Wochenpost


The Wochenpost was an East German weekly. It was founded in 1953, and circulation peaked at over one million copies per issue from 1971 to the German reunification. The academic Deirdre Byrnes writes that the paper was "one of the most influential" in East Germany. Its highest circulation was around 1.2 million copies, making the paper the most popular weekly in East Germany. It was considered a paper for intellectuals. From 1983 to 1991, Brigitte Zimmermann was editor in chief of the paper. The paper was founded in December 1953. Margot Pfannstiel was a co-founder, and chief reporter. She left in 1958, and returned in 1968. Another co-founder was Heinz Knobloch, who took responsibility for "puzzles, mental recreation and humour". Work on the Wochenpost quickly became a principal vehicle for Knobloch's professional success over more than three decades. He served as its Culture Editor from 1957 till 1965, and between 1968 and 1988 contributed a weekly Feuilleton-format opinion column. A third founder was Hilde Eisler. Its first editor-in-chief was Rudi Wetzel. After reunification, the paper was purchased by Gruner + Jahr and Robert Maxwell and relaunched in Berlin. By 1994 it was selling around 100,000 copies per week. The Independent compared the paper to Die Zeit.