The publication "Der Ruf" ("The Call") was a popular literary magazine first published in 1945 by Alfred Andersch and edited by Hans Werner Richter. "Der Ruf", also called "Independent Pages of the New Generation", claimed to have the aim of educating the German people about democracy. In 1947 its publication was blocked by the American forces for being overly critical of occupational government. Richter attempted to print many of the controversial pieces in a volume entitled "Der Skorpion" ("The Scorpion"). The occupational government blocked publication of "Der Skorpion" before it began, saying that the volume was too "nihilistic".