Fritzsche, Hans, 1900-1953

August Franz Anton Hans Fritzsche (21 April 1900 – 27 September 1953) was a German journalist and broadcaster who was the Ministerialdirektor at the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda of Nazi Germany. He was the preeminent German broadcaster of his time, as part of efforts to present a more popular and entertaining side of the Nazi regime, and his voice was recognised by the majority of Germans. After serving in the Imperial German Army in the First World War, Fritzsche joined Alfred Hugenberg's German National People's Party. He began his broadcasting career in 1932, and a year later his agency was incorporated into Joseph Goebbels' Propaganda Ministry, upon which he also became a member of the Nazi Party. He became head of the ministry's Press Division in 1938, and head of the Radio Division in 1942. Despite his prominence in German radio, Fritzsche played no significant role in the formulation of policy. Fritzsche was present in the Berlin Führerbunker during the last days of Adolf Hitler. After Hitler's death, he surrendered to the Red Army. He was indicted for war crimes in the Nuremberg trials before the International Military Tribunal but was acquitted of all charges. In January 1947, a German denazification court sentenced him to nine years of hard labour. He was released under an amnesty in 1950 and died three years later.