Volkswacht (Danzig)

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| name = Volkswacht

| logo = Volkswacht_(Danzig)_Monday_1_Dec_1919_issue_masthead.png

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| foundation = September 1910

| political = Social Democratic Party of Germany

| language = German

| ceased publication = 1919

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| headquarters = Danzig

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| sister newspapers = Vorwärts

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Volkswacht ('People's Guard') was a social democratic newspaper published in Danzig, Germany (present-day Gdańsk, Poland) from 1910 to 1919.{{cite book|author=Marek Andrzejewski|title=Prasa gdańska na przestrzeni wieków|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pDY_AQAAIAAJ|date=1 January 1999|publisher=Wydawn. "Marpress"|isbn=978-83-87291-56-3|pages=28, 76, 185}} Initially, Volkswacht was published weekly. As of 1913, it was published twice weekly.{{cite book|author=Fritz Schultz|title=Die politische Tagespresse Westpreussens|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0YkUAQAAIAAJ|year=1913|publisher=Schultz|page=29}} In 1914 it was converted into a daily newspaper. The newspaper masthead carried the slogan Organ für die werktätige Bevölkerung in Westpreußen ('Organ of the toiling population in West Prussia'). It was issued as a publication of the Free Trade Unions.{{cite book|author1=Jörg Riecke|author2=Britt-Marie Schuster|title=Deutschsprachige Zeitungen in Mittel- und Osteuropa: Sprachliche Gestalt, historische Einbettung und kulturelle Traditionen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XgJlAAAAMAAJ|year=2005|publisher=Weidler Buchverlag|isbn=978-3-89693-419-2|page=161}}

Volkswacht was founded in September 1910.{{cite book|author=Kurt Koszyk|title=Die Presse der deutschen Sozialdemokratie|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1IY0AQAAIAAJ|year=1966|publisher=sn.|page=92}} August Bebel wrote an editorial for the inaugural issue of the newspaper.{{cite book|author=Bogusław Leśnodorski|title=Konferencja pomorska, 1954|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y7IMAQAAMAAJ|year=1956|publisher=Państwowe Wydawn. Naukowe|page=207}}

Due to financial difficulties the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) had lacked an organ of its own in Danzig for a long time.{{cite book|author=Marek Andrzejewski|title=Die socialdemokratische Partei in der freien Stadt Danzig: 1920-1936|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V_1IAAAAIAAJ|year=1980|publisher=GTN|isbn=978-83-04-00706-2|page=10}} The new publication was maintained by funds from the central party leadership in Berlin. Arthur Crispien worked as editor of Volkswacht 1910–1912.{{cite book|author1=Werner Röder|author2=Herbert A. Strauss|author2-link=Herbert A. Strauss|title=Politik, Wirtschaft, Öffentliches Leben.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mt6c3oFVBz0C&pg=PA118|date=1 January 1980|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-097028-9|page=118}}{{cite book|author=Hermann Molkenbuhr|title=Arbeiterführer, Parlamentarier, Parteiveteran: die Tagebücher des Sozialdemokraten Hermann Molkenbuhr 1905 bis 1927|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DYlrDqSW05MC&pg=PA341|year=2000|publisher=Oldenbourg Verlag|isbn=978-3-486-56424-2|page=341}} Gustav Schröder took over as editor after Crispien.

The newspaper played an important role in spreading social democratic ideas in the region. The readership of Volkswacht was at pair with the bourgeois Danziger Zeitung.{{cite book|author=Södertörns högskola. Centre for Baltic and East European Studies|title=Borderland identities: territory and belonging in Central, North and East Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_5MdAQAAMAAJ|year=2006|publisher=Förlags ab Gondolin|isbn=978-91-88821-99-7|page=382}} On political issues the article material largely consisted of reprints from the SPD central organ Vorwärts. The Volkswacht editors focused more on writing about local matters.

During the First World War, Volkswacht was placed under preventive censorship.{{cite book|author1=Frank H. Lancaster|author2=Ernest F. Birmingham|title=Fourth Estate: A Weekly Newspaper for Publishers, Advertisers, Advertising Agents and Allied Interests|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_LyI9AQAAIAAJ|year=1917|publisher=Fourth Estate Publishing Company|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_LyI9AQAAIAAJ/page/n29 26]}}

Julius Gehl became editor of Volkwacht in 1917{{cite book|title=Die deutschsprachige Presse: Ein biographisch-bibliographisches Handbuch|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lp6o5fFQcvsC&pg=PA321|date=1 January 2005|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-096157-7|page=321}} with Walter Reek heading the press commission.{{cite web| url=https://www.reichstag-abgeordnetendatenbank.de/select.html?pnd=130052493| title=Reichstags Abgeordnetendatenbank| language=German}} The readership of Volkswacht increased after the outbreak of the November Revolution. In 1920 Volkswacht was replaced by Danziger Volksstimme ('People's Voice of Danzig').