The story
In Tangier, Morocco, the German missionary Helmut Gärtner came into contact with US missionaries who had been conducting radio missions for some time. He was responsible for the German Christians in Spain and agreed to establish a German-speaking department for the US missionaries. Thus, starting in 1956, broadcasts from Tangier also began in German. In October 1959, at Gärtner's instigation, a German branch was founded in Wetzlar, central Hesse, under the name "Evangeliums-Rundfunk" (ERF).
The first broadcast was originally scheduled for the summer of 1960. Trans World Radio was broadcasting from the transmitter facilities previously built by the Nazis on Mount Agel in Monte Carlo. A medium wave transmitter was added in 1964. However, technical difficulties meant that the broadcast launch had to be postponed several times. On February 5, 1961, the ERF went on air via the shortwave transmitter of TWR Monte Carlo. From 1964, the ERF also broadcast from Monte Carlo to Germany via medium wave. Key figures in the early years were theologian Walter Quiring and journalist Horst Marquardt. Marquardt headed the ERF until 1993.
In 1995, the ERF received its first license for private broadcasting in Hesse, allowing it to broadcast nationwide on medium wave.
The ERF Foundation, founded in 2001, supports the work financially.
In addition to producing radio programs, the ERF launched its own television program in 1979.
From Wikipedia’s article on ERF Medien, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5