The Zeitgeschichte (German for “contemporary history”) Collection consists of about 180 sound recordings collected by German discographer and collector Rainer Lotz. It features the voices of many prominent figures from Germany, Western Europe, and the United States, including Adolf Hitler, Paul von Hindenburg, Neville Chamberlain, Benito Mussolini, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. There are also recordings of songs associated with contemporary political parties and unions. Its biggest strength is in recordings relating to the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich. There are many recordings of speeches by members of the German People's Party (DVP) and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), as well as rare recordings intended for radio broadcast of Chancellor Heinrich Brüning at the Reichstag; NSDAP (Nazi Party) members such as Joseph Goebbels, Robert Ley, and Karl Kaufmann; the military leader Walter Nicolai; industrialists including Claudius Dornier and Alex Mauser; and the author Egon Freiherr von Kapherr. Other highlights in the collection are a series of picture discs of Nazi Party leaders from 1931, Polydor recordings of major political events from the Third Reich, and the complete radio-play "Sturmwanderung: Ein Beethovenmonolog zur Entstehung der 'Eroica'" starring actor Heinrich George.
The complete collection has been cataloged and can be found using UC Library Search. Digital copies can be requested through a Special Collections Research Account.
For more information on the collection or assistance in using the materials, please contact Special Collections staff at special@library.ucsb.edu.
