A New Order for European Communication: Ideology or Technocratic Necessity?

European Postal and Telecommunications Union (1942–1945)

Abstract

Any new regime relies upon the building of networks that hold society together – communication being one of them. In the 1930s, the two pre-eminent communication networks were the post and telecommunications (PTT). However, we can observe a decline in bilateral and international PTT co-operation from 1935 onwards. With the destruction that followed the beginning of the war, the focus of the PTT administration was to re-establish the various systems. In the case of Germany and Italy – which wanted to create a ‘new European order’ – this meant that the technocrats involved in both countries were faced with establishing a system of communications that would connect Europe. In 1942, the European Postal and Telecommunications Union (EPTU) was founded. Although ‘Europe’ was limited to Germany, Italy and a majority of the countries occupied by the Axis powers, the EPTU signified a discontinuity in European PTT cooperation. A regional union of this kind had been discussed but not implemented in the 1920s. Thus, the question arises: Why in 1942? Was it a way for the Germans and Italians to dictate a new, ideologically charged order, or simply the expression of the administrative need to facilitate communication within Europe?