&sq=Envato&lang=en&file=File:Wartime_Der_Ruf.jpg) A scan of the front page of the November 15, 1945 edition of the POW paper Der Ruf | |
| Type | Monthly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Founded | March 1, 1945 |
| Language | German |
| Ceased publication | March 15, 1949 |
Der Ruf or The Call was a German language newspaper published in Fort Kearny in Narragansett, Rhode Island during World War II by captured prisoners of war (POWs). It was distributed to about 140 other POW camps in the United States.[1] At the time, Fort Kearny was the headquarters of a secret campaign to deprogram German POWs from Nazi ideology and instill democratic ideas, in the hopes that on their return to Germany they would influence the democratization of the country.[1][2]: ix
According to historian Robert C. Doyle, "Der Ruf followed in the tradition of the Orgelsdorfer Eulenspiegel, a camp literary and satirical newspaper published by German internees during World War I, and became the anti-Nazi newspaper that circulated throughout the entire POW camp system. It achieved great popularity among the more literate German prisoners in the United States."[3]
After returning to Germany, two of the former POWs founded a German newspaper of the same name[2] until 1947, when it was banned by U.S. Occupation authorities on the official grounds that paper was scarce.[4]
At the same time, however, Der Ruf represented a new beginning for German literature after more than a decade of strictly enforced government censorship in Nazi Germany and its literary legacy accordingly continues to this day.[5]
- ^ a b Campbell, James (August 5, 2010). "POW camps little-known part of island legacy". Jamestown Press. Archived from the original on 2015-06-24. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
- ^ a b Horton, Aaron (Dec 11, 2013). German POWs, Der Ruf, and the Genesis of Group 47: The Political Journey of Alfred Andersch and Hans Werner Richter. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781611476170.
- ^ Robert C. Doyle (1999), A Prisoner's Duty: Great Escapes in U.S. Military History, Bantam Books. Page 317.
- ^ Robert C. Doyle (1999), A Prisoner's Duty: Great Escapes in U.S. Military History, Bantam Books. Page 317.
- ^ Robert C. Doyle (1999), A Prisoner's Duty: Great Escapes in U.S. Military History, Bantam Books. Page 317-318.