Zitzlsberger: (Unterhaltungs)Werte und Manifestationen der Zeitgeschichte. Die Woche

Abstract: The weekly magazine Die Woche was produced by the conservative Scherl publishing house; from 1916 it was under the control of Germany’s leading media proprietor, Alfred Hugenberg. This contribution argues that in 1933 readers of Die Woche were familiar with many of the ideological ideals promoted by the National Socialists, even though the increasingly radical tone was new. To illuminate this development, two editions of 1925 are set against two of March1933. The focus is on topics that are by implication relevant for daily life, such as advertising, leisure time, photography and depictions of history. By 1933, the magazine proves less entertaining than in the mid-1920s: the growing political control over topics such as sport and current affairs now dominated the more varied approach that existed beforehand. However, an analysis of Die Woche as an example of popular media also questions some of the stock observations of Weimar politics and culture that we make use of.