Front and back views of the Volksempfänger (people’s receiver).

Goebbels’s ministry recognized the tremendous promise of radio for propaganda. It heavily subsidised the production of the inexpensive Volksempfänger to facilitate sales. By early 1938, the number of radios in German homes surpassed more than 9 million, roughly one for every two German households. Three years later, this figure rose to almost 15 million, providing 50 million Germans with regular radio reception.