Der schwarze Kanal (English: The Black Channel) was an East German television propaganda programme made up of bowdlerized programmes from West Germany with an added Communist commentary.^[1] “East Germany” redirects here. ... Soviet Propaganda Poster during the World War II. The text reads Red Army Fighter, SAVE US! Chinese propaganda poster from during the Cultural Revolution. ... Thomas Bowdler (July 11, 1754 – February 24, 1825), an English physician, who published The Family Shakespeare, is best known as the source of the eponym bowdlerize (or bowdlerise[1]), the process of expurgation, censorship by removal, of material thought to be unacceptable to the intended audience, especially children or religious... Television series redirects here. ... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ...

The programme was hosted by Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler and began on 21 March 1960. The name "Black channel" is a play on words in that in the German language "black channel" is a term used by plumbers to describe a sewer.^[2] Although the programme was primarily intended for domestic (East German) consumption, the programme makers (at least in the early days) hoped that those in the West who could receive DFF would also watch.^[2] Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler (April 28, 1918 - September 20, 2001) was an East German journalist, propagandist, and host of the television show Der Schwarze Kanal (German: The Black Channel) from March 21, 1960 to October 30, 1989. ... March 21 is the 80th day of the year (81st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... Broadcasting in East Germany was owned by the state, and was under its tight control and censorship. ...

The geography of the divided Germany meant that West German television signals (particularly ARD) could be received in most of East Germany fairly readily other than parts of Eastern Saxony around Brandenburg and Dresden (earning the latter the nickname "valley of the clueless" for this reason^[3]). Whilst radio signals from international broadcasters like the BBC and the American-backed local station RIAS in West Berlin could be jammed, it was diplomatically and technically awkward to block West German television as it would have been impossible to do so (with any degree of effectiveness) without affecting reception in parts of West Germany as well which in turn could have prompted the West Germans to retaliate against Eastern broadcasts.^[1] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... ARD (Arbeitsgemeinschaft der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten der Bundesrepublik Deutschland – the Consortium of public-law broadcasting institutions of the Federal Republic of Germany), is a joint organization of Germanys regional public broadcasting agencies. ... Location Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) Administration Country NUTS Region DED Capital Dresden Minister-President Georg Milbradt (CDU) Governing parties CDU / SPD Votes in Bundesrat 4 (from 69) Basic statistics Area  18,416 km² (7,110 sq mi) Population 4,252,000 (11/2006)[1]  - Density 231 /km... The British Broadcasting Corporation, which is usually known as the BBC, is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion. ... Rundfunk im amerikanischen Sektor (Radio in the American Sector), or RIAS was a radio station in the American Sector of Berlin during the Cold War. ... Boroughs of West Berlin West Berlin was the name given to the western part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. ... Radio jamming is the (usually deliberate) transmission of radio signals that disrupt communications by decreasing the signal to noise ratio. ...

However, the West German ARD broadcasts reported on news that the Socialist Unity Party of Germany in the East would rather their citizens were not aware of; they also presented a lifestyle that was in marked opposition to that in the East.^[1] Current logo The Arbeitsgemeinschaft der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Cooperative association of public-law broadcasting institutions of the Federal Republic of Germany), or simply ARD, is a joint organization of Germanys regional public broadcasting agencies. ... The party emblem represented the handshake between Communist Wilhelm Pieck and Social Democrat Otto Grotewohl when their parties merged in 1946 The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) (German: Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands) was the governing party of East Germany from its formation in 1949 until the elections of 1990. ...

A screenshot of Der Schwarze Kanal, featuring Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler speaking

The solution, as seen by Deutscher Fernsehfunk, was to record items from the ARD that were unwelcome in the East or provided a different spin on a news story and replay the items on the main DFF1 channel with a commentary "explaining" what was really "meant" by the item, or how the item was "untrue" or "flawed".^[1] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Broadcasting in East Germany was owned by the state, and was under its tight control and censorship. ...

The programme was not popular in East Germany. In the book Stasiland, Anna Funder quotes an urban myth portraying engineers in power stations as struggling to stop a blackout from the power surge due to East Germans switching off their sets when the programme came on. This however may be exaggerated as viewers could have switched to DFF2 or even West German television instead. The programme was usually scheduled for transmission at 2130 on Monday evenings prior to a film or some other popular item in the hope that viewers tuning in early to catch the film would see the programme.^[2] According to some sources official surveys gave a programme a 5% audience figure^[2] although its difficult to verify the accuracy of such a survey in the atmosphere of cold war Germany. Stasiland by Anna Funder is a book about heroic people who resisted the East German regime, and others who worked for its secret police, the Stasi. ... Anna Funder (born 1966) is an Australian writer who grew up in Melbourne. ... Urban Legend is also the name of a 1998 movie. ... Power Outage is an episode of The WB drama series, Charmed. ... Voltage spikes are fast, short duration surges in the electric potential in a given circuit. ...

The programme ceased broadcasting on 30 October 1989, just ahead of the opening of the borders with the west on 9 November, at which point the East German television service declared itself "free of government interference".^[4] before merging with their formerly rival West German television networks less than a year later as a result of German reunification. October 30 is the 303rd day of the year (304th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 62 days remaining. ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 313th day of the year (314th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... German reunification (German: ) took place on October 3, 1990, when the areas of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR, in English commonly called East Germany) were incorporated into the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, in English commonly called West Germany). The start of this reunification process is commonly referred to...

See also

• Broadcasting in East Germany

Broadcasting in East Germany was owned by the state, and was under its tight control and censorship. ...

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Hancock, Dafydd (1 January 2001). Fade to black. Intertel from Transdiffusion. Retrieved on 2006-02-20.
2. ^ ^{a b c d} Grape, Andreas (September 2000). Die digitalisierten Sendemanuskripte - Der schwarze Kanal (German). Deutsches Rundfunkarchiv. Retrieved on 2007-05-12. “With the transmission title black channel was meant also the west television, by itself the "dirt and Unrat, which would have to actually flow on the sewage farms", thus moderator of Schnitzler, into the dwellings of the spectators poured. Karl Eduard von Schnitzler, who coined/shaped the transmission by editorship and presentation as Chefkommentator of the GDR television considerably, wanted to serve here "to a certain extent as purification plant"”
3. ^ Mitchener, Brandon (9 November 1994). East Germany Struggles, 5 Years After Wall Fell. International Herald Tribune. Retrieved on 2007-05-12.
4. ^ Schnitzler, Karl-Eduard von (1992). Der Rote Kanal (in German). Hamburg: Nautilus. ISBN 3-89401-211-0.