He was there when it all began:Peter Zahn was one of the journalists who shaped public broadcasting. His trademark:his distinctive style of speaking. He died in Hamburg 20 years ago.
by Janine Kuehl
Summer 1945:Germany has surrendered, lies in ruins and has to start from scratch. Broadcasting is also experiencing a new beginning. A good two months after the British took power in northern Germany, Peter von Zahn began his career as a journalist at Radio Hamburg on July 15, 1945. Educated, eloquent and with a distinctive way of speaking, von Zahn soon became a permanent fixture at the station of the Allied military government, which continued to exist as NWDR (Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk) from September 30, 1945 and was converted into an independent broadcaster from January 1, 1948. When the NWDR was split into NDR and WDR in 1956, von Zahn from then on stood for continuity and quality at the North German broadcaster.
Humanistically educated descendant of Lessing
In July 1945, Peter von Zahn was hired by the British for the station of the Allied military government.The descendant of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing is a person whom the British trust to practice critical and independent journalism. Born in Chemnitz on January 29, 1913, von Zahn initially spent his childhood in Dresden. The family later moves to Freiburg. After graduating from high school, the son of an officer studied law, history and newspaper science in Vienna, Jena, Berlin and Freiburg. There von Zahn received his doctorate in 1939. During the Second World War, the officer was deployed as a war correspondent and interpreter for the Wehrmacht.
Von Zahn encourages listeners to think along
"Talks &Features" is the name of the department that Peter von Zahn heads in Hamburg after the end of the war. The Saxon represents the opposite of the Nazi regime's radio propaganda. He addresses his listeners directly, almost in a conversational tone, provides precise information about complicated facts, criticizes and comments - always in an entertaining way. At the same time, he urges listeners to form their own opinions. He also recognizes the danger of the radio medium being inundated without reflection and suggests breaks in transmission so that the listener does not become "hectic".
Together with colleagues such as Axel Eggebrecht, von Zahn designed radio broadcasting in West Germany based on the British model. Although the British occupying forces control the station, they grant the German journalists a great deal of freedom and often maintain a friendly relationship with them.
A pioneer of foreign reporting
From 1951 to 1960 Peter von Zahn was a foreign correspondent in the USA.In 1948, the man with the distinctive style of speaking moved to the Düsseldorf studio, where he took over management the following year. However, differences with General Director Adolf Grimme meant that von Zahn did not stay on the Rhine for long. In 1951 he ventured across the pond and became a pioneer of foreign reporting in the USA. His 15-minute radio show "From the New World" explains the German society and politics of the occupying power. The same format led von Zahn to success on television from 1955.
Own ways with the "compass rose"
His "Windrose" reports are legendary and well remembered by many. After long and formative years in public service broadcasting, von Zahn left NDR and founded his own production company, Windrose Film- und Fernsehenproduktions-GmbH, in 1961. Among other things, his reports are broadcast on WDR, which developed the "Weltspiegel" series from the format.
Early form of documentary game
Conveying contemporary history in an exciting way:Peter von Zahn succeeded in doing this in the form of the still popular documentary game.Throughout his career, von Zahn has always had a particular interest in contemporary history. In the form of the documentary game, which is so popular today, he tries to bring events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis closer to the viewers. In the 1980s, in the ZDF early-evening program "Pictures that Moved the World," von Zahn devoted himself to contemporary themes, mostly catastrophes. In 1982, the bearer of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany took over the management of Anatol AV und Filmproduktion GmbH.
More than 4,000 radio and television programs
After his return from the USA, the keen observer lived with his wife and five daughters in Hamburg, where the Senate awarded him the title of professor in 1995 for his work. In addition to other television productions, he published his autobiography "Voice of the First Hour" in 1991. The radio pioneer's entire oeuvre comprises around 3,000 radio programs and more than 1,000 television programs.
Peter von Zahn died in Hamburg on July 26, 2001 and was buried in the Ohlsdorf cemetery.