The Battle for Miggershausen

This sharply produced animated short from pre-war Nazi Germany serves as a propaganda piece for the Volksempfänger ('people's receiver'), inexpensive radios. The story opens with agricultural statistics showing the distant village of Miggershausen lagging behind in milk and egg production. An anthropomorphic radio undertakes a lengthy journey by express train, steam train, and hay wagon to Miggershausen to advertise its services, but the reception is not favorable. Undeterred, it gathers and leads an army of radios to retry the appeal, flooding all the farmhouses and appearing more convincing. By day, they disseminate agricultural knowledge to raise milk and egg production to standard levels; later, they simply play music, illustrating how various people enjoy different kinds of music.