The state government of Prussia also joined the effort. In addition to speeches and print media, radio and film were used for counter-propaganda. The use of radio, which was state controlled but had been relatively apolitical until then, met with criticism even among government supporters. In contrast, Reich Minister of the Interior Carl Severing (SPD) saw radio as a crucial propaganda tool. Stations were required to broadcast so-called “instructional discussions” () unchanged. A total of six were put on the air during the registration period. At some stations there was noticeable interference, but suspicions of sabotage could not be proven. Prussian civil servants were forbidden to take part in the initiative and could face disciplinary action if they failed to comply. The DNVP brought a legal action against the policy. The Prussian State Court initially rejected the motion, but in the final decision, which was issued only after the election, the court recognized the right of civil servants to participate in a legal initiative. Only active advocacy of the goals could be construed as official misconduct. The parties in the government coalition were comparatively restrained. The DVP, the party of the late Gustav Stresemann, fought most strongly against the initiative. Shortly before his death he ruled out cooperation between the DVP and the Hugenberg-led DNVP on the grounds of the upcoming initiative. The refusal, however, narrowed the party's political room to maneuver: "I see that we have to go with the left, because parts of the right in Germany have gone crazy." The position did not last long after Stresemann's death. Instead the party swung to the right. Severing took the clearest position against the initiative, with the result that the public saw the dispute as a battle between Severing and Hugenberg. Severing initiated a public appeal by the Reich government entitled "To the German People". In it the content of the initiative was described as an "attempt at the worst kind of incitement of the people". It declared its support for the Republic and for Stresemann's policy of rapprochement. The appeal was signed by influential public figures, among them the economist and banker Hjalmar Schacht, industrialist Robert Bosch, physicists Albert Einstein and Max Planck, and the writers Gerhart Hauptmann and Thomas Mann. Others such as entrepreneur Carl Friedrich von Siemens, independent politician Hans Luther and industrialist Carl Duisberg refused to sign. Reichstag debate on the Freedom Act By the