The Press and Politics
Paul Scheffer and the Shakhty Trial 1928
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
The Shakhty trial was the first major show trial in Stalin’s Soviet Union. Paul Scheffer, Moscow correspondent for Berliner Tageblatt, recognized the political dimension of the proceedings early on. In his articles, Scheffer criticised the judicial nihilism surrounding the trial, which called German-Soviet cooperation into question. His assessment earned him the displeasure of the Soviet leadership and the German government. The Foreign Office attempted to rein in Scheffer and other German journalists. Scheffer, however, evaded these efforts. Nonetheless, the episode illustrates the central role played by the press in German-Soviet relations during those years.
(Osteuropa 8-9/2025, pp. 151–168)