Ulenspiegel (magazine)

In June 1945, Herbert Sandberg, newly liberated from Buchenwald concentration camp, and playwright and literary critic Günter Weisenborn,[1] newly freed from Zuchthaus Luckau, met on the Kurfürstendamm. Sandberg had a finished comp of a satirical magazine with him. Emil Carlebach, who had been Sandberg's Blockältester[5] at Buchenwald and had been granted a license as editor for the Frankfurter Rundschau[1] introduced Sandberg to officials at the Information Control Division (ICD).[6] Peter de Mendelssohn, who was responsible for establishing the first American sector newspaper,[7] at the Office of Military Government, United States (OMGUS), and Carlebach acted as founding sponsors. The publishing information from a 1946 masthead makes the intent and purpose clear: "The independent and uncensored Ulenspiegel is published every other Friday by Ulenspiegel Verlag Haueisen & Co. G.m.b.H. Berlin-Dahlem Pücklerstr. 22... The Ulenspiegel Verlag is accredited by the Information Control Division of the American Military Government."

Sandberg and Weisenborn became the publishers.[8] Wolfgang Weyrauch became an editor in 1945[9] or 1946.[10] Karl Schnog became editor-in-chief in 1947.[11]

In the early days of the postwar era, Ulenspiegel was a forum for writers, illustrators, caricaturists, and graphic artists of various cultural and political orientation, where they could freely satirize, comment on, and join in the political, cultural, and economic development of Germany.[8] For example, Weisenborn was a member of the Social Democratic Party and Sandberg, a Communist.[1] In their journal, satire, humor, cartoons, and caricature played a special role, with artwork by Alfred Kubin, Karl Hofer, and Max Pechstein among others.[12] They also supported the re-discovery of avant-garde artists, who had been ostracized, their work smeared as degenerate, reproducing works by Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, and other artists, both past and contemporary, who had been banned under the Third Reich.[1]

Ulenspiegel took a strong anti-Nazi position, portraying Nazi concentration camps and crimes in its artwork, and declaring the complicity of the German people.[1] By 1948, however, with the United States and the Soviet Union becoming more antagonistic, the journal began to portray them as two giants battling for domination of Germany and the world. It described denazification as a half-hearted, failed exercise, and mockingly criticized the German-American partnership as an unequal and unholy alliance between ex-Nazis and dollar-wielding Americans.[13] Ulenspiegel—like no other magazine in postwar Germany—symbolized the democratic, anti-fascist new era,[1] a burst of optimism before the polarization of the cold war and the division of Germany. Many of Ulenspiegel's contributors influenced the cultural face of both East and West Germany.

From the early postwar days until the cold war and division of Germany, the editorial meetings of the satirical magazine brought together those who had survived Nazi Germany. Artists, writers, exiles, editors, and graphic designers met and had heated discussions about the present and future of Germany. The publishers were able to help some people acquire a Persilschein. This was the denazification certificate [14] one needed to receive a work permit.

In October 1947, OMGUS began to directly counter Soviet propaganda with its "Operation Talk Back", using the mass media to relay its message and bringing Ulenspiegel into direct conflict with the Americans over its criticism of their policies in Germany.[13] In an attempt to censor and punish Ulenspiegel for its editorial positions, OMGUS cut the magazine's paper allotment by one-half [13] and began to look for new editors.[6] An internal ICD memo clearly delineates the motive. "Orders have been issued to reduce by one-half the paper allocation given to the magazine Ulenspiegel as a preliminary step toward inducing a change in editorial orientation of this magazine or its replacement with a more effective medium."[13] The result was a significant drop in circulation.[13] When Ulenspiegel first began publishing, circulation was 120,000; later it dropped to 50,000, although it later recovered somewhat to 75,000. From December 24, 1945, to the tenth 1948 issue, the magazine appeared under license by the American military; from April 1948 to 1950, it was under license by the Soviet occupational force.[15]

In July 1948, Weisenborn left Ulenspiegel and Berlin, moving to Hamburg.[6] The cold war was intensifying; the Americans had instituted a currency reform and the Berlin blockade was on. Sandberg returned his license to the Americans,[6] accepted an offer from the Soviet Military Administration in Germany, and moved to East Berlin in 1948.

Fuffzehn für Vergnügte und Verärgerte, edited by Lothar Kusche[16] was also a satirical weekly magazine briefly published by Ulenspiegel Verlag in 1949.[17] Just 20 issues were printed. The company also published a few books.

Ulenspiegel continued to appear, censored by the Soviets,[6] until August 1950, when its publishing license was rescinded for being too modern and "lacking a basis in the Masses".[18][19] A competitor in the Soviet sector, the magazine Frischer Wind, licensed to publish in 1947,[15][20] "better understood that the Party [was] always right—and [had] no sense of humor".[21] Renamed Eulenspiegel in 1954,[21] it continues to publish today in Berlin.