Near Munich's largest park, the English Garden, at Oettingenstraße 67, was the headquarters of Radio Free Europe from 1952 to 1995. The radio station, funded by the US Congress, aimed to transmit information behind the so-called Iron Curtain that was subject to official censorship in communist countries. In the second half of the 20th century, the radio became the voice of freedom for millions of people in Eastern Europe, broadcasting programmes in more than a dozen languages, including Polish.

Polish section of the radio

The Polish section of the radio in Munich was inaugurated on 3 May 1952. This date was symbolic in view of the anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of 3 May 1791, a document heralding political change, the celebration of which was officially banned by the communist authorities after 1945.

In a building at the English Garden in Munich, the Polish branch had around 100-130 employees. Over more than four decades of activity, several hundred Polish contributors and correspondents passed through there, including Gustaw Herling-Grudziński, Witold Gombrowicz, Leopold Tyrmand and Jacek Kaczmarski, among others. The radio broadcast for up to 18 hours a day. The station was known for its news programmes on the current situation in Poland and the world, and its programme schedule was enriched with cultural, historical and entertainment programmes. The programmes were addressed to various social groups and environments. The most recognisable figure associated with the Polish section was its director from 1952 to 1976, Jan Nowak-Jeziorański.

Due to political circumstances, listening to Radio Free Europe was officially banned in Poland, and the authorities systematically jammed its transmissions until the 1980s. When it became apparent that the radio station could not be effectively jammed, sanctions were introduced for listening to it and disseminating information coming from it.

Radio headquarters today

The Munich headquarters of Radio Free Europe in the English Garden was closed down in 1995 and the station moved to Prague. The deserted modernist building was handed over to the University of Munich. It now houses several institutes, including the Scholl Siblings Institute, the Institute for Communication Knowledge and Media Research and the Institute for Journal Knowledge. At the main entrance to the building, there is a stone slab with a bronze plaque reminding visitors of its historical significance. The inscription on it reads: "Von diesem Gebäude brachten Radio Free Europe und Radio Liberty die Botschaft der Freiheit zu den Völkern jenseits Eisernen Vorhangs. Seit der Verlegung der Sender nach Prag im Jahr 1995 dient es der Forschung und Lehre an der Ludwig-Maximilian-Universität München" (From this building Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty took the message of freedom to the nations on the other side of the Iron Curtain. Since the transmitters were relocated to Prague in 1995, the building has been used for research and teaching at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich).