About UnAuf

UnAuf

UnAufgefordert — universally known as UnAuf — is the student newspaper of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU), and one of Germany's oldest and most storied student publications. First published on 17 November 1989 — days after the fall of the Berlin Wall — it was one of the first free newspapers of the GDR and has appeared continuously ever since. Published by the Freundeskreis der UnAufgefordert e.V., independent of the university, it appears five times a year during the lecture period (three issues in the winter semester, two in the summer semester), with print runs of 2,000–4,000 copies distributed across the HU's campuses. Twice honored as Germany's best student newspaper, it also operates a news blog and the unauf.de online portal. Its ISSN is 1865-1119.

Overview

UnAuf serves the Humboldt-Universität's 38,000 students and 5,000 staff across the university's Berlin-Mitte campuses — the main building on Unter den Linden, the Adlershof science campus, and the Mitte institutes. The magazine-format paper (6 to 64 A4 pages per issue in its history) covers university politics, research and teaching, student life, and Berlin culture, with a news blog for timely topics such as the student parliament's (StuPa) work.

What distinguishes UnAuf is its origin story: born in the Wende autumn of 1989, it is a living artifact of the East German revolution. While most of the Wendeblätter — the wave of independent student papers founded in 1989–90 (Dresden's ad rem, Leipzig's Ohne Filter, Jena's Akrützel) — folded by the mid-1990s, UnAuf survived and evolved, becoming a professional journalistic training ground. Its alumni include television journalists and media professionals — among them rbb reporter Juliane Kerber (editor-in-chief 1993–94) and ZDF moderator Wolf-Christian Ulrich.

History

UnAufgefordert first appeared on 17 November 1989, in the heady days after the Berlin Wall fell on 9 November. Founded by HU students seizing the new freedom of the press, it was among the very first independent publications in the collapsing GDR — a student paper created without party approval, printed and distributed by students themselves. The name "UnAufgefordert" (Unprompted/Unasked-for) captured the spirit: nobody had asked for this paper, and that was precisely the point.

The paper's early years were combative: as one anniversary retrospective put it, the founding editors saw themselves as fighters creating a public sphere at the university, unafraid to take sides. The 1990s brought professionalization — and the challenge of surviving the post-Wende media landscape that killed most sister papers. UnAuf adapted, becoming what its own history calls a "journalism laboratory" (Journalistenlabor): a place where students learned professional reporting standards while covering the university.

A 2014 anniversary discussion — "We are neutral — and were once different: May journalists be fighters?" — traced this evolution from partisan Wende organ to a paper valuing neutrality and multiperspectivity. The transformation mirrors the HU's own journey from GDR elite university to a modern research institution. Through it all, UnAuf maintained its independence: published by the Freundeskreis der UnAufgefordert e.V., it is organizationally separate from the university administration and the student government.

Coverage and Content

The print magazine covers the HU's institutional life: university governance, the presidium's decisions, faculty appointments, research developments, and teaching controversies. The student parliament (StuPa) and the student government's work receive close scrutiny — the news blog handles the most time-sensitive of these stories between print issues.

Student life reporting encompasses housing, the Mensa, BAföG and financing, campus culture, and the Mitte district's transformation around the university. Research features translate the HU's scholarship for a student audience, while the culture section reviews Berlin's exhibitions, theater, film, and literature — the paper's critics have covered everything from Berlinale films to debates over street names honoring problematic historical figures.

The magazine's rubrics have included "Einmal im Leben" (Once in a Lifetime), "Endstation" (Terminus), and "Was macht eigentlich...?" (What does ... actually do?), profiling HU organizations and initiatives. Special issues have tackled topics from Catalan independence (reported by HU history students on a Spain excursion) to the Uyghur human rights crisis and Poland's abortion ban. The print editions are produced emission-arm on 100% recycled paper — a sustainability commitment stated in the imprint.

Organization and Ownership

UnAufgefordert is published by the Freundeskreis der UnAufgefordert e.V. (Friends of UnAufgefordert), a registered association independent of the Humboldt-Universität. This independence — from both the university administration and the student parliament — is the paper's constitutional principle, protecting its editorial freedom.

The newsroom is staffed by HU students, with an editor-in-chief (Chefredaktion) leading each generation of the paper. The operation is financed through advertising — the paper's media kit cites 2,000 copies distributed to the HU's 38,000 students and 5,000 staff, sold to advertisers as access to "tomorrow's decision-makers" — and the association's resources. The paper maintains an article archive at unauf.de/archiv, preserving three and a half decades of student journalism.

A Wende Artifact That Endures

Few publications can claim UnAuf's historical distinction: it is a newspaper founded in a revolution that is still publishing. The first issue appeared eight days after the Wall fell, when the GDR still existed and no one knew what would replace it. The paper's archive is thus a primary source for the Wende at the HU — the debates over Stasi-tainted academics, the university's restructuring, the euphoria and disillusionment of reunification.

That the paper survived when Dresden's ad rem, Leipzig's Ohne Filter, and Jena's Akrützel faded makes it a case study in student media sustainability. The keys: genuine independence, a large university providing a stable readership, professional standards that made it a career stepping-stone, and the willingness to evolve from combat organ to neutral forum. Twice named Germany's best student newspaper, UnAuf represents the possibility that student journalism can be both a training ground and a lasting institution.

The Independence Model

UnAuf's organizational structure deserves attention as a media model. Published by the Freundeskreis der UnAufgefordert e.V. — a registered association of supporters — the paper is independent of both the university administration and the student parliament. This double independence is unusual: many German student papers are organs of the student government (AStA publications) or depend on university funding, creating structural pressures on editorial freedom. UnAuf's association model, financed through advertising and supporter contributions, insulates the newsroom from both administrative displeasure and student-politics factionalism.

The model has costs: the paper must sell enough advertising to sustain print runs, and each generation of student editors must recruit and train its successor from scratch — the perennial challenge of student media, where the entire staff turns over every few years. That UnAuf has managed this succession for over 35 years, maintaining professional standards and twice winning national recognition, testifies to institutional knowledge passed down through the Freundeskreis. For student journalists across Germany, the paper is proof that independence and longevity can coexist on campus.

Digital Presence

UnAuf operates unauf.de (UnAuf ONLINE) as its digital home, publishing articles between print issues and maintaining the news blog for timely university-politics coverage. The site carries the current issue's stories, the archive, and the paper's advertising information. The paper is active on social media — its media kit references Twitter and Facebook distribution — reaching the HU's students where they actually read. The digital offering complements the print magazine's five-issues-a-year rhythm, giving the paper a continuous presence in university life. For a publication founded in a revolution, the move online is simply the latest adaptation — from the photocopied urgency of November 1989 to the professional multi-platform student journalism of today, UnAuf has always gone where its readers are.