# Wochenpost

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The ***Wochenpost*** (English: *Weekly Post*) was an [East German](/source/East_Germany) weekly.[1][2] It was founded in 1953, and circulation peaked at over one million copies per issue from 1971 to the [German reunification](/source/Peaceful_Revolution). The academic Deirdre Byrnes writes that the paper was "one of the most influential" publications in East Germany.[3] Its highest circulation was around 1.2 million copies,[4] making the paper the most popular weekly in East Germany.[5] *Wochenpost* considered a paper for intellectuals.[6] The paper continued to be published after [German reunification](/source/German_reunification) until it ceased publication in late December 1996.

## History

The paper published its first issue on 22 or 23 December 1953, around [Christmas](/source/Christmas).[7][8][9][10] The cover of the first issue was a depiction of a child blowing a candle out with the words "to all who are of goodwill."[10] It was co-founded by [Margot Pfannstiel](/source/Margot_Pfannstiel),[11] who also worked as chief reporter,[12] [Heinz Knobloch](/source/Heinz_Knobloch), who took responsibility for "puzzles, mental recreation and humour" (*"Rätsel, Denksport und Humor"*),[13] and [Hilde Eisler](/source/Hilde_Eisler).[14] Pfannstiel left in 1958,[15] and returned in 1968.[16] Work on the *Wochenpost* quickly became a principal vehicle for Knobloch's professional success over more than three decades. He served as its culture editor from 1957 to 1965, and between 1968 and 1988 contributed a weekly [Feuilleton-format](/source/Feuilleton#Feuilleton_style) opinion column.[17] Its first editor-in-chief was [Rudi Wetzel](/source/Rudi_Wetzel).[18] Circulation of the paper peaked at over one million copies per issue from 1971 to [the German reunification](/source/Peaceful_Revolution). The academic Deirdre Byrnes writes that the paper was "one of the most influential" publications in East Germany.[3]

The paper was characterized by providing "practical advice", such as how to decorate an apartment and how to dress fashionably.[19]: 232 *Wochenpost* was not an opposition paper; the journalist [Klaus Polkhen](/source/Klaus_Polkhen), who worked at the paper for many years, noted that it was "no more opportunistic than its readers".[10]

After the [German reunification](/source/German_reunification), the paper was purchased by [Gruner + Jahr](/source/Gruner_%2B_Jahr) and [Robert Maxwell](/source/Robert_Maxwell) and relaunched in Berlin.[20] From 1983 to 1991, [Brigitte Zimmermann](/source/Brigitte_Zimmermann) was editor in chief of the paper.[20] By 1994 it was selling around 100,000 copies per week. *[The Independent](/source/The_Independent)* compared the paper to *[Die Zeit](/source/Die_Zeit)*.[21] The paper was struggling by 1996 and ceased publication in late December.[9][22][23]

## References

1. Augustine, Dolores L. (2018). [*Taking on Technocracy: Nuclear Power in Germany, 1945 to the Present*](https://books.google.com/books?id=pfpSDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA214). New York; Ocford: Berghahn Books. ISBN 978-1-78533-904-2.

1. Darnton, Robert (1993). [*Berlin Journal, 1989-1990*](https://books.google.com/books?id=gSPNTM_c8pwC&pg=PA146). W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-31018-4.

1. Byrnes, Deirdre (2011). [*Rereading Monika Maron: Text, Counter-text and Context*](https://books.google.com/books?id=KBJWy1Q91LQC&pg=PA18). Oxford: Peter Lang. pp. 18–19. ISBN 978-3-03911-422-1.

1. Sutton, Douglas (21 April 1993). [*New Weeklies Battle for Share Of the Print Media's Market*](http://archive.org/details/InternationalHeraldTribune1993FranceEnglish). Paris: International Herald Tribune.

1. Marshall, Matt (11 January 1995). ["Walls of Resentment Between East, West Run Through German Newsrooms"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1995/01/11/walls-of-resentment-between-east-west-run-through-german-newsrooms/f7e4c0ed-58a0-4841-ac52-c15b6e937db6/). *Washington Post*. [ISSN 0190-8286](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0190-8286). Retrieved 9 July 2020.

1. Thompson, Wayne C. (2015). [*Nordic, Central, and Southeastern Europe 2015-2016*](https://books.google.com/books?id=ayb-CQAAQBAJ&pg=PA279). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4758-1883-3.

1. Polkehn, Klaus (1997). [*Das war die Wochenpost: Geschichte und Geschichten einer Zeitung*](https://books.google.com/books?id=cm1uyKkkve4C) (in German). Ch. Links Verlag. p. 9. ISBN 978-3-86153-141-8.

1. ["Stichtag - 22. Dezember 1953: Lizenz für DDR-Zeitung "Wochenpost" ausgestellt"](https://www1.wdr.de/stichtag/stichtag-wochenpost-ddr-wochenzeitung-100.html) (in German). *www1.wdr.de*. 2018-12-22. Retrieved 2021-01-18.

1. Knipping, Franz. ["Heißbegehrt und ausverkauft (neues deutschland)"](https://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/687574.heissbegehrt-und-ausverkauft.html) (in German). *www.neues-deutschland.de*. Retrieved 18 January 2021.

1. Applebaum, Anne (2012). [*Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1944-1956*](https://books.google.com/books?id=z4AdQy3VCmgC&q=wochenpost&pg=PP540). McClelland & Stewart. ISBN 978-0-7710-0765-1.

1. ["Margot Pfannstiel"](http://www.dumjahn.de/pdf-org/0009280_klappe_2.pdf). *Source includes photo-portrait*. Horst-Werner Dumjahn, Mainz. Retrieved 19 October 2016.

1. Klaus Polkehn (1997). [*Das war die Wochenpost: Geschichte und Geschichten einer Zeitung*](https://books.google.com/books?id=cm1uyKkkve4C&pg=PT27). Ch. Links Verlag. p. 27. ISBN 978-3-86153-141-8.

1. ["Heinz Knobloch: Biografie"](https://web.archive.org/web/20150215084736/http://heinz-knobloch.de/biograf.htm). Freundeskreises Heinz Knobloch. Archived from [the original](http://www.heinz-knobloch.de/biograf.htm) on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2014.

1. Karin Hartewig (2000). ["Zurückgekehrt: die Geschichte der jüdischen Kommunisten in der DDR"](https://books.google.com/books?id=YdY5dNPZ42UC&pg=PA242). *see also footnote 175 at the bottom of the same page*. Böhlau Verlag Köln Weimar. pp. 241–242. ISBN 978-3-412-02800-8.

1. Djurdja Bartlett (2010). [*FashionEast: The Spectre that Haunted Socialism*](https://books.google.com/books?id=q8Ai2wKyPKUC&pg=PA177). MIT Press. pp. 160, 177. ISBN 978-0-262-02650-5.

1. [Bernd-Rainer Barth](/source/Bernd-Rainer_Barth). ["Pfannstiel, Margot * 18.6.1926, † 10.10.1993 Journalistin, Chefredakteurin der "Sibylle""](https://web.archive.org/web/20190728170844/https://www.bundesstiftung-aufarbeitung.de/wer-war-wer-in-der-ddr-%2363;-1424.html?ID=2644). *Wer war wer in der DDR?*. Ch. Links Verlag, Berlin & Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur, Berlin. Archived from [the original](http://bundesstiftung-aufarbeitung.de/wer-war-wer-in-der-ddr-%2363%3B-1424.html?ID=2644) on 28 July 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2016.

1. Bernd-Rainer Barth & Andreas Kölling. ["Knobloch, Heinz * 3.3.1926, † 24.7.2003 Schriftsteller, journalist"](http://www.bundesstiftung-aufarbeitung.de/wer-war-wer-in-der-ddr-%2363%3B-1424.html?ID=1775). Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur: Biographische Datenbanken. Retrieved 21 December 2014.

1. Michael F. Scholz (2000). ["Rudolf (Rudi) Wetzel (1909-1992)"](https://books.google.com/books?id=yhkm54R7j2QC&pg=PA380). *Skandinavische Erfahrungen erwünscht?: Nachexil und Remigration; die ehemaligen KPD-Emigranten in Skandinavien und ihr weiteres Schicksal in der SBZ/DDR*. Franz Steiner Verlag. p. 380. ISBN 978-3-515-07651-7.

1. Föllmer, Moritz (2013-01-17). [*Individuality and Modernity in Berlin: Self and Society from Weimar to the Wall*](https://books.google.com/books?id=vwkgAwAAQBAJ). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-62038-3.

1. Bernd-Rainer Barth. ["Zimmermann, Brigitte * 22.5.1939 Chefredakteurin der Zeitung "Wochenpost""](http://bundesstiftung-aufarbeitung.de/wer-war-wer-in-der-ddr-%2363%3B-1424.html?ID=3956). *Wer war wer in der DDR?*. Ch. Links Verlag, Berlin & Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur, Berlin. Retrieved 19 August 2016.

1. ["Young magazines challenge German publishing world: A trio of new"](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/young-magazines-challenge-german-publishing-world-a-trio-of-new-political-weeklies-has-found-a-1405115.html). *The Independent*. 1994-01-06. Retrieved 9 July 2020.

1. Zeitung, Berliner. ["Die "Wochenpost" war in der DDR beliebt und suchte nach der Wende eine neue Identität: Nähe zum Alltag der Leser"](https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/die-wochenpost-war-in-der-ddr-beliebt-und-suchte-nach-der-wende-eine-neue-identitaet-naehe-zum-alltag-der-leser-li.9194) (in de-DE). *Berliner Zeitung*. Retrieved 18 January 2021.

1. ["Lesen Sie zeit.de mit Werbung oder im PUR-Abo. Sie haben die Wahl."](https://www.zeit.de/zustimmung?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zeit.de%2F1996%2F01%2Fwochpost.txt.19961227.xml). *die Ziet*. Retrieved 18 January 2021.

## Further reading

- Polkehn, Klaus (1997). [*Das war die Wochenpost: Geschichte und Geschichten einer Zeitung*](https://books.google.com/books?id=KlNlAAAAMAAJ) (in German). Ch. Links. ISBN 978-3-86153-141-8.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Wochenpost](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wochenpost) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wochenpost?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.