The Memory Collection: 20 Objects from the 20th Century

The radio was the first tool of mass communication introduced in the 20th century. It was also the first means of communication that did not require a visible medium to convey information. Radio is one of the few media to have remained important throughout the whole century. Finally, although we have now forgotten it, radio played a huge role in the two World Wars and the Cold War as a propa-ganda tool for the opposing camps. Just think of the famous "Ici Londres..." that began BBC broadcasts to occupied France in the Second World War. I don’t have the statistics to prove it, but I am convinced that even today there are many more radio receivers around the world than televisions, telephones, computers, etc. Finally, I don’t believe that radios will disappear in the 21st century; with the arrival of digital radio, they may even become more popular. A radio is not merely an object, but also a powerful symbol of the democratization of information that occurred in the 20th century.