page_title: Westdeutscher Rundfunk
section_title: Origins
hierarchical_section_title: Westdeutscher Rundfunk / History / Origins
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: WDR-Archivhaus Köln English: WDR-studio Cologne, Germany
context_page_description: Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln is a German public-broadcasting institution based in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a constituent member of the consortium of German public-broadcasting institutions, ARD. As well as contributing to the output of the national television channel Das Erste, WDR produces the regional television service WDR Fernsehen and six regional radio networks.
context_section_description: The Westdeutsche Funkstunde AG (WEFAG) was established on 15 September 1924.
  There was a substantial purge of left wing staff following the Nazi seizure of power in 1933. This included Ernst Hardt, Hans Stein and Walter Stern.
  WDR was created in 1955, when Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk (NWDR) was split into Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) – covering Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, and Hamburg – and Westdeutscher Rundfunk, responsible for North Rhine-Westphalia. WDR began broadcasting on two radio networks (one produced jointly with NDR) on 1 January 1956. WDR constitutes the most prominent example of regional broadcasting in Germany.
caption: One of WDR's buildings in Cologne
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "WDR Archivhaus Koeln", "Image Make": "OLYMPUS OPTICAL CO.,LTD", "Image Model": "E-20,E-20N,E-20P", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "GIMP 2.4.4", "Image DateTime": "2008:02:29 09:35:36", "Image Artist": "Raimond Spekking (raimond.spekking@gmail.com)", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image Copyright": "The copyright is hold by the artist. This work is licensed under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)", "Image ExifOffset": "554", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "14142", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "8150", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/320", "EXIF FNumber": "4", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "80", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0210", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2006:06:11 17:05:47", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2006:06:11 17:05:47", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "103/50", "EXIF MeteringMode": "CenterWeightedAverage", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FocalLength": "32", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2560", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1920", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera"}