After the Liberation of Paris, the U.S. Broadcast Two Secret Fake Radio Stations

In September 1944, Paris was liberated. On the airwaves, Radio de la Nation Française replaced the German-controlled Radio-Paris and the Vichy broadcaster Radiodiffusion nationale. The new station operated with very limited resources: before withdrawing, the German army had sabotaged many of the transmitters.

The U.S. Army soon helped restore several installations. But the Americans also had another objective in mind. As Allied forces pushed toward Germany, they hoped to encourage soldiers of the Wehrmacht to turn against the SS and the Nazi regime.

To achieve this, the OSS (Office of Strategic Services)—the precursor of the CIA—launched a psychological warfare operation aimed at German listeners. The plan relied on what were known as “black radio stations”: broadcasts designed to appear as though they were produced by Germans inside the Reich.

A secret operation near Paris

The OSS Morale Operations Branch set up its base in Villebon-sur-Yvette, southwest of Paris, using the facilities of the former Paris-PTT transmitter. The retreating German forces had not managed to cause extensive damage, although the antenna mast had been blown up.

American technicians quickly repaired the site. During the day, the transmitter improved the reception of Radio de la Nation Française in Paris. In exchange, the French authorities allowed the Americans to use the transmitter in the evenings.

Several black radio projects were prepared. The first was designed to last only a few days, since it was supposed to be broadcasting from a German town where Wehrmacht officers had seized power from Nazi authorities.

To maintain strict secrecy, OSS agents avoided using the studios of the newly liberated French radio or official transmission lines, since much of the technical staff had remained in place since before the Liberation. Instead, they improvised a studio inside the Villebon building using a mixing desk and a few record players they found on site.

“Achtung, Achtung”

On 21 September 1944, at 10:45 p.m., a trumpet fanfare suddenly appeared on 276 metres (1087 kHz), followed by a voice announcing:

“Achtung, Achtung. You are about to hear an important announcement.”

Military music played before a supposed German senior officer declared that he had seized power in a town near the front—without naming it—after violent unrest. He announced that his troops had occupied the town hall, the railway station and the telephone exchange.

The message was repeated several times, interspersed with military music and proclamations directed at civilians. At 11:15 p.m., the broadcast abruptly ended.

Whether the deception convinced German listeners remains unclear. On the Allied side, however, newspapers—and even some military personnel—were briefly taken in by the story.

Westdeutscher Volkssender

Three days later, the station returned under a new name: Westdeutscher Volkssender 281 m (“West German People’s Radio”). It now described the supposed reorganisation of the unnamed town, while denouncing various Nazi officials.

On 3 October, the station abruptly went off the air, claiming that Allied forces were approaching.

Volkssender Drei

Another black station soon took its place. On 6 October 1944, Volkssender Drei (“People’s Radio No. 3”) began broadcasting on 785 kHz (235 metres).

This time, the storyline was different. According to the broadcasts, German resistance fighters had seized a secret transmitter hidden by the Nazis in the mountains as part of a planned Alpine redoubt. The station was said to be run by a fictional German Freedom Party.

The programmes mixed genuine news with fabricated reports designed to spread rumours inside Germany. The aim was to create the impression that anti-Nazi resistance networks were emerging within the Reich and to encourage further defections.

Several fictional presenters appeared on air, each representing supposed members of the underground movement.

The end of the broadcasts

The station ceased broadcasting at the end of October. Under an agreement with the French authorities, Radio de la Nation Française was due to regain full control of the Villebon transmitter on 1 November 1944.

By then, however, American forces had already pushed further east into Germany. The experience gained near Paris would help the OSS refine its use of black radio stations—clandestine broadcasts designed to deceive enemy audiences—as a tool of psychological warfare.