The voices of America: how radio helped the West to defeat Communism in Europe
The last American station on German airwaves is gone. So ends a fascinating history of propaganda, jazz cats and revolutionary rock ’n’ roll
9 January 2021 • 9:19am
Gary Cooper and Ginger Rogers, among other stars, often performed for shows broadcast into Eastern Europe
Credit: Getty
When the English-language radio station KCRW Berlin ceased broadcasting last month – another victim of the pandemic – it ended a 75-year history of American stations on the German airwaves. That lineage began with the Allied invasion of occupied Europe, and played out throughout the Cold War: a story of propaganda, youth revolution and rock ’n’ roll DJs.