Externally, the Reichssender Hamburg transmitted propaganda material to listeners overseas – in particular to those living in the British Isles – and, during World War II, broadcast regular programming aimed at sapping the morale of the civilian population of the United Kingdom.

In the British Zone of occupation, the military authorities quickly established a station known as "Radio Hamburg" to provide information to the population of the area.

The British Control Commission appointed Hugh Carleton Greene, on secondment from the BBC, to manage the creation of public service broadcasting in their Zone.

The army unit allocated to run the station was part of REME Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and its commander was Lt Col Paul Archibald Findlay.

The NWDR television service also remained a joint operation, from 1 April 1956 under the name Nord- und Westdeutscher Rundfunkverband (North and West German Broadcasting Federation - NWRV).