The cover of the first issue was a depiction of a child blowing a candle out with the words "to all who are of goodwill." It was co-founded by Margot Pfannstiel, who also worked as chief reporter,

Heinz Knobloch Heinz Knobloch (3 March 1926 – 24 July 2003) was a German writer and journalist, who spent most of his professional career working in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). Life Early years Knobloch was born in Dresden, the son of a ...

, who took responsibility for "puzzles, mental recreation and humour" (''"Rätsel, Denksport und Humor"''), and

Hilde Eisler Hilde Eisler (born Brunhilde Rothstein: 28 January 1912 – 8 October 2000) was a political activist and journalist. In 1956 she took over as editor in chief of '':de:Das Magazin (Deutschland), Das Magazin'', a lifestyle and fashion magazine in th ...

. Pfannstiel left in 1958, and returned in 1968. Work on the ''Wochenpost'' quickly became a principal vehicle for Knobloch's professional success over more than three decades. He served as its culture editor from 1957 to 1965, and between 1968 and 1988 contributed a weekly Feuilleton-format opinion column. Its first editor-in-chief was Rudi Wetzel. Circulation of the paper peaked at over one million copies per issue from 1971 to the German reunification. The academic Deirdre Byrnes writes that the paper was "one of the most influential" publications in East Germany. The paper was characterized by providing "practical advice", such as how to decorate an apartment and how to dress fashionably. ''Wochenpost'' was not an opposition paper; the journalist , who worked at the paper for many years, noted that it was "no more opportunistic than its readers". After the

, the paper was purchased by

Gruner + Jahr Gruner may refer to: People * Dov Gruner (1912–1947), Jewish Zionist leader * Eduard Gruner, Swiss engineer * Elioth Gruner (1882–1939), Australian painter * Gottlieb Sigmund Gruner (1717–1778), Swiss cartographer and geologist * Klaus ...

and

Robert Maxwell Ian Robert Maxwell (born Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch; 10 June 1923 – 5 November 1991) was a Czechoslovak-born British media proprietor, member of parliament (MP), suspected spy, and fraudster. Early in his life, Maxwell escaped from N ...

and relaunched in Berlin. From 1983 to 1991, Brigitte Zimmermann was editor in chief of the paper. By 1994 it was selling around 100,000 copies per week. ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' compared the paper to ''

Die Zeit ''Die Zeit'' (, "The Time") is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles. History The ...

''. The paper was struggling by 1996 and ceased publication in late December.

History

References

Further reading