The origins and development of public relations in Germany and Austria

It is necessary to start by pointing out that it is rather difficult to trace the historical development of "Öffentlichkeitsarbeit"/public relations (henceforth abbreviated to PR), and just as difficult to determine the origins of PR. This is because research in this field is still at an embryonic stage. A glance at the literature reveals that, although there are numerous publications on PR theory and practice, they contain very little information on the history of PR in German-speaking countries. Having said this, there are a few isolated references to the subject in various textbooks and reference books (cf. for example, Oeckl 1993a; 1993b; Brauer 1993) but they are generally not very comprehensive and rely too much on the history of American PR, which is treated in much greater detail than the German and Austrian history. Of course, evidence for and examples of the history of PR in German-speaking countries are cited but they are not followed up systematically (cf. also Barthenheier 1982; Binder 1993; Kunczik 1994).