The Russian military invasion into Ukraine and the recent Israel-Hamas conflict have once again drawn attention to disinformation and propaganda. Reflecting on history is an imperative step in analyzing the status quo. How Did the Western and Eastern blocs disseminate advantageous information to themselves during the Cold War era? This paper reviews the case of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), former East Germany, divided by the Berlin Wall from the Western counterpart, where propaganda for the world including the Western block was also broadcast. With more than thirty years having passed since the end of the Cold War, people involved who know what happened back the are dwindling. For this survey, the author interviewed six former broadcasting personnel of Radio Berlin International (RBI), the international broadcaster of the East Germany, to obtain inside stories. The interviews reveled several circumstances including the following. - The basic policy of RBI was determined by the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). - A meeting with SED officers in charge of international issues was held approximately every four weeks. - RBI’s central editorial division would draw up texts on specific topics regarding the country’s foreign policy, based on which translated versions were made in each foreign language. The interviewees had different ideas about propaganda and different acknowledgments of their involvement. All of them asserted that the purpose of broadcasting was to gain diplomatic recognition of GDR by foreign powers. While some admitted that they were carrying out propaganda, others asserted, “It was just that we did not disseminate inconvenient information, but we never lied and never spread disinformation, unlike today,” revealing a part of inside stories of those days.

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The survey finds the following tendencies relative to respondents’ demographics. - Whether or not to use the prefix “o” or “go” that show politeness in a sentence using the humble expression “itadaku” was surveyed. As to “(o)-toiawase itadaku” [a humble form of “receive an inquiry,” literally meaning “I benefit from someone’s inquiry”], for overall respondents, both forms (with and without “o”) are accepted by many, but not overwhelmingly. The younger, the more people support the attachment of “o.” Meanwhile, an overwhelming number of respondents support the form without “go” for “(go)-etsuran itadaku” [I benefit from someone’s browsing] and “(go)-akusesu itadaku” [I benefit from someone’s accessing], and the younger, the stronger this tendency. - Regarding expressions using “sasete itadaku” [I benefit from someone’s permission to perform this action], generally speaking, those who have a positive impression of these expressions are highest among the age group of the 70s and decrease as the age group becomes younger. Not many people support this phrase among college graduates. By region, Kansai have more supporters than Kanto. The above tendencies are almost similar to the results of past surveys. - As to ‘koko-wo massugu “itte morattara” arimasu-yo’ [go straight “for me,” then you’ll find it], the younger, the more people support it. Many supporters are found among college graduates and in Kansai. - In terms of considerate expressions such as “sonouchi shokujidemo shimashō” [let’s have dinner together sometime], used when you do not actually intend to do so, and considerate verbal behaviors such as telling your friend, “Sorry I’d like to come, but I have a prior engagement” when you are invited to a gathering that you do not want to attend and in fact your schedule is free, by and large, support for these expressions and behaviors is highest among those in their 30s and other socially active groups, but lowest among those over 80. College graduates have many supporters for them. - The proportions of those who “never fail” to use greeting expressions are higher among “females,” “30s,” “college graduates,” and “Kanto residents.” - Regarding “Where are you going?” or similar questions asked by neighbors, those who regard them as “natural greetings” are noticeably higher among “males,” “70s and over 80s,” and “Tohoku residents.”

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This is the second half of the sixth installment of a series that reviews the transformation of the production methods and styles of Nihon no sugao (Japan Unmasked) (1957- 1964, NHK) which is credited with having built the foundation for Japanese TV documentaries. Following the first half published in the last issue, the author analyzes and examines the developments from FY1962 through FY1963, which turned out to be the last two years of “Sugao.” The final phase of “Sugao” saw the emergence of a remarkable method. That was a realistic portrayal of the moment utilizing highly emotional images and spontaneous voices. There was a shift from TV documentaries that discuss issues to TV documentaries that vividly portray the subjects beyond issues, and spontaneous voices started enhancing their presence, outstripping narrations and interviews, as a voice format supporting this methodological change. The author finds in the texts of “Sugao” in its final phase a method that brought forth spontaneous voices. The paper also shows that this method was inherited by a new documentary series Aru Jinsei [A Life] after the termination of “Sugao.”

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