Der Ruf (newspaper)

Der Ruf or The Call was a German language newspaper published in Fort Kearney in Narragansett, Rhode Island during WWII by captured POWs. It was distributed to about 140 other POW camps in the United States. After returning to Germany, two of the former POWs founded a German newspaper of the same name.

Fort Kearney was the headquarters of a secret campaign to re-educate German POWs and instill democratic ideas, in the hopes that on their return to Germany they would influence the democratization of the country.

POW Paper
The Americans chose German intellectuals who expressed anti-Nazi sentiments in their interrogations and who had literary talent to be used in a secret reeducation program called the Special Projects Division. The Special Projects Division was lead by Lt. Col. Edward Davison and was intended to promote American ideals among German POWs. One of the program's first projects, thought up by Davison and Walter Schoenstedt was to create a POW newspaper, Der Ruf. The name Der Ruf or The Call was chosen because American authorities hoped it would serve as a "call" to rethink their prior attitudes and to embrace American ideals. Development of the paper began in 1944, and prisoner involvement began in 1945.

Shoenstedt listed the four main objectives of the paper as:
 * To create a prisoner of war magazine for the broadest audience possible
 * To provide exact news of all important military and political events
 * To print news from the homeland, good reading material, and entertainment in order to
 * Foster realistic thought and constructive interests and feeling
 * Avoid stirring up political emotions or injuring national pride
 * Satisfy the desire for real cultural expression among the prisoners and to reflect their point of view as much as possible
 * To give prisoners moral support and open a larger political horizon for their benefit and
 * To make prisoners conscious of the tasks which await them in the future.
 * To create and print the best German newspaper (in content and form) of our time.

Der Ruf routinely sold out, forcing increased printings with every issue. The first issue of the paper appeared on March 1, 1945 in a run of 11,000 copies. Circulation eventually reached 75,000 copies per issue. The paper was sold in camp canteens for five cents because the Americans were afraid that a free paper would "cause suspicion among the prisoners." Nevertheless, it "failed to resonate" with the POWs. It had a "literary and intellectual focus" that did not match the average prisoner's interests. Also, the German prisoners did not appreciate being on the receiving end of American propaganda. Elmer Beck, a German POW who had been held at Fort Custer, Michigan, said: "[T]he Americans also wanted us to think a certain way, to reject our traditional way of life and especially National Socialism. No one likes to be propagandized. . . . That's why I disliked Der Ruf. It was a very disturbing paper for many of us. I know it was written by Germans, but it was filled with lots of propaganda." Despite the fact that many prisoners rejected the paper as propaganda, many others appreciated the availability of high-quality, well written articles on a diverse array of subjects such as news about the war and aspects of American culture. For example, Private Herbert Diedler, held at Camp Cooke, California, wrote: "What I welcome in Der Ruf is the objective, reasonable, and unsparing judgement about the events of the last years, the frank description of the present situation, the wise preparation for the things which the physical and spiritual reconstruction of our homeland will demand of us and last, not least, the clearness and beauty of the German language which characterizes most articles.'."

The first issue featured an article about the paper's purpose proclaiming, The German prisoners of war in America now have their own newspaper! . . . “Der Ruf” will be way above any party or small group quarrel. It will not serve the personal ambitions of the few. It will foster real German Culture. It will serve us all and through us, our country. It will denounce in the strongest terms any idle chatter and gossip. It will demonstrate clearly the seriousness of our position and will not hide the hard and cold facts of world events behind high sounding words. It is the reputation of the German people we have to serve, believing in a sense of goodness and decency. We must give it our full approval and cooperation. When “Der Ruf” reaches you, answer with a military “Present.” Make sure that not one of us who still has a spark of feeling left for home and family is absent. and featuring articles about the progress of the war, news from Germany, excerpts from various camp newspapers, and pieces on American culture.

The paper frequently ran articles encouraging prisoners to think about what they would do to rebuild Germany upon their return home at war's end. Prisoners who wrote for the paper tended to be idealistic, and to believe that returning prisoners would play an important role in shaping a new Germany.

Two of the most important POWs to work on the paper were Alfred Andersch and Hans Werner Richter. Before the war Andersch and Richter were communists, and had misgivings about the Nazi regime. Nevertheless, they served in the Wehrmacht, and were captured in Italy. After their capture they were transported to the United States to serve the remainder of the war as POWs.

Anderson joined the paper for its second issue in April of 1945. Richter joined the paper in September of that same year. At times, they were reluctant to write for Der Ruf. However, after the war their time writing for Der Ruf in the United States inspired them to promote a vision of Germany that included both democratic and socialist ideals.

Among the visions that the paper put forward of life in Germany after the war, was the proposition that Europe rebuild by seeking economic unity stating, "The united economy will be a vital part of Europe's destiny."

After the surrender of Germany in March of 1945, many prisoners showed increased interest in participating in reeducation efforts. This may have contributed to Der Ruf's continuing growth in popularity.

In Germany
After returning to Germany Andersch and Richter founded a new newspaper, also called Der Ruf, which they first used to promote the idea that the war had provided Germany with the opportunity to rebuild the entire society in a way that would promote peace in Europe. However, they became frustrated with the allied occupation of Germany, and that combined with growing antagonism between the United States and Soviet Russia led Andersch and Richter to be removed as editors of the paper in 1947, at which point they founded Group 47. After their departure, they were replaced as editors by Erich Kuby.