Radio Metropol, The Nazis’ Secret Radio Station in Austria

After the German army invaded Yugoslavia, the Reich’s Foreign Minister, Joachim von Ribbentrop, took control of Radio Belgrade. Interradio, a company created by his services in February 1942, purchased the shortwave service of Yugoslav radio six months later through a subsidiary named Teleradio AG Radio Belgrade. The transmitting center was located in Zemun, a suburb of the Serbian capital.

Interradio also acquired a 51 percent stake in the medium-wave service in order to broadcast a Radio Belgrade program from the Makis transmitter aimed at German troops occupying the Balkans. The station later became famous for popularizing the song “Lili Marleen,” which became a major hit—to the great irritation of Joseph Goebbels.

Launched in March 1942

In March 1942, Interradio launched Radio Metropol. Its programs were initially directed mainly toward Russia and Iran. After the Battle of Stalingrad, however, Radio Metropol discontinued its broadcasts to Russia and shifted its focus to North Africa and the Middle East.

According to Horst J. P. Bermeier and Rainer Lotz in their book Hitler’s Airwaves, the station broadcast in English, French, Polish, Arabic, and Persian. American DX enthusiasts noted that the station transmitted on 11,925 kHz and 9,480 kHz.

Studios in Graz

“Its originality lay in the fact that no listener could suspect that these broadcasts were of German origin,” writes Alain Roy in his book Le Cheval à Bascule. Roy belonged to the French section of the station. “It maintained a carefully staged appearance of impartiality.” His testimony is one of the rare accounts of this otherwise secret radio operation.

Roy explains that the studios were located in Graz, Austria, in a villa that would later house Radio Graz after the war. The editorial staff worked in a former café known as the Gasthaus Mozart.

French-language programs lasted one hour and were broadcast three times a day. “After the news bulletin there was a short interlude of light music. This was followed by a talk analyzing political developments… Between the bulletins there was classical music and popular entertainment, with priority given to the latest British and American hits, in order to sustain the illusion.”

Ribbentrop was ultimately forced to end the experiment in the face of opposition from Goebbels, the Reich’s Minister of Propaganda. Radio Metropol left the airwaves in May 1944.