Recordings and film documents

Again and again there are inquiries in the Archive if there exist recordings or film documents about Rudolf Steiner. Present research and inquiries at the most important archives have shown the improbability of existing materials.

For recordings following archives were contacted:

            Schweizer Landesphonothek, Lugano
            Stiftung Deutsches Rundfunkarchiv (DRA); Wiesbaden
            Schallarchiv WDR; Köln
            Phonogrammarchiv; Wien

In these archives don´t exist originals recordings of Rudolf Steiner. In connection with it one has to be aware that at Rudolf Steiner´s life time the sound technique and engineering was  at the beginning. The very young recording industry was very successful as an entertaining medium.

Radio amateurs made their first steps in wireless phoning. Since 1920 the first local broadcasting stations started their work uncoordinated and by the hour. The broadcasting was always life, because there were no sufficient recording equipment. In 1935 the first magnetic tape recorder was presented at the “Wireless Show”  in Berlin.

There are also no hints in the existing documents  of the archives that there are records of lectures or speeches of Rudolf Steiner. In the collection of the German and Swiss film archives there are no records of Rudolf Steiner. Following archives were contacted:

            Bundesarchiv, Filmarchiv; Berlin
            Cinématèque suisse; Lausanne 

At that time film documents were extremely rare and if there had been one it would be known. Amateur films were very rare.  The result is that all research has not brought forth any existing recordings or film document.