Just wondering, was any domestic football from East Germany shown in the west (and vice versa)?
Communist-Era Television
10 of 13
Slightly off-topic because it's not television - but here's some interesting footage of East Berlin, filmed by a Swiss artist (a juggler, to be precise) who performed at the Friedrichstadtpalast in 1987/88.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_656gD6Ahcs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_656gD6Ahcs
Originally Posted by Steveaustin316:
“Just wondering, was any domestic football from East Germany shown in the west (and vice versa)?”
“Just wondering, was any domestic football from East Germany shown in the west (and vice versa)?”
In a word: No.
Western clubs had a lot of fans in the east but GDR television completely ignored the Bundesliga. On West German TV, there might have been a short news clip about the newly-crowned GDR champion - but that was it.
This made the rare European Cup encounters between East and West all the more interesting. For example, Bayern Munich played against Dynamo Dresden in the 70s. For the away game, the Bayern team went by bus. They spent the night in the Bavarian town of Hof (right next to the border) and then crossed the border only a couple of hours before the match because they were afraid of deliberate food poisoning if they'd stayed in a Dresden hotel.
And I still remember the "miracle of Uerdingen" from the 1985/86 Cup Winners' Cup: Dynamo Dresden had won the first leg 2-0, and they were 3-1 ahead at half time in the 2nd leg. But Uerdingen scored six goals in the second half...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e65VYx66dus (West German coverage)
And here's some domestic GDR football coverage from 1983:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxR2ksBIxHI
Listings in the Austrian edition of Hörzu TV magazine from 1984:
ORF FS1, ORF FS2
ARD, ZDF, Bayern 3, Südwest 3, SRG, Sky
Plus Austrian and Bavarian radio, but absolutely no channels from Hungary, Czechoslovakia, or Yugoslavia.
West German magazines listed East German, Austrian, Swiss, French, Belgian, Dutch, and Danish channels (in regional editions where appropriate) but no Czechoslovakian or Polish TV.
ORF FS1, ORF FS2
ARD, ZDF, Bayern 3, Südwest 3, SRG, Sky
Plus Austrian and Bavarian radio, but absolutely no channels from Hungary, Czechoslovakia, or Yugoslavia.
West German magazines listed East German, Austrian, Swiss, French, Belgian, Dutch, and Danish channels (in regional editions where appropriate) but no Czechoslovakian or Polish TV.
Thanks as always, KarlHyde!
I wonder if local newspapers in southern Austria carried listings for TV Ljubljana. I know that the Carinthian edition of Kleine Zeitung did list Slovenian TV after independence, and I wouldn't be surprised if they had already done so in the Yugoslav era -- both because of the Slovenian minority in Carinthia and because some Austrians regularly tuned to TV Ljubljana for subtitled American movies.
Originally Posted by KarlHyde:
“Plus Austrian and Bavarian radio, but absolutely no channels from Hungary, Czechoslovakia, or Yugoslavia.”
“Plus Austrian and Bavarian radio, but absolutely no channels from Hungary, Czechoslovakia, or Yugoslavia.”
I wonder if local newspapers in southern Austria carried listings for TV Ljubljana. I know that the Carinthian edition of Kleine Zeitung did list Slovenian TV after independence, and I wouldn't be surprised if they had already done so in the Yugoslav era -- both because of the Slovenian minority in Carinthia and because some Austrians regularly tuned to TV Ljubljana for subtitled American movies.
The following link is nearly 8 years old, but anyway...
That particular video isn't available in Germany, so I can't comment on that but I guess the clips are from a very interesting Spiegel TV documentary from the late 90s about Nazi televsion.
Edited version in English (55 minutes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ208YIOK94
Complete version in German (89 minutes): http://www.spiegel.tv/filme/fernsehe...rm-hakenkreuz/
Some of the clips are strangely disturbing, others are just unintentionally funny.
I also remember seeing a similar documentary on ZDF in the 80s but I haven't found that anywhere on the web.
Well, not quite. There actually was a transmitter for the Berlin area. But ordinary people didn't own TV sets, so they could watch programmes in specially designed "television parlours" that were often located in post offices. These parlours were especially popular during the 1936 Olympics, with near-live coverage. Cameras were fitted to the roof of OB vans. The events were filmed, the film was automatically developed inside the OB van and then broadcast with a delay of 1 or 2 minutes.
TV parlours were also operated in Potsdam (near Berlin) but also in Hamburg and Leipzig. I'm not sure whether they used cable or directional radio to transmit the signal over long distances.
Before the war, regular programming was shown for about two hours, from 8 to 10pm. During the Olympics, extended programming was shown for up to 8 hours per day.
After the outbreak of WW2, the television service was mainly used for troop entertainment, especially in military hospitals. During the German occupation of France, programmes were also broadcast in Paris, from the Eiffel tower.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernsehsender_Paul_Nipkow
Originally Posted by DocumentaryFan:
“Not Communist TV, but here are some clips of Nazi TV from the 1930s:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEYfl-X2Jcc”
“Not Communist TV, but here are some clips of Nazi TV from the 1930s:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEYfl-X2Jcc”
That particular video isn't available in Germany, so I can't comment on that but I guess the clips are from a very interesting Spiegel TV documentary from the late 90s about Nazi televsion.
Edited version in English (55 minutes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ208YIOK94
Complete version in German (89 minutes): http://www.spiegel.tv/filme/fernsehe...rm-hakenkreuz/
Some of the clips are strangely disturbing, others are just unintentionally funny.
I also remember seeing a similar documentary on ZDF in the 80s but I haven't found that anywhere on the web.
Originally Posted by DBC:
“Unlike the British TV service, German television carried on broadcasting during the war. I seem to recall that the system relied on a form of cable transmission to distribute the programmes the very few select locations it served, and not on "over the air" radio transmissions. The service only operated in Berlin.”
“Unlike the British TV service, German television carried on broadcasting during the war. I seem to recall that the system relied on a form of cable transmission to distribute the programmes the very few select locations it served, and not on "over the air" radio transmissions. The service only operated in Berlin.”
Well, not quite. There actually was a transmitter for the Berlin area. But ordinary people didn't own TV sets, so they could watch programmes in specially designed "television parlours" that were often located in post offices. These parlours were especially popular during the 1936 Olympics, with near-live coverage. Cameras were fitted to the roof of OB vans. The events were filmed, the film was automatically developed inside the OB van and then broadcast with a delay of 1 or 2 minutes.
TV parlours were also operated in Potsdam (near Berlin) but also in Hamburg and Leipzig. I'm not sure whether they used cable or directional radio to transmit the signal over long distances.
Before the war, regular programming was shown for about two hours, from 8 to 10pm. During the Olympics, extended programming was shown for up to 8 hours per day.
After the outbreak of WW2, the television service was mainly used for troop entertainment, especially in military hospitals. During the German occupation of France, programmes were also broadcast in Paris, from the Eiffel tower.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernsehsender_Paul_Nipkow
http://www.radiomuseum.org/forum/80_...utschland.html
The scan on the bottom of this page shows TV listings from late January / early February 1939. On two evenings, programming was "forbidden for minors". There was no programming on Sundays.
The scan on the bottom of this page shows TV listings from late January / early February 1939. On two evenings, programming was "forbidden for minors". There was no programming on Sundays.
Great links, KarlHyde!
From 1990, here's an English-language weather forecast for Yugoslavia (w/ German subtitles), TV Novi Sad:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXeRCshOleM
From 1990, here's an English-language weather forecast for Yugoslavia (w/ German subtitles), TV Novi Sad:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXeRCshOleM
Originally Posted by DocumentaryFan:
“Great links, KarlHyde!
From 1990, here's an English-language weather forecast for Yugoslavia (w/ German subtitles), TV Novi Sad:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXeRCshOleM”
“Great links, KarlHyde!
From 1990, here's an English-language weather forecast for Yugoslavia (w/ German subtitles), TV Novi Sad:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXeRCshOleM”
Thank you DF, why would it have been in English ?
Indeed. Various Yugoslav TV stations took turns producing these news and weather updates for tourists, which were then broadcast throughout Yugoslavia. (This particular one was from TV Novi Sad, but TV Zagreb, TV Ljubljana, and TV Beograd also took turns producing them.) The languages alternated -- one day the narration would be in German with English subtitles, and then vice versa the following day.
That's a shame because the weather forecast you posted is blocked in Germany (it apparently contains copyrighted music). One of these days, I'll actually have to install a Youtube unblocker.
Did JRT also produce foreign-language radio programmes to cater for tourists?
Before the summer holidays, West German listings magazines always published lists of German-language radio stations in popular holiday areas. I'm sure there used to be programming for tourists in Italy and Spain, but Yugoslavia, Hungary, and Bulgaria were popular destinations as well.
Did JRT also produce foreign-language radio programmes to cater for tourists?
Before the summer holidays, West German listings magazines always published lists of German-language radio stations in popular holiday areas. I'm sure there used to be programming for tourists in Italy and Spain, but Yugoslavia, Hungary, and Bulgaria were popular destinations as well.
Originally Posted by KarlHyde:
“That's a shame because the weather forecast you posted is blocked in Germany (it apparently contains copyrighted music). One of these days, I'll actually have to install a Youtube unblocker.
Did JRT also produce foreign-language radio programmes to cater for tourists?
Before the summer holidays, West German listings magazines always published lists of German-language radio stations in popular holiday areas. I'm sure there used to be programming for tourists in Italy and Spain, but Yugoslavia, Hungary, and Bulgaria were popular destinations as well.”
“That's a shame because the weather forecast you posted is blocked in Germany (it apparently contains copyrighted music). One of these days, I'll actually have to install a Youtube unblocker.
Did JRT also produce foreign-language radio programmes to cater for tourists?
Before the summer holidays, West German listings magazines always published lists of German-language radio stations in popular holiday areas. I'm sure there used to be programming for tourists in Italy and Spain, but Yugoslavia, Hungary, and Bulgaria were popular destinations as well.”
Since you can't access the clip, here are a few caps:
http://s12.postimg.org/uzby9zlj1/tvns_weather_1a.png
According to the person who originally posted the clip, the background instrumental is Jonathan Butler's Barenese -- that's what apparently got it blocked in Germany.
It's likely that many Yugoslav-era radio stations had news and weather updates in English and German during the tourist season, but I can't find any specific information, since most of my old listings aren't from the summer months. In his book Radio and Television Broadcasting in Eastern Europe (1974), Burton Paulu states the following when discussing Yugoslavia: "During the summertime, for tourists, there are also programs in English, French, German, and Russian."
Later on, one station broadcast mostly in German (with some program segments in English): Radio MM2 in the Slovenian town in Maribor. It was officially launched in 1982 as station for German vacationers in northern Yugoslavia ("Urlaubsradio"), but its pop music also had a large following in Austria, where ORF still had an official monopoly.
Here are a couple of jingles from MM2, recorded in 1987:
http://fmkompakt.de/MM2_1987Maribor.mp3
MM2 eventually evolved into today's Radio Slovenia International (Radio SI), which now broadcasts mostly in English, but also has regular newscasts in German. (It's indented in large part for foreign tourists in Slovenia.)
Aaah, these jingles are great. Pure 80s! 
And with a slight Austrian accent.
Have you heard of "Radio Adria"? Wiki says the station (broadcasting from Piancavallo/Italy) could also be received in Poreč, Pula and Rovinj.
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Adria
And with a slight Austrian accent.Have you heard of "Radio Adria"? Wiki says the station (broadcasting from Piancavallo/Italy) could also be received in Poreč, Pula and Rovinj.
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Adria
Nope, I've never heard of Radio Adria. Thanks for the link!
I do remember Radio Uno, a German-language station that broadcast from Italy to the Austrian Bundesland of Carinthia in the 1980s and early '90s.
There was also an unrelated Tele-Uno, also for Carinthia:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tele_U...3%96sterreich))
I do remember Radio Uno, a German-language station that broadcast from Italy to the Austrian Bundesland of Carinthia in the 1980s and early '90s.
There was also an unrelated Tele-Uno, also for Carinthia:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tele_U...3%96sterreich))
Czechoslovakian children's television from Barrandov studios
When I remember my childhood (late 70s and 80s), there were surprisingly many fictional serials from Czechoslovakia on both West and East German channels, and some of them are still shown today. Some examples:
Lucie, postrach ulice / Luzie, der Schrecken der Straße (Lucie, spectre in the streets), 1980
A very cute 6-part series about a little girl who gets bored in the summer before her school enrolment. She snatches a box of play dough in a department store, and the dough turns into two figures, Friedrich & Friedrich. The little guys play all kinds of pranks, getting Lucie into trouble because her parents think she's responsible for the mess...
The series was hugely popular among us kids. It was co-produced by Czech and West German television. Some scenes were filmed in the streets of Cologne, complete with German number plates on the cars. It never ran on East German TV. In Czechoslovia, the six 30-minute episodes were edited into a 75-minutes film that premiered in 1983 or 84.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpN4PAIR6ho (recap of episodes 1&2 in German)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToXyIZJkdKQ (trailer for the German DVD)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVOxumwSecQ (entire film in Czech)
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luzie,...er_Stra%C3%9Fe
Návštěvníci / Die Besucher / Expedition Adam '84 (The Visitors), 1984
A children's sci-fi series with 15 episodes about scientists from the year 2484 who travel back to 1984, looking for a mathematical formula that could help prevent a disaster. A little boy (who will grow up to become a famous mathematician) has scribbled the formula into his excercise book which is going to be destroyed in a fire...
This was a funny and entertaining serial with some hilarious (and cheap-looking) special effects. It was shown in both East and West Germany. The title was "Die Besucher" on ARD and "Expedition Adam '84" on DDR-Fernsehen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VtA3y2ekck (episode 1, West German version)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wDT4LNhfTM (episode 1, Czechoslovakian version)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%A...28TV_series%29
Pan Tau (Mr. Tau), 1966-88
A very well-known series but I only have faint memories of it. Wiki says: The protagonist Pan Tau, who generally didn't speak and communicated through pantomime, was played by Otto Šimánek (1925–1992). [...] The stories were generally funny, but contained some kind of problem for a child, and here Pan Tau found the way to solve the problem. The series was shown in both parts of Germany.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAfzYOqjBlA (Series 1, episode 1, West German version)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynOSKn7rv1Y (Series 2, episode 2, Czech version)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Tau
All of the above serials were written & directed by Ota Hofman and Jindřich Polák. And they actually produced a lot more. A lot of actors also took part in various of these projects.
I guess these shows didn't find their way to the UK but maybe someone remembers watching them in other countries?
When I remember my childhood (late 70s and 80s), there were surprisingly many fictional serials from Czechoslovakia on both West and East German channels, and some of them are still shown today. Some examples:
Lucie, postrach ulice / Luzie, der Schrecken der Straße (Lucie, spectre in the streets), 1980
A very cute 6-part series about a little girl who gets bored in the summer before her school enrolment. She snatches a box of play dough in a department store, and the dough turns into two figures, Friedrich & Friedrich. The little guys play all kinds of pranks, getting Lucie into trouble because her parents think she's responsible for the mess...
The series was hugely popular among us kids. It was co-produced by Czech and West German television. Some scenes were filmed in the streets of Cologne, complete with German number plates on the cars. It never ran on East German TV. In Czechoslovia, the six 30-minute episodes were edited into a 75-minutes film that premiered in 1983 or 84.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpN4PAIR6ho (recap of episodes 1&2 in German)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToXyIZJkdKQ (trailer for the German DVD)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVOxumwSecQ (entire film in Czech)
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luzie,...er_Stra%C3%9Fe
Návštěvníci / Die Besucher / Expedition Adam '84 (The Visitors), 1984
A children's sci-fi series with 15 episodes about scientists from the year 2484 who travel back to 1984, looking for a mathematical formula that could help prevent a disaster. A little boy (who will grow up to become a famous mathematician) has scribbled the formula into his excercise book which is going to be destroyed in a fire...
This was a funny and entertaining serial with some hilarious (and cheap-looking) special effects. It was shown in both East and West Germany. The title was "Die Besucher" on ARD and "Expedition Adam '84" on DDR-Fernsehen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VtA3y2ekck (episode 1, West German version)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wDT4LNhfTM (episode 1, Czechoslovakian version)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%A...28TV_series%29
Pan Tau (Mr. Tau), 1966-88
A very well-known series but I only have faint memories of it. Wiki says: The protagonist Pan Tau, who generally didn't speak and communicated through pantomime, was played by Otto Šimánek (1925–1992). [...] The stories were generally funny, but contained some kind of problem for a child, and here Pan Tau found the way to solve the problem. The series was shown in both parts of Germany.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAfzYOqjBlA (Series 1, episode 1, West German version)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynOSKn7rv1Y (Series 2, episode 2, Czech version)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Tau
All of the above serials were written & directed by Ota Hofman and Jindřich Polák. And they actually produced a lot more. A lot of actors also took part in various of these projects.
I guess these shows didn't find their way to the UK but maybe someone remembers watching them in other countries?
Nemocnice na kraji mesta/ Das Krankenhaus am Rande der Stadt/ Hospital at the End of the City, was a very popular Czechoslovak TV series in 70s.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0247886/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hospit...nd_of_the_City
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j520...xjLWbhOF3qYDfr
Spadla z oblakov/ She Came Out of the Blue Sky/ Sie kam aus dem All, a sci-fi series for children from 70s about an alien girl that meets a group of children and their adventures
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077083/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j520...xjLWbhOF3qYDfr
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0247886/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hospit...nd_of_the_City
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j520...xjLWbhOF3qYDfr
Spadla z oblakov/ She Came Out of the Blue Sky/ Sie kam aus dem All, a sci-fi series for children from 70s about an alien girl that meets a group of children and their adventures
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077083/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j520...xjLWbhOF3qYDfr
Great! 
I remember the hospital series from both East & West German TV. I didn't know the one about the alien girl though.
Another Czechoslovakian series: Žena za pultem / Die Frau hinter dem Ladentisch (The woman behind the counter). This might be interesting to look at because the setting is a typical supermarket.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXljjI2dRTk (episode 1, in Czech)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb85HkH52Bs (episode 1, East German dubbing)
By the way: The (West) German word "Supermarkt" was totally unfamiliar in the GDR. The equivalent Eastern word was "Kaufhalle" (shopping hall), and the term is stilly widely used there.
I remember the hospital series from both East & West German TV. I didn't know the one about the alien girl though.Another Czechoslovakian series: Žena za pultem / Die Frau hinter dem Ladentisch (The woman behind the counter). This might be interesting to look at because the setting is a typical supermarket.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXljjI2dRTk (episode 1, in Czech)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb85HkH52Bs (episode 1, East German dubbing)
By the way: The (West) German word "Supermarkt" was totally unfamiliar in the GDR. The equivalent Eastern word was "Kaufhalle" (shopping hall), and the term is stilly widely used there.
Czechoslovak-era cartoons were also legendary. I fondly remember Maksipes Fik:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kt_226oZ9zs (Slovenian narration)
...and Rákosníček (known in Slovenian as "Palček Smuk"):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_5IW2dIaBc (Slovenian narration)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kt_226oZ9zs (Slovenian narration)
...and Rákosníček (known in Slovenian as "Palček Smuk"):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_5IW2dIaBc (Slovenian narration)
Speaking of kids' programmes there are two that reached a cult status,
Morozko/ Frosty, 1964, USSR
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058374/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hw2DN4335hU
And Tri orisky pro popelku/ Three Wishes for Cinderella/ Drei Haselnüsse für Aschenbrödel, 1973, Czechoslovakia
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070832/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQ-Hw1qyeVE
Morozko/ Frosty, 1964, USSR
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058374/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hw2DN4335hU
And Tri orisky pro popelku/ Three Wishes for Cinderella/ Drei Haselnüsse für Aschenbrödel, 1973, Czechoslovakia
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070832/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQ-Hw1qyeVE
I know both of these, especially the second one which is shown on a fairly regular basis on German television these days.
Another great film from Czechoslovakia, 1964, Limonadovy Joe aneb Konska opera/ Lemonade Joe, a western parody
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058275/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5Lg_14m-sM
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058275/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5Lg_14m-sM
Originally Posted by GrannyGruntbuck:
“I know both of these, especially the second one which is shown on a fairly regular basis on German television these days.”
“I know both of these, especially the second one which is shown on a fairly regular basis on German television these days.”
Yeah, the Cinderella film has a cult following in Germany. It's always shown around Christmas. But I have to admit I've never seen it.
Another Czechoslovkian series:
Arabela (CSSR) / Die Märchenbraut (FRG) / Die schöne Arabella und der Zauberer (GDR)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYMDlRsJmSE (Czech)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cTR4UYEEEA (German)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabela_%28TV_series%29
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