G20 was a numbers station that became well known for it’s musical pieces used in it’s messages. It was nicknamed Spruch since they were used when announcing the message number. The interval music varied with each Spruchnummer, for example Spruchnummer 1 played “Schubert’s Serenade”, Spruchnummer 4 played “Mexican Hat Dance”. “ZEIT” was a date/time group. Emitted in AM.
Sample Recording
Ownership of this numbers station has been disputed for many years. According to listeners the announcers spoke with an accent that indicated they were not naturally German speaking. Even so, initially G20’s origin was attributed to East or West Germany, and was later theorized to belong to Austria, Switzerland, and even Hungary.
In my free time I listen to old numbers recordings, which is often since my free time is in abundance. I have listened to recording over and over again –favorably the German ones due to my fascination with the language.
I had noticed some time ago a recording of G20 with a male voice that sounded strikingly similar to the accented voice heard on G01, especially in the pronunciation of “Achtung” and “Drei”. Not to mention G01 and G20 sent transmissions with identical elements (always starting with “Achtung, achtung” and ending with “Ende, ende”). G01 was traced back to France. Could it be possible G20 was also from France? Could G20 have been a replacement for G01?
Comparison between G01 and the male voice from G20 edited together by me. Pay attention to “Achtung”, “Ein(s)”, “Drei”, and “Zero”:
Spruchnummer Music Pieces
Identified in Numbers and Oddities Issue #18 and Simon Mason’s G20 Page. Some “Spruchnummers” claim to have a different tune depending on the source. The music pieces and Spruchnummer of them likely changed over time.
1 – Schubert Serenade
2 or 3 – Atlantis by The Shadows (Simon Mason)
3 – Brahms Waltz
3 – La Raspa by Mariachi Arriba Juarez
4 – Mexican Hat Dance
4 – Bach’s Toccata in D Minor (Female Voice)
5 – Brahms: Waltz opus 39 (Male Voice)
5 – Atlantis by the Shadows
7 – We Get Ideas by Louis Armstrong
6 and 8 – Tango Tarragona (Male Voice)
10 – Bach’s Toccata in D minor
16 or 17 – Red Balloon by The Dave Clark Five
(Unknown Saxophone Piece)
G20a
G20a was a variant that only sent one 5 digit group (repeated twice) in AM.
Station Structure
Numbers Station Summary
Nickname: Spruch
Activity: Inactive
Emission mode: AM
Voice Summary: Possibly live/pre-recorded OR automated man and woman’s voices used.
Believed Country of Origin: Disputed- evidence points to this station being from France (see above)
Sources
Simon Mason G20 Page
Numbers and Oddities Issue #18
R. Gray Analysis & Soundcloud Clips
