Volksempfänger radio, model VE 301w
Radio
1933 (manufactured)
1933 (manufactured)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The Volksempfänger radio was the brainchild of Joseph Goebbels who realised 'the revolutionary impact of the invention of radio, which gave the spoken word true mass effectiveness'. It was expressly intended as a propaganda tool for the Nazi government and the model number - VE 301w - refers to the date of Hitler's assumption of power in January 1933. It sold for 76 Reichmarks, a third of the price of competitors. Walter Maria Kersting's simple design was made under license by 28 different manufacturers, and the radio was specifically manufactured to only receive medium-wave signals, thereby limiting the possibility of listening to stations from outside Germany.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Volksempfänger radio, model VE 301w (manufacturer's title) |
| Materials and techniques | Compression-moulded phenol-formaldehyde resin ('bakelite'), electrical circuits, linen, printed card |
| Brief description | Volksempfänger radio, model VE 301w, brown bakelite case with linen, designed by Walter Maria Kersting and manufactured by Statssfurter Rundfunk GmbH, Germany, 1933 |
| Physical description | Rectangular brown bakelite radio with circular loudspeaker covered in linen fabric in the centre of the upper part of the front, above three control knobs arranged horizontally along the bottom edge. A moulded arc around and over the central knob frames the tuning dial. Printed card backboard. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Gallery label | The radio as propaganda tool
The ‘Volksempfänger’ (People’s Receiver) was released in 1933, the year Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany. It was designed to be a widely affordable mass-communication tool for the new Nazi government and cost just a third of the price of other radios. By 1941, two-thirds of German homes owned a ‘Volksempfänger’, enabling the spread of fascist propaganda through Nazi-controlled radio stations.
Bakelite radio
‘Volksempfänger’, model VE 301w, 1933
Designed by Walter Maria Kersting
Manufactured by Stassfurter Rundfunk GmbH, Germany
Bakelite case, linen and electronic components
Museum no. W.7-2005
The object sits in the 'Crisis and Conflict' section of the Design 1900-Now gallery opened in June 2021.
(2021) |
| Summary | The Volksempfänger radio was the brainchild of Joseph Goebbels who realised 'the revolutionary impact of the invention of radio, which gave the spoken word true mass effectiveness'. It was expressly intended as a propaganda tool for the Nazi government and the model number - VE 301w - refers to the date of Hitler's assumption of power in January 1933. It sold for 76 Reichmarks, a third of the price of competitors. Walter Maria Kersting's simple design was made under license by 28 different manufacturers, and the radio was specifically manufactured to only receive medium-wave signals, thereby limiting the possibility of listening to stations from outside Germany. |
| Bibliographic reference | p.123
Hawes, Robert and Sassower, Gad. Bakelite Radios (Edison, New Jersey, 1996) |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | W.7-2005 |
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| Record created | July 8, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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