28th May 1942
Ostfriesische Tageszeitung

Ostfriesische Tageszeitung

(East Frisian daily newspaper)

During the National Socialist era, the Ostfriesische Tageszeitung (OTZ) was the official organ of the NSDAP and all authorities of East Frisia in the Gau Weser-Ems.

The founder, first editor and publisher of the Ostfriesische Tageszeitung was the farmer Jacques Groeneveld from Bunderhee, who later took on a number of party offices. The first edition of the Nazi propaganda organ appeared on 1st October 1932, the last shortly before the end of the war in 1945. The editor-in-chief from 1938 until the end of the war was Johann Menso Folkerts. The newspaper was the 'official organ of the NSDAP and the authorities' and was published in Aurich with a circulation of 11,400 copies. The newspaper was initially printed in Aurich by the Dunkmann publishing house, which in turn competed with the OTZ as publisher of the Ostfriesische Nachrichten. From 1934 the newspaper was printed in Emden. However, the editorial offices were still located on Aurich's Norderstraße.

During the Nazi era, the newspaper was the most important propaganda organ on the East Frisian peninsula and played a key role in the exclusion of Jews and other groups not approved by the party. For example, with the appeal 'Comrades, do not buy from the following Jewish shops' the newspaper listed all the Jewish shops that still exist in the towns of East Frisia. In 1937 Heinrich Drees published an article in the OTZ in which he attempted to provide historical reasons for the persecution of Sinti and Jews and wrote that 'vagabond Jews are making the province of Hanover and East Frisia unsafe'. For the period from 1765 to 1803 he listed various gangs of thieves who passed through East Frisia and always assumed that their members were 'Jews and gypsies'. It continued: 'In the East Frisian towns, especially in Aurich, there were constant Vagebunden hunts, which were also popularly called 'Kloppjagden'. During these Kloppjagden, a lot of stolen goods were confiscated and many Jews were chased across the border.'

Towards the end of the war, the OTZ published slogans of perseverance aimed primarily at the population of Emden, which had been hit by heavy bombing. On 7th September 1944, the day after the heaviest bombing, in which more than 80% of the city was destroyed, the newspaper wrote :

'Despite the severity of the attack, which can be described as the worst disaster in the thousand-year-old city, the attitude of the population must simply be seen as exemplary. The relief teams immediately went into action and, not least, it was the neighbouring towns that stepped in to help. The consequences of an attack that was as senseless as it was brutal were incredibly severe. Nevertheless, the people of Emden did not allow themselves to be discouraged, persevered in work and confidence, and thus set a shining example of the courage to make sacrifices in the fight for Greater Germany's future.'

Shortly before the end of the war, the newspaper ceased publication.

In cooperation with the Oldenburg State Library, the Ostfriesische Landschaft wants to completely digitise the Ostfriesische Tageszeitung (OTZ) issues from 1933 to 1945 and make them available online. The first years can already be viewed.

Source: Wikipedia

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