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Old 22nd Apr 2006, 12:35 am   #1
Svet
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Default Nazi German tube radio - DKE

Hi guys!
I have this German WWII radio that I am willing to sell.
I would like to know more about it and about its average price on the radio collectors market.
All I know about it is that it is a DKE Telefunken and that those radios were especially designed and manufactured to be used in the Nazi propaganda.
I think they were produced at an affordable price for the people of the working class and served as a brain-washing instruments.

The one I have has Nazi eagle & swastika markings on one of the tubes (most probably it used to have the same markings on the other two tubes as well but they faded away) and a Nazi eagle & swastika stamp on the speaker.
The color is patterned dark brown, the pattern resembles wood.
Please have a look at the photos below and feel free to comment on them.

Front
http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/5682/radio110ys.th.jpg

Back
http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/9729/radio225od.th.jpg

The tubes with Nazi eagle markings
http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/8682/radio76rl.th.jpghttp://img73.imageshack.us/img73/3720/radio191qc.th.jpghttp://img73.imageshack.us/img73/6751/radio28vs.th.jpg

The Nazi stamp on the speaker (with the tubes removed)
http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/9928/radio109bv.th.jpg

Thanks!
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Old 22nd Apr 2006, 1:48 am   #2
Darren-UK
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Default Re: Nazi German tube radio - DKE

Hi Svet,

The history of these and other German radios including yours, the Kleinempfanger, and the slightly posher Volksempfanger are well documented. You've got the basic idea though; these radios were instigated prior to WW11 by Dr Goebbels so that every German could listen to official broadcasts. This latter applied especially to the speeches of Adolf Hitler, which were deemed to be compulsory listening. These radios were intended to be very cheap so that every German household could own one.

The reality was rather different however; I recall reading somewhere that only something like 55% of German households ever got to own one of these radios. It is said that these radios were deliberately designed to receive only German transmissions; of the few 'improvements' that were made, one was the ability to tune into stations from Austria when that country was annexed to Germany.

In the UK, the Wartime Civilian Receiver which was produced from 1944 was a far better performer and could receive many stations on the mediumwave - including some from Germany.

Your Nazi radio would appear to have had its Swastika emblem scratched out, as is often the case. This was located on the front just above the tuning dial and is of some importance to collectors; most prefer the emblem to be intact whilst others accept a scratched out emblem as part of the radios history.

Nazi emblems (Swastikas and/or eagles) appeared in numerous places on these radios and their components. I own a DKE38 which has survived 100% intact and it has Nazi emblems in no less than 18 places; on the cabinet front, on the speaker cone, on the valves and on just about every other component

Most of these radios turn up with black cabinets, yours appears to be a rarer version in 'walnut' finish. To be honest I didn't know such a version existed until now

You asked about value. This depends, obviously, on condition - but broadly speaking they currently sell for approximately £40 up to £80 or so for a good'n. Value has dropped in recent years though, perhaps due to a flood of them appearing on the market over the last few years ( possibly due to the collapse of the 'Iron Curtain' ).

Should you wish to sell your radio, you should do so through the appropriate section and state your location and a price. Incidentally, radios such as yours ( sometimes derided as 'Goebbels Gob' or more coarsely as 'Fart Flingers' ) continued in production beyond the end of the war, I believe, possibly as late as 1951 although if this is true it's unlikely they would have borne any Nazi embellishments. Good luck with it anyway

Last edited by Darren-UK; 22nd Apr 2006 at 1:59 am.
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Old 22nd Apr 2006, 2:05 am   #3
Svet
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Default Re: Nazi German tube radio - DKE

Thanks for your reply, Darren.
I don't think that the swastika on the front panel was scratched off. Maybe this one is a post-war example since there is the Telefunken logo instead of the Nazi symbol.
Still the tubes bear the Nazi Eagle... I am getting really confused about this radio.
A guy on another forum said that this one is the battery model and that it is much more scarce than the AC version. Maybe this fact and its unorthodox walnut finish make it the "Master of All DKEs".

Thanks!
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Old 22nd Apr 2006, 4:19 am   #4
ekcobeach
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Default Re: Nazi German tube radio - DKE

Hi Svet, I'm fairly certain that your radio is the DKE 38B. Most of the DKE 38s used two valves, VCL 11 and a VY2. Yours is a three valve set and i think the other guy was correct in saying that it is the battery version.Have a look at the valve numbers and if you have KC1 KC1 KL1 then this will confirm it.You will find all the info you want on Wumpus's radio world web site. Incidentally, a two valve DKE 38 sold on a well known auction site a few months ago for over £200.00. I paid about £100.00 for my model,so the selling price can vary quite considerably.Yours being that much rarer should command a very good price to a specialist collector.Having said that,i believe there is a certain appeal for the sets with the nazi insignia on the front so it might possibly make your set a little less desirable.If you are intent on selling it i'd be inclined to put it on the auction site with a start price of £100.00.I'm pretty sure it would sell. Regards, Colin <ekcobeach>
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Old 22nd Apr 2006, 9:06 am   #5
Svet
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Default Re: Nazi German tube radio - DKE

Thanks, Colin.
Maybe I should list it on eBay after all and just see what happens but I wanted to collect some opinions from passionate collectors first.
I noticed that the German eBay is the only place to trade these radios. There were no guys on the USA and UK auctions that were offering DKEs.

PS:
And thanks, mikelect, for your understanding. I am sorry for the caused trouble.
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Old 22nd Apr 2006, 9:53 am   #6
ekcobeach
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Default Re: Nazi German tube radio - DKE

Hello Svet, Did you manage to confirm the model with the valve types? As for selling on the UK auction site,I've seen quite a few on there over the last couple of years and that's where i purchased mine.There is usually one at least every few months but not lately.You might want to word it carefully though and avoid the "Nazi" inference.Let the photos do the talking as it were.There was a minor incident where the UK site took offense at the item description and reprimanded the seller for advocating Naziism,which he clearly was'nt. Regards, Colin. <ekcobeach>
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Old 22nd Apr 2006, 11:37 am   #7
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Default Re: Nazi German tube radio - DKE

Yes I got the 'yellow card' from the well known auction site for mentioning the word Nazi and swastika so I would avoid all reference.

Your radio does look to be a different variant. I have uploaded a photo of a 'normal' DKE38 chassis

Mine has 2 valves VCL11 & VY2 and has a mains dropper in the centre.
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Old 22nd Apr 2006, 11:38 am   #8
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Default Re: Nazi German tube radio - DKE

Try again to upload photo!
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Old 22nd Apr 2006, 12:06 pm   #9
Darren-UK
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Default Re: Nazi German tube radio - DKE

Purely out of interest as this thread has touched upon DKE variants, the attached image is one I pilfered from a website a couple of years ago. I can't remember the website address, so my apologies if the site was/is owned by a forum member.

If the radio on the image is genuine then it's certainly a very rare example but I have wondered if the three horizontal bars are original or a later addition - or even 'drawn' on with a photo editing pc programme for some purposeless reason
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Old 22nd Apr 2006, 4:26 pm   #10
Svet
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Default Re: Nazi German tube radio - DKE

Quote:
Originally Posted by ekcobeach
Hello Svet, Did you manage to confirm the model with the valve types? As for selling on the UK auction site,I've seen quite a few on there over the last couple of years and that's where i purchased mine.There is usually one at least every few months but not lately.You might want to word it carefully though and avoid the "Nazi" inference.Let the photos do the talking as it were.There was a minor incident where the UK site took offense at the item description and reprimanded the seller for advocating Naziism,which he clearly was'nt. Regards, Colin. <ekcobeach>
The valves are KC1 - KC1 - KL1. The two KC1s are different in shape.
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