AFN Berlin was a US military broadcast station located at Podbielskiallee 28 in

Berlin-Dahlem Dahlem ( or ) is a locality of the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough in southwestern Berlin. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a part of the former borough of Zehlendorf. It is located between the mansion settlements of Grunewald and ...

. It started broadcasting at noon on August 4, 1945, with the ''

Rhapsody in Blue ''Rhapsody in Blue'' is a 1924 musical composition for solo piano and jazz band by George Gershwin. Commissioned by bandleader Paul Whiteman, the work combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects and premiered in a concer ...

'' by

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned jazz, popular music, popular and classical music. Among his best-known works are the songs "Swan ...

. The TV studio was located on Saargemünder Strasse, across from the Berlin Brigade Headquarters compound. During the

Berlin Blockade The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, roa ...

AFN Berlin started broadcasting around the clock. After the building of the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...

AFN Berlin radio then stayed on the air 24 hours until July 1994. TV programming was normally from 15:00 to 01:00 weekdays and 12:00 to 01:00 on weekends during the mid-1970s. AFN Berlin had three stations: * a medium-wave AM station at 1107 kHz * an FM station at 87.85 MHz (adjusted to 87.9 MHz at a later stage, called 88FM) * a TV station on UHF channel E29 (US channel 25) broadcasting in

NTSC NTSC (from National Television System Committee) is the first American standard for analog television, published and adopted in 1941. In 1961, it was assigned the designation System M. It is also known as EIA standard 170. In 1953, a second ...

(thus requiring a multistandard set for German viewers) with a low-power transmitter limited to southwestern Berlin Until November 23, 1978, the AM frequency was 935 kHz. Due to the agreements in the Geneva Frequency Plan the frequency was changed to 1107 kHz. On July 15, 1994, AFN Berlin broadcast a three-hour special broadcast on both radio frequencies, which was transmitted live into 54 countries. Afterwards, seconds before 14:00, AFN Berlin ceased transmitting after playing a rendition of "

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written by American lawyer Francis Scott Key on September 14, 1814, after he witnessed the bombardment of Fort ...

" performed by William Rivelli.

History

On July 17, 1945, several GIs reached Berlin with their jeep and the order to set up a radio station within 17 days. They were followed by two trucks with a mobile transmitter, which were stationed not far from the future location of the transmitter. A 250-watt transmitter served listeners within a radius of just two miles. Stationary broadcasting began on August 4, 1945, at 12 p.m. with George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue from a confiscated villa at Podbielskiallee 28. The Rhapsody was immediately followed by a song mocking Adolf Hitler (Right in the Fuehrer's Face). The first announcer and program director at the new station was Sergeant Mel Gelliart, who brought radio experience from the station WLS in Chicago. One of the events of the beginning of the year was that AFN's jeep was stolen on October 13, 1945, from the door of the studios on Podbielskiallee. On April 17, 1967, AFN Berlin started television broadcasts in black and white. The station's first manager was 1st Lt. Rallin J. Aars., who attended the ribbon cutting ceremony at 11am that day; broadcasts started at 5pm. The station was carried from Dahlem-Zehlendorf on UHF channel 25 with an additional relay at Tempelhof Airport on channel 12. Due to differences in standards used, German receivers had to be modified in order to receive the sound from these broadcasts. The first color broadcasts were held in February 1977 in the

standard.The Berlin Observer Vol 33 No. 8 February 25, 1977

Productions

Radio (88FM)

Musical programs: *An early morning show, host unknown, in late 1950s, Mon–Fri 7:00–8:00; theme song: an abbreviated version of: "s'Wonderful" by Ray Conniff. *Before noon show, hosted by Mark Marcus, in late 1950s, Mon–Fri 11:00–12:00, popular music *Early afternoon: host unknown, weekdays 13:00–14:00, country & western music. *''Frolic at Five'', host Georg Hudak early to mid 1950s and later unknown host, mid 1950s, Mon–Fri, 17:00–18:00; theme song: "9:20 Special" recorded May 30, 1945 by Harry James. *''Music in the Air'', host unknown, late 1950s, weekdays 19:00–20:00, light music. *''Frolic at Jazz'', host unknown, Saturdays 18:00–19:00; theme tune: "Skinned & Skinned Again" by Woody Herman. *''The Juice'' * Disco * Special live broadcasts from the German-American

Volksfest A ( ; German for "people's festival")Cognate of "folk festival" in English is a large event in German-speaking countries which usually combines a beer festival or wine festival and a travelling funfair. Attractions may include amusement rides, g ...

at the Hüttenweg in

and from the Day of Open House at the

Tempelhof Central Airport Berlin Tempelhof Airport () was Airports in Berlin, one of the first airports in Berlin, Germany. Situated in the south-central Boroughs of Berlin, Berlin borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg, the airport ceased operating in 2008 amid controversy, ...

(TCA) *''An Afternoon Show'' Mon–Fri

Television

*''Berlin Tonight'' (daily news) *''Berlin PM'' (interview show) *''Berlin Tonight Late Edition'' (late news) *''Discover Berlin'' (trailers of Berlin sights) *''The Berlin Ramblers'' (30-minute live country music show, 1968 one Saturday afternoon monthly) *''Berlin Midday'' *''Snowball Satellite'' (Christmas) *''P.L.P.'s Workshop'' (children's show Saturday mornings) *''Forum'' (news magazine) *''Get it Together'' (TV quiz show) *''Berlin Sports Roundup'' (weekly sports program hosted by SP4 Jim Rose 73–75)

People of AFN Berlin

Radio

TV

References

External links

unofficial website about AFN Berlin
(mirror site)

(de)
AFN Berlin.com private website about AFN Berlin
{{Coord, 52.450, N, 13.275, E, type:landmark_region:DE, display=inline,title Last location of AFN Berlin American Forces Network English-language radio stations Defunct radio stations in Germany Radio stations in Berlin 1945 establishments in Germany 1994 disestablishments in Germany Radio stations established in 1945 Radio stations disestablished in 1994 Television channels and stations established in 1967 Television channels and stations disestablished in 1994