Volksempfänger

The use of radio waves as a transmitter of information started in parallel with the developments in wireless telegraphy in the middle of the nineteenth century. Ever since, the radio has undergone some major technological transformations, but nevertheless its significance as an accessible tool to reach the masses has remained. It has thus been used (and misused) throughout history in order to broadcast information, disseminate propaganda (the Volksempfänger), or to give voice to communities (Tin-Can Radio, Radio Chicoco) as well as accelerating revolutions, as was the case during the student revolutions in 1968 (Student Radio, Slovenia). All in all, the radio has had profound impact on our societies – regardless of the reason and from which device it is played nowadays – and it still holds importance as a democratic tool in numerous underground, alternative and non-official radio stations all around the world.