Anja Schäfer Mehr als Rock 'n' Roll: Der Radiosender AFN bis Mitte der sechziger Jahre

(Franz Steiner Verlag) German, Hardcover, 15.9 x 3.2 x 23.3 cm, 474 pages;

The American military radio station AFN has become a legend in Germany. With popular music and easygoing presenters, the American Forces Network is said to have inspired and "Americanised" several generations of young Germans after the Second World War. Anja Schäfers examines the station's institutional, programme and impact history up to the mid-1960s and arrives at differentiated judgements: It becomes clear that AFN was not a pure music station, but offered a varied programme with information, education and entertainment. As a station of the US armed forces, it was integrated into a military system and involved in the Cold War. Only a fraction of German youths tuned in to AFN and mostly perceived it selectively. Nevertheless, the station played a not insignificant role in the social conflicts in West and East Germany.