Last transmission of Radio Berlin International - English

[Red Commissar]

Radio Berlin International was the foreign branch of the national news agency/entertainment of the GDR, set up to be the counter to Deutsche Welle from the FRG.

As unification neared on October 3rd, 1990, RBI was preparing to shut down its operations as Deutche Welle was going to move in to its former frequencies and take over.

This is the final broadcast of RBI split up into two parts, shortly before the end of the GDR, on October 2nd. I suppose what's interesting is in the first half of the second part where the broadcasters give their final remarks and read letters from some viewers- you can tell there is disappointment and frustration behind their words regarding the end of their station.

http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/3ZynKqxumBE/
http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/_3jXgQMOU0k/

There is some interesting letters, such as one reader who comments on the irony that finally becoming a "competitive" market results in the domination of one radio in Germany, and another which states the oddity of finally getting "Freedom of Speech" means shutting down their radio station. Another letter states that it would be difficult to "merge" the economies of the two nations and that it would be the people of the GDR who would bear the burden of that process.

The last spoken words are "Take Care and Good Luck". After that it plays some music, then ends with the repeating of the identifier of the station, the anthem of the GDR.

I can't find this on youtube (though there is the final German broadcast), so I apologize if using todou is inconvenient. It's an interesting bit of history though.

[Ismail]

It does seem that GDR propagandists were a fair bit more ideologically inclined than most other Eastern Bloc states. Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler, whose program Der schwarze Kanal probably ranks as one of the least effective propaganda shows of all time, refused to support Die Linke and instead joined the DKP, commenting in interviews that even in the 1980's GDR there were a lot of "signs" of capitalism in public life that only became apparent to him in the 1989-1990 period.

Here's an early 1980's Soviet radio broadcast in English specifically geared towards the USA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKOii0JRiEk

Radio Tirana developed a reputation for being "dogmatic" and "excessively" ideological in its content. One source also noted that, "Strictly designed for communist propaganda, Radio Tirana had a bad reputation among its foreign audience. Short-wave listeners ridiculed its incredibly rigid propaganda format... Many listeners were simply annoyed by its excessively potent transmitters that would reach any place from New Zealand to Vladivostok. The short-wave giant would go so far as to infringe on the international transmitting standards and employ for its use short-wave frequencies reserved by international regulations for amateur radio operations." It developed a reputation for being amusing to listen to, though, since it was one the only Eastern Bloc radio service that wasn't focused on "peace" and songs imitating the West and such. It also repeated extracts from newsletters and resolutions issued by pro-Albanian parties, along with excerpts from Enver Hoxha's works.