Friday, November 10, 1933

Daddy took Hattie and me to school. Also some other kids. Went swimming. Walked home with Rose.

1933 German Volksempfaenger (People's Radio) VE 301

Using only three tubes, this is a very simple radio by late-1930s standards.
It's also controversial. Why so simple and controversial?

The Volksempfänger was sold for propaganda purposes during the Nazi years.
The low price made it affordable to the masses. A similar goal fueled development of
 the inexpensive Volkswagen (people's car) which American buyers later adopted
 as the VW Beetle. The initial price of the radio was 75 Reichsmarks, which was about
two weeks' wages for a German worker, vastly cheaper than most 1930s radios.

The VE 301 in the radio's name refers to January 30, 1933, the date Hitler became chancellor
of Germany. The People's Radio could receive only long wave, meaning that it could not
 receive broadcasts from most foreign radio stations.