Blockveranstaltung

Das Kolloquium dient Lehrenden, Forschenden und Studierenden zum Austausch über aktuelle Forschungsvorhaben, neue Ansätze und Ergebnisse in der Osteuropäischen Geschichte. Etablierte Wissenschaftler*innen, aber auch Doktorand*innen stellen in einem 45minütigen Vortrag ihre aktuelle Arbeit vor, die dann in weiteren 45 Minuten diskutiert wird. Alle Studierenden und Lehrenden sind herzlich eingeladen!

During the Second World War, the BBC’s German-language broadcasts and British leaflets dropped by the Royal Air Force over the Reich were an important alternative source of information for many Germans. Germany’s media had been strictly censored and manipulated since 1933. Listening to foreign radio stations was illegal and penalties ranged from fines and confiscation of radio sets to imprisonment in a concentration camp, or even capital punishment. But the ban did not prevent Germans from listening to the BBC and reading British leaflets by their millions. British propaganda played a crucial part in British foreign policy and warfare towards Nazi Germany. It not only aimed at informing the German people about the British view of the war, but sought to undermine the German fighting morale and stir up popular resistance against the Nazi regime. Its ultimate aim was to help shorten the war. This seminar will familiarise you with the political aims, strategies and content as well as the bureaucracy and media of British propaganda during 1938 to 1945. We will not only study key texts of the historiography, but will also explore primary source materials.