Nazi-era
German magazine, written for and circulated to non-German readers in allied, neutral and occupied countries from 1940 to 1945. At its height Signal had a circulation of 2,500,000 copies, published fortnightly and distributed around the world in 35 different languages.
Signal was ahead of its time as a German publication. Based on the layout of Life magazine, the near folio sized magazine was richly illustrated with run of page colour plates and photojournalism spreads. It would not look dissimilar to a coffee table magazine of the 1960s, and certainly would have stood out as something bright, fresh and cheery to read amongst other journals in occupied Europe.
Written for a foreign audience, it was (1) partially independent from the controls of Joseph Goebbel's Ministry of Propaganda and Enlightenment, (2) mercifully free of Gothic typeface, and (3) was less prone to giving hectoring or overtly Jew-baiting editorials than highly selective but well considered commentary. The editors knew at the time that they were competing for the hearts and minds of populations Germany had subjugated, so pan-European ideals that were in Germany's interests were promoted (often being nothing more than being that Germany's vassal states should supply cannon fodder to the Eastern front).
Signal was available in the United States in English at least until 1942, vainly giving Germany's side of the story to an audience with access to a freer mass media.
Signal Magazine is also a monthly magazine of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association, and a Finnish magazine promoting pen-pal relationships. Neither magazine has Nazi affiliations.
ref: http://uw3.de/signal.htm