Radio, DKE 38 Civilian, Third Reich era, Working
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Description: Restored & working Deutscher Kleinempfaenger (more properly spelled Kleinempfänger) DKE 38 radio was manufactured in 1938 in Germany. A simple Bakelite box dominated by the circular speaker grille. This is a small radio, measuring about 9.5 inches square from the front, and only 4.5 inches deep. The controls consist of two knobs and a tuning dial marked with numeric scales from 0-100 in opposite directions. Directly above the dial you can see a tiny German eagle over a swastika. Radio is in excellent working condition, with no chips or cracks in the cabinet, complete internals, and a flawless grille cloth. Come with a period jack attached to a modern long canteen wire for reception.
BACKGROUND: The name means “German small radio.” The DKE in the model designation stands for the words Deutscher Kleinempfänger and the 38 signifies the year of manufacture. Using only two tubes, it’s one of the simplest tube radios that you will ever come across. The Kleinempfänger was designed to be simple, and therefore cheap, so that as many Germans as possible could buy one. It cost only 35 Reichsmarks, roughly one week’s wages for an average worker of that day. This was a propaganda radio, in short. Germans nicknamed this set Goebbels’ Schnauze (Goebbels’ snout), referring to the Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, whose voice was often heard over the airwaves.
