Question

What did Das Volk stand for?
A) Democracy
B) Factory workers
C) Common people
D) Slum-dwellers

Answer 1

Hint: Neues Deutschland (organ of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, SED) was created on April 23, 1946, as a result of the merging of Das Volk and the KPD organ Deutsche Volkszeitung. During the SPD-KPD merger talks, the possibility of keeping the journal Das Volk was explored, but only as a local organ of SED in Berlin.

Complete answer:
Das Volk was a German daily newspaper published in Berlin. It was the German Social Democratic Party's principal organ (SPD). Das Volk published its debut edition on July 7, 1945. Das Volk was the second working-class newspaper to appear in Berlin following WWII. Das Volk was printed in Berliner format for the first twenty days of its publication.

Das Volk is a German word that refers to the ordinary people of a community or a region who are thought to be the originators of customs and beliefs, as well as a traditional way of life. Johann Gottfried is credited with popularising the word. He maintained that common German culture was the true German culture. Folk poetry, songs, and dance, he added, could popularise the actual essence of a nation.

Das Volk heard the Communist Party of Germany's (KPD) calls for the creation of an anti-fascist democratic Germany, a parliamentary-democratic republic, and working-class solidarity. The publication was dominated by the SPD's left-wing tendency, which supported the party's merger with the KPD.

Das Volk stands for common people. Therefore the correct answer is option ‘C’.

Note: The newspaper's editor-in-chief was Otto Meier. Engelbert Graf was the deputy editor-in-chief at the time of the newspaper's creation, but the Soviet authorities objected to his presence, and he was removed from the position. Later, assistant editors Max Nierich and Paul Ufermann were named.