Not on display

German Little Set

Radio
1933 (designed), 1938 (made)
Artist/Maker
Saba-Radio (maker)
Place of origin
Villingen (made)

This small, cheap 'Bakelite' radio, known as the Deutscher Kleinempfänger ('German Little Set') or Volkesempfänger ('People's set'), was the brainchild of Nazi propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels. The model was comissioned from a conglomerate of radio manufacturers by the Ministry of Propaganda to supplement the larger Volkesempfänger VE301W (V&A W.7-2005). The receiver was constructed to receive only broadcasts from German stations. More than 3 million were produced before the outbreak of the Second World War when radio manufacturing switched to military contracts. So widespread were these radios, and so far reaching was Nazi propaganda, that they received another nickname: Goebbels Schnauze ('Big Mouth').

Object details

Categories
Household Objects
Electrical Appliances
Entertainment & Leisure
Politics
Audio Equipment
Plastic
Object type
Radio
Titles
  • German Little Set (manufacturer's title)
  • Deutscher Kleinempfänger (manufacturer's title)
  • People's set (popular title)
  • Volkesempfänger
Materials and techniques
Compression-moulded phenol-formaldehyde resin ('Bakelite'), valves and electrical components Possible asbestos
Bakelite
Phenolic
Electrical Components
Compression Moulding
Brief description
model Deutscher Kleinempfanger; German 1938 des. 1933 man. Saba-Radio
Physical description
Valves and black Bakelite case
Dimensions
  • Height: 24cm
  • Width: 24cm
  • Depth: 12cm
Measured by Maude Willaerts on August 2019
Production typeMass produced
Gallery label
(1992)
DEUTHSCHER KLEINEMFÄNGER [GERMAN SMALL RECEIVER]
Designed 1933
Made by Saba-Radio Villingen, Scwarzwald, Germany, 1938
Valves; Bakelite case
W.25-1992

Three million of this cheaply produced small receiver were sold between 1933 and 1939. It was also known as the Volkesempfänger [the People's set]. Along with a larger sister model, it was commissioned from radio companies by order of the German Ministry of Propaganda.
Object history
This set was recommended for inclusion in the Twentieth Century Gallery radio display by a member of the Outside Advisory Team, 1992.
Historical context
This and a larger model were commissioned from radio companies by order of the German Ministry of Propaganda.
Summary
This small, cheap 'Bakelite' radio, known as the Deutscher Kleinempfänger ('German Little Set') or Volkesempfänger ('People's set'), was the brainchild of Nazi propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels. The model was comissioned from a conglomerate of radio manufacturers by the Ministry of Propaganda to supplement the larger Volkesempfänger VE301W (V&A W.7-2005). The receiver was constructed to receive only broadcasts from German stations. More than 3 million were produced before the outbreak of the Second World War when radio manufacturing switched to military contracts. So widespread were these radios, and so far reaching was Nazi propaganda, that they received another nickname: Goebbels Schnauze ('Big Mouth').
Bibliographic references
  • p.123 Hawes, Robert and Sassower, Gad. Bakelite Radios (Edison, New Jersey, 1996)
  • p.97 Hawes, Robert, Radio Art (London, 1991)
Collection
Furniture and Woodwork Collection
Accession number
W.25-1992

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Record createdFebruary 8, 2008
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O144934/german-little-set-radio-saba-radio/
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