Sound and radio propaganda of the German army
Warning! This article is for informational and educational purposes only. It is based on historical facts confirmed by sources and does not contain propaganda, justification or approval of the ideology, policies, actions or symbols of the Third Reich.
In this article, I'll discuss the relatively little-known topic of audio propaganda directed at the Red Army by the Wehrmacht. Many people have heard of propaganda leaflets, but I think few are aware of the use of specially developed sound broadcasting devices to influence enemy soldiers during the war, as information on this topic is extremely limited. Therefore, to fully understand the events of that time, I believe it's necessary to highlight this rarely mentioned topic within the history of propaganda.
Sound propaganda
Oral broadcasting was widely used alongside printed propaganda. Early in the war, Wehrmacht propaganda companies distributed short, simple chants to their soldiers, which were to be shouted from cover or during an attack. The chants contained calls to surrender and guarantees of safety in German captivity. For example: "Surrender!", "Hands up!", "Drop it!" weapon"," "Don't be afraid!", "You're in no danger," and other similarly brief remarks. This propaganda method was soon abandoned due to its low effectiveness.
German reports indicate that the Wehrmacht later began training special teams for megaphone broadcasts from captured Poles, Czechs, and Vlasovites (Russian Liberation Army). A megaphone team consisted of five people. One prompted the text, while four shouted it into the megaphones in chorus. Two German soldiers accompanied the megaphone team for monitoring purposes. Broadcasts were conducted near the Red Army trenches—one hundred meters in front of the German front lines.
Propaganda companies also had propaganda vehicles/mobiles with special amplifiers. These were usually based on cars and trucks (such as Opel models). Two or three powerful removable loudspeakers were mounted on the roofs of these propaganda vehicles. In addition to direct broadcasts, pre-recorded records with messages addressed to Soviet soldiers were also broadcast on the front lines.
The records were recorded by professional readers from the Eastern Department of the Ministry of Propaganda. These were most often Decelith brand records. These records were blank discs onto which audio tracks were cut for subsequent playback.
German record label Decelith
Captured Red Army soldiers were often used as announcers, if any of them agreed to cooperate, either voluntarily or under threat of death. This method was particularly effective, as words heard from a soldier of their own army were far more persuasive than propaganda from the enemy.
In these appeals, former Soviet soldiers generally stated their name, rank, regiment number, and division number (but not always), and then read a text prepared in advance by the Germans about the good treatment of Soviet prisoners of war, calling on them not to believe the propaganda of Soviet commanders and commissars and to boldly go over to German captivity, as well as general criticism of the Red Army and Soviet power.
Sometimes the Nazis used young women from the occupied Soviet territories (according to German psychological warfare experts, female voices are more recognizable to soldiers). Popular Soviet songs (such as "Katyusha") were also played before propaganda to attract the attention of Red Army soldiers. Another goal was to use songs to remind Soviet soldiers of peaceful life, children, and girlfriends, thereby lowering their morale. Reports indicate that the Germans often used songs by Pyotr Leshchenko for this purpose.
They also tried to tailor the content to the specific enemy and highlight the current situation. For example, audio messages included the numbers of the enemy regiments and divisions being addressed, their ethnic composition, and reported losses of manpower, equipment, and the like (this was also included in leaflets).
The 621st Wehrmacht Propaganda Company at work, 18th German Army, fighting on Lake Peipus, 1941. The man on the right is a Soviet prisoner of war.
The captured Red Army soldier from the previous photo is conducting propaganda for his former comrades (621st Propaganda Company)
German propaganda vehicle of the 621st propaganda company (the vehicle bears the eye emblem - the sign of the Wehrmacht propaganda company)
A soldier from the propaganda company holds a microphone into which a captured Red Army soldier reads an address to Soviet soldiers.
Soldiers of the propaganda company and a captured Red Army soldier carry a sound system for a propaganda vehicle.
A propaganda vehicle of the propaganda company with two sound installations on the roof
A German soldier writes down and reads out a propaganda message (the car has a "V" sign on it – the sign indicates affiliation with the "Vineta" department of the Eastern Department of the German Ministry of Propaganda)
Soldiers of the propaganda company during rest
Another photo of propaganda company soldiers on vacation.
A German propaganda vehicle with three sound amplification units
A vehicle of the 693rd propaganda company conducts propaganda work with residents of occupied Soviet territory, winter 1941-42.
A vehicle belonging to another propaganda company in occupied Soviet territory (a propaganda company soldier is recording a video report)
German soldiers push a stuck propaganda vehicle.
According to an article by military propaganda researcher Nikolai Smirnov, Wehrmacht propaganda companies were armed with three types of sound systems: small (20-watt power, range of 300–600 m), medium (70-watt power, range up to 1500 m), and large (150-watt power, range up to 3000 m). There were also super-heavy loudspeakers with 1000 watts of power, capable of broadcasting up to 9 km in open terrain and up to 3 km in wooded areas, but they were rarely used and were not part of the propaganda companies' standard arsenal.
The key advantage of audio propaganda is its dynamism; spoken word has a far greater impact than printed information from leaflets. Also important is that the reception of audio information cannot be prevented by enemy soldiers.
For example, in Soviet troops, after German leaflets were dropped, commissars often went out and collected them so that soldiers would not have the opportunity to read them, while it is impossible to block the sound.
A study of the German Section Ic report of the 100th Light Infantry Division for November 15, 1941, revealed that, in particular, audio broadcasts were made in the evening to ensure unobstructed listening by Soviet soldiers. The same was true for leaflet drops, so that soldiers could pick them up unnoticed in the darkness. When playing propaganda broadcasts, there was a risk of detection. To prevent this, the equipment was carefully camouflaged a couple of kilometers from the enemy, and its position was periodically changed.
Soviet troops also had similar sound equipment. I'll discuss this in detail in a forthcoming series of articles about Soviet special propaganda against German troops.
It was also possible to find out from the archives that the Germans sometimes installed sound-emitting devices on their Tanks (mainly on the Pz.Kpfw. III tank). This was probably done to make the sound system more difficult to destroy, as a regular propaganda vehicle could easily be disabled by shells. I've included photos of similar tanks below.
A German propaganda tank with three mounted sound systems.
German tank Pz.Kpfw. III with two sound installations
Another German tank with two sound installations.
A German tank with three sound installations being transported on a train platform.
As an example, I will show an authentic recording of propaganda I discovered in the Russian State Archive of Sound Documents. It features a captured Red Army soldier addressing his former comrades, in which he recounts the "good treatment" he received from the Germans and urges them to join them. The audio recording will be available at the link below. The archival code for this recording is: Archive No. f. 283, op. 3, no. 12.
Audio recording of the address
I'd like to point out to readers that there are a large number of audio files online that people claim to be genuine. For example, there are numerous audio recordings of supposed propaganda messages from German soldiers to Red Army soldiers urging them to surrender, which are presented as authentic, but are in fact audio files from the computer game Call of Duty 2, set during World War II.
Radio propaganda
German radio propaganda was distributed primarily in occupied Soviet territory and was addressed primarily to the residents of these territories, but nevertheless, I consider it important to briefly speak about this direction of German propaganda.
For the population of the occupied territories of the USSR, broadcasts were transmitted from European countries and directly from the occupation zone. Broadcasts from abroad included "white" and "black" (fake) stations.
The "White" stations were located primarily in Germany (35 radio centers), as well as in Finland, Poland, and Yugoslavia. These radio stations broadcast programs on behalf of official German leaders. For example, in the first weeks of the war against the USSR, a radio broadcast of Hitler's speech, translated into Russian, was organized. The address called for the murder of Jews, who had allegedly occupied the entire Soviet Union and all command posts in the country, and for the welcoming of the German "liberating soldiers."
In addition to the official stations, there were also fake stations (the so-called "Goebbels black stations"). Joseph Goebbels began broadcasting these radio stations even before the war began. They broadcast on behalf of various groups and organizations ostensibly unaffiliated with Germany. The purpose of these stations was to influence the Soviet population, which distrusted the official German propaganda from the "White" stations. The "black stations" allowed provocations and dirty information to be broadcast, for which the German leadership was unwilling to accept responsibility.
Only three "black" radio stations broadcast into the USSR. Goebbels wrote in his diary that the radio campaign against Moscow was being conducted with the Bolshevik mentality in mind.
Goebbels inspects the new people's radio receiver
The first radio station was called "The Old Leninist Guard." On behalf of some unspecified association within the USSR, it called for a fight against the change in socialist ideals allegedly "carried out by Stalin's clique." Overall, the station was Trotskyist in its outlook, as Goebbels himself stated in his diary. The station's musical accompaniment featured the tune of "The Internationale," and its broadcasts included excerpts from Lenin's letters. Thus, the station's emphasis was on contrasting Lenin's old guard with Stalin. In this way, German propagandists sought to divide the citizens of the USSR.
The second radio station was called "For Russia." It primarily reported on the emergence of various nationalist movements within the Soviet Union (which was false). This radio station divided Soviet citizens along ethnic lines by provoking interethnic conflicts.
The third radio station broadcast on behalf of the non-existent "Combat Union of Nationalists of the Russian People." This station broadcast messages about the need to revive the "White Movement" and launch a "crusade against Bolshevism." Its broadcasts were aimed at those who had lost their social status during the 1917 Revolution and did not accept Bolshevism. However, most of these people had long since left the country.
These "black" artificial radio stations attempted to inspire trust among Soviet citizens through the use of "partial denial." Thus, their broadcasts began with attacks on fascists, but simultaneously criticized the existing Soviet regime, and Stalin in particular. This created the appearance of a powerful anti-Stalin opposition within the country.
However, the vast majority of Soviet citizens were unmoved by the ideas of nationalist movements, the restoration of the White movement, or the activism of Trotsky's supporters. Therefore, in 1943, the last of these radio stations ceased broadcasting.
I would like to inform readers that with the next article, I will begin a new series dedicated to the Soviet Union's propaganda efforts among enemy troops and populations. The series will begin with the very inception of Soviet special propaganda, even before the Great Patriotic War, and will also touch on significant military conflicts that influenced the development and evolution of this type of work.
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