Digitized German Print Media

• Small Directory of Newspaper Archives in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland
•  Circulation Data
•  Online Usage Data for Print Media

  National Broadsheets

  • Financial Times Deutschland (FTD)
    The Financial Times Deutschland, an offspring of the British Financial Times is Germany's youngest national broadsheet. It focuses on economic issues. Its archives comprise all articles since its inception in February 2000.
  • Frankfurter Allgemeine (FAZ)
    The Frankfurter Allgemeine is Germany's flagship conservative newspaper. Its archive starts in 1993 and can be searched for free, but the viewing of a complete article costs between € 0.75 and 2.50 (UK-£ 0.50-1.75).
  • Frankfurter Rundschau (FR)
    The Frankfurter Rundschau is Germany's smallest national broadsheet. It is generally considered to hold left-liberal views. It's archive from 1994 can be accesses for a fee per article.
  • Handelsblatt
    With a circulation of about 150,000 in 2008, the Handelsblatt is Germany's biggest newspaper that focuses on economics. Its political slant is liberal. The Handelsblatt online archives start in 1984, each retrieved article costs between ¢ 20 and € 1.80.
  • Neues Deutschland
    Neues Deutschland was the government newspaper in the former GDR. Its circulation, mainly sold on the territory of the former GDR, has plummeted to about 60,000 in recent years. It is still somewhat supportive of the Reform Communists (PDS). Its online archives can be accessed for free, alas the begin only in 2001.
  • Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ)
    With a circulation of about 450,000, the Süddeutsche Zeitung edges Frankfurter Allgemeine for being the most widely read German broadsheet. Its political stance can be characterized as left-liberal. Its online archive, which runs from 1992 and also contains full-page articles in pdf-format, can be accessed for a yearly subscription rate of € 72 (ca. UK-£ 50).
  • die tageszeitung (taz)
    die tageszeitung, originally an offspring New Social Movements, is today Germany's most opinionated left-liberal paper. It's web archives go back to 1986 and can be accessed for a € 5 (UK-£ 3) monthly fee. Alternatively, the CD-ROM with all articles since 1986 can be ordered for € 50.
  • Die Welt
    Die Welt is the most conservative broadsheet in Germany. It's archives reach from 1995 and still can be accessed for free.

  National Tabloid

  The only national "tabloid" (Bild is a broadsheet by format, but a tabloid in content) in Germany is Bild. With its circulation of more than 4,000,000 on weekdays, it reaches more than double the combined total of all national broadsheets, and more than quadruple the audience of the largest local paper.   Bild's political stance is slightly right-of-center, but populist would probably be a more accurate description. Unfortunately, its online archive was closed down in 2002.

  Local Papers with Extensive Online Archives

  • Berliner Morgenpost
    The Morgenpost offers a free online archive from May 1, 2002.
  • Tagesspiegel (Berlin)
    The Tagesspiegel archives from 1996 can be accessed for €0.10 (about 7p) per article.
  • Berliner Zeitung
    The left-of-center Berliner Zeitung covers the German capital from a East Berlin perspective. Its free archive features a full text search of all issues since April 2, 1994.
  • Fuldaer Zeitung
    The Fuldaer Zeitung is the monopoly local paper in the county of Fulda, an economically weak region with a strongly Catholic population and a stable CDU majority. Its archives cover local news.
  • Lausitzer Rundschau (Cottbus)
    The LR is published for one of the economically weakest regions in Germany, Lower Lusatia, where a substantial Sorbian minority lives. Its — except for local desk articles — free online archive date back to 2000.
  • Rhein Zeitung (Coblence)
    The Rhein Zeitung covers the fairly properous region along the Upper Middle Rhine Valley. Its free archive contains all articles since 1996.
  • Täglicher Anzeiger Holzminden
    The tah is published in one of the weakest economic regions in West Germany. Its online archive begins in 2000 and covers only local news.
  • Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (WAZ)
    The WAZ with its numerous local editions covers the Ruhr Area between Duisburg and Dortmund. With a circulation of approximately 750,000, it is the largest local paper. Its free archive dates back to 1997.

  Weeklies

  • Die Zeit
    Liberal weekly aiming at the Bildunselite, archive of all online articles since 1996.
  • Jungle World
    Leftist weekly, online archive since its first issue from 1997.
  • Jüdische Allgemeine
    Published by the German Jewish Committee (Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland), online archive dates back to February 2002.
  • Aufbau
    Low circulation English-German Quarterly for the Jews on both sides of the Atlantic. Its archive from 2000 can be searched through google.
  • Deutsche National Zeitung
    Most widely read extreme rightwing publication (circulation around 100,000). Free online archive apparently from 1998.