Berghahn Books

Prospects of a New Music Culture in the Third Reich in Light of the Relationship Between High
and Popular Culture in European Musical Life
Author(s): Michael Meyer
Source: Historical Reflections / Rflexions Historiques, Vol. 4, No. 1 (Summer/t 1977), pp. 3-26

Published by: Berghahn Books

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Prospects of a New Music Culture in

the Third Reich in Light of the

Relationship Between High and

Popular Culture in European

Musical Life*

Michael Meyer*
CaliforniaStateUniversity,
Northridge

"Nach der 'Zauberflote'haben ernsteund leichte

Musik sichnichtmehrzusammenzwingen lassen."
- TheodorW. Adorno1

This topicemergedfromtwointerests:( 1) thesituationof contem-

porary"high-art"musicand (2) themusicpolicyof theThirdReich.
These twosubjectsappearedat firstto be totallyincompatible, sug-
gestingin associationonlythe conditionof victimizedart.Much of
theexistingexile literaturesupportsthisview of the artsin a totali-
tariansociety.Yet, theNazis believedthetwofieldsto be compatible
throughthemediatingand regenerative qualitiesof popularculture.
Music at itshighestlevelofdevelopmentcould be rekindled,and its
alienationfromthecommunity and fromitsown rootsand tradition
could be overcomebycontactwiththepopularcultureofthefolk.
The Nazi ideologicalresponseto whatwas widelyregardedas a
crisisin contemporary musicwas articulatedin thelanguageof the
humanistreactionto theallegedpurematerialism oftheavant-garde
ofthe 1920's and 1930's. Indeed,some of thecomposers,whomthe
standardconcert-goer wouldincludeamongtheavant-garde ,actually
maybe identified withthevolkischideologuesofNazi musicculture.
In hisnumerousessaysin the 1930's and 1940's and hisPhilosophie
der neuen Musik (1949), Theodor W. Adorno introducedmodern

des Horens,"
in derMusikunddieRegression
i"UberdenFetischcharakter
Third
Dissonanzen, Edition 1963)
(Gottingen, 12.
oftheAmerican
Thispaperwasreadinpartat themeeting Asso-
Historical
30,1976.
December
ciation,

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4 Reflections
Historical

music as existingbetweenthe poles of Schdnbergand Stravinsky.

Whereas- in the reformulation of MartinJay- Adorno

identifiedSchonbergwith all that was progressivein modern

music,. . . Stravinsky[to him]represented an antipsychological,
neoclassical'objectivism,' whichignoredthealienationand con-
tradictions belongedwith
ofmodernsociety.. . . The objectivists
the purveyorsof volkischculture,who undialecticallyadapted
old formsto currentneeds. . . . Adornowentso faras to suggest
thatobjectivism was in a sensethecorrelateoffascism.Its use of
neoprimitiverhythms[of Stravinsky'searlier period] corre-
sponded to the shocks of unintegrated Erlebnis (experience)
fosteredby fascistsociety.. . . Stravinskymightbe attackedby
thefascistsforhis 'destructiveness,'butwhethertheyknowit or
not,hismusicexpressedtheirideology.2

Similarly,Adornocalled Hindemith'sGebrauchsmusik reactionary.

Though,like Stravinsky's, Hindemith'smusic was defamedin the
ThirdReich, it was consistentwithNazi music principles.Adorno
also referredto the customof havingfolkmusicincorporatedinto
seriousmusic.In hisessay,"Zur gesellschaftlichen Lage derMusik"
(1932), he exposed the folktune as a fraud in the contemporary
setting.It was no longeralive, "because the spontaneousVolk had
been consumedin a processthatleftpopularmusic,like all popular
culture,thecreatureof manipulationand impositionfromabove."3
Withinthe contextof the possibilitiesand interpretations of
modernmusic,therefore, thispaperembracesa traditionalist option:
namely,theattemptto formulate thefoundationof a newmusiccul-
turein the Third Reich by means of recapturingthe tones of the
-
people.We knowwithAdorno- again,paraphrasedbyJay that
"in the rationalized,administered worldof the present,the public
stillyearnsforthe'soul' ofthenineteenth-century artist.The organic
was glorifiedoverthemechanical,personality over anonymity, and
inwardnessover emptiness."Yet, we also conclude withhim that
"the searchfortrueinwardness,"thatothersignificant goal of the
new musiccultureof the ThirdReich, as of othernostalgicexpo-
nentsof contemporary musical life, "was no longerrealizable in
modernsociety."4 The demandingcritic'sconclusionis forbidding.

2MartinJay,TheDialectical
Imagination: School
oftheFrankfurt
A History
1923-1950(Boston
of SocialResearch,
and theInstitute 1973)
/Toronto,
183-184.
mid., 185.
4Loc.cit.

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 MusicintheThirdReich 5

Nonetheless,the realityof Nazi music policy,the institutionalized

response of German music, and the seriousnessof pursuingthe
seeminglyimpossibletask of establishinga new music cultureon
volkischprinciplesare historyand deserve the historian'scritical
examination.
Adorno and fellowmembersand associatesof the Institutefor
Social Researchlike Max Horkheimer, Leo Lowenthal,and Walter
Benjaminstudiedpopularculturewhichto themwas one withmass
culture.ReflectingNazi terminology itself,popular culturewill be
identifiedherewithfolkculture:as a sourceofinspiration forserious
composers in the very sense that it was rejectedby Adorno but
utilizedbytheNazis. Indeed,itis recalledtodayto revivethemodern
effortof seriousmusicmaking.5As an ideal,theuse ofthefolksong
paralleledthe utilityof anotherregressivetendency,thatof recap-
turingtheritualisticnatureand functionof art.Interestingly, Walter
Benjamin shared the concern withvolkisch thinkersover the loss of
theritualisticaspectof art or what he called "auratic"art in the era
ofmassconsumption in hisessay,"On CertainMotifsin Baudelaire"
(1939). The Nazis and thecriticalthinker agreedon thisaspectofthe
culturalcrisisof modernsociety.However,wherehe and theNazis
deploredtheloss of thearts'rootednessin ritualand tradition, only
he rejectedthe modernmanipulationof art by politics,a modern
substitutefor rooted ritualof which the Nazis were outstanding
practitioners.
In recentyearsrepresentatives ofnew academicdisciplineshave
exploredpopularcultureand influencedtraditionaldisciplines,in-
cludinghistory, which- in turn- have added depthto theunder-
standingof the changingand broadeningconceptof culture.Some
scholarshave clung to the dichotomybetween"high" and "low"
culturein order to distinguishbetween the productsof elite or
academic, and folk or mass, taste and life-style, while yet others
returnto Herderand Wagnerand are fascinatedby the dialectical
relationshipbetweenthe two formsof expressionbecause of their
5Adornowasevendistrustful oftherevolutionary potential ofpopularartas
viewedbypeoplelikeBenjamin andBrecht. (Jay,190-192, 201.) It is sug-
thatthemusicologist
gestive NicolasSlonimsky claimsin Musicsince1900
(NewYork,1971), thattotalitarian controlisexpressed inthevolkisch ideal
as wellas in socialistrealism.(See examplesthroughout pp. 561-801.)
Adorno,too,rejectedbothas devoidofmeaningful artistic content. See his
"Die gegangelte
Musik," Dissonanzen, 46-61;a critical essayaboutmusicin
theworldundertheinfluence oftheSovietUnion,written in 1948."Heute
wirdimsowjetischenMachtbereich derAusdruck Ideologic positivverwandt,
etwasowiedieNazisvonWeltanschauung redeten. . . ." (p. 46).

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6 Historical
Reflections

beliefthathighartspecifically does notfollowits inherentdynamic

on the level of elementaland constructionist change alone, but,in
additionsuggestsa socialcontentwhichencompassespopularculture
and roots.From at least the timeof Wagner,musicaldevelopment
has beenidentified bysomewithprogressand praisedforthewiden-
ingrange of tonal possibilities,but rejectedby othersas a storyof
and
disintegration growingestrangement of music fromthe live
community.6 This sense of crisis was reinforced by what was per-
ceivedas a crisisin societyand politicalinstitutions.The upshotwas
totalitarian
ideologies thatwere addressed to all particularcrisesas
one. National Socialism,whichcapturedand synthesizedthe two
major mass movementsof moderntimes,appears to have been no
odditybut a consequenceand expressionof crisiswithina totally
interrelatedsocietyin whichno artor artisticinstitution could exist
independently. The developmentofmusicreacheda criticalpointin
eyesat thetimewhenpoliticaldisasterwas resolvedby
traditionalist
the Nazi assumptionof power. To the historian,it is interesting
thereforethatthe Nazis claimed to have restoredthe relationship
betweenmusicand societythroughtheirappeal to popularand folk
culturewithwhichtheyidentified and of whichtheywere the self-
appointed leaders.7
Armed with the language of romanticnationalism,the Nazis

6Itisindeeda severeblowtothemodernists thattheirgreatchampion Adorno

expressed misgivings aboutrecentdevelopments in the 1950's.See "Das
AlteraderNeuenMusik"(1954). Adornonotonlyincreasingly identified
entertainment (or light)musicwithfeatures of theaccepted"classical"
andthusdiscussed
repertoire, bothinterms of management of theculture
industrywhichliquidated in music.("Fetischcharakter
theindividual inder
Musik,"9-16).At thesametimehe notedtheossification of Schdnberg's
traditionand,whereasthepremieres of "Altenberg-Lieder" of Bergand
"Sacredu Printemps" ofStravinskystillcouldshockandappearnoveldue
totheirinnatelydisturbingandtroubledqualitiesintheirheroicperiod,these
characteristics
essential havesubsided.The relentless reducesthe
dialectic
revolutionary to reificationand affirmation. ("Das Alterader Neuen
Musik,"136.)
TThere existsa vastThirdReichliterature on thesubject. See,forinstance,
PeterRaabe,MusikimDritten Reich(Regensburg, 1936).Themusicjour-
nalsDie Musik,Zeitschrift furMusik,DeutscheMusikkultur, Voikische
Musikerziehung , and Zeitschrift
fiirMusikwissenschaft, eitheroriginally
volkischor synchronized policy,revealmuchin their1933
withofficial
editionsabouttherelationship between popularculture and greatmusic.
JosefWulfsdocumentations of thevariousartsin theThirdReichare
indispensableforanyresearch intoNazi culture. See his,Die Bildenden
KiinsteimDritten Reich,Literaturunddichtung imDritten Reich(Guter-
sloh,1963),andDie MusikimDritten Reich(Giitersloh, 1963).

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 MusicintheThirdReich 7

statedtheirgoals in respectto theartsthus: (1) The nationwas to be

revitalized,and highartwas to performin the serviceof revitaliza-
tion.(2) In orderto contribute in thedesiredmanner,theartshad to
be reconstituted so as to reflecttheimprintof the people, and that
was possiblethroughcontactwiththepeople's art.In themannerof
the pre-1933 volkischculturalcritics,8the Nazi music journalist
FritzStege encourageda revivalof compositionlocallythroughout
Germany.He called for"decentralization," so that

the fate of music will not be decided behindthe walls of the

metropolisbut in the arena of the nature-boundand thusmore
originalcountryside.Gone are the timesin whichlocomotives,
iron-foundriesor othertypicalproductsofthemetropolissetthe
standardsfor activelycreativemusicians.The generationof
futurecomposerswill turnto higher,immortalideals. Its gaze
willno longerbe focusedon select,big-citysocial stratabut on
an entirepeople,thenation.9

Aside fromits anti-modernistic bias, the campaignwas aimed

againstthe leaders of Germany'smusical who regarded
institutions
themselvesas custodiansof the world-renowned musicaltradition.
Until 1933 the autonomyof music had been takenforgrantedby
Germany'soutstanding conductorand musicdirectorWilhelmFurt-
wangler,who, takingnote of the confrontation betweenthe totali-
tarianstateand whathe regardedas his domain,rose to challenge
Goebbels in celebrateddemonstrations duringthe earlymonthsof
the Third Reich. His stand against the Nazis appeared to be a
reactionagainstthe people's mandate,as Goebbels quicklypointed
out. Yet, assuredof popularsupport,the Nazis set out not onlyto
regiment Germanmusiclife,butalso to createa newmusicalculture
consistentwiththenew age.10

8SeeFritzStern'sdiscussion cultural
of threerepresentative in The
critics
Politics
of Cultural : A
Despair Study intheRiseof theGermanic Ideology
(NewYork,1965)whosharevolkisch thoughtwiththemusicians Richard
Wagner andHansPfitzner.
fiirMusik(August,
VZeitschrift 1933)842.(Myowntranslation throughout
thispaper.)
iThisconclusion abouttheNazispressuring Germanmusicians intoactive
participation thesametheme
in popularcultureand publiclife,reflects
appliedtosociety ingeneral byRalfDahrendorf inSocietyandDemocracy
in Germany (London,1968).Furtwangler's to theThirdReich
opposition
waslaunched inanOpenLetter toGoebbelsinVossische Zeitung(April11,
1933)withitscelebrated defense ofpeoplelikeBrunoWalter, OttoKlem-
perer,andMax Reinhardt. Goebbelsanswered in BerlinerLokal-Anzeiger
(April11,1933).

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8 Historical
Reflections

In accordancewiththeirown conservativeinterpretation of the

artisticprocessand itsplace and functionin thehuman(and national)
community, and thatof the officialpolicymakersof Nazi culture,
German composers of serious music responded to the call for
national regenerationby attemptingto translatewhat was their
inherited highcultureintopopularculture.Steepedin whatwas per-
ceivedas theWagneriantradition, therepresentativesof Germany's
outstanding artistic
achievement in modern timesrejectedthemost
recentdevelopmentsof theircraft- to which,ironically,Wagner
had contributed much- and thedeterminist-materialist interpreta-
tionof all musicaldevelopment.Believingbothin the freecreative
impulseof the composerand his role in articulatingthe musical
needs and feelingsof the community, these composersstroveto
overcomethe alleged alienationof music and composerfromthe
community.They wanted to pick up popular impulses,integrate
thesewiththedynamicof theirartand theirown individuality, and
thuscontribute to thefeelingofcommunity. Concurrently, all forms
of folkand popular art were givenofficialstatusas the necessary
roots of high art. Celebratedin theirown rightat folk festivals,
parades,partycelebrations,prize-awarding ceremonies,and places
of entertainment, popular and folkmusic were studiedrelativeto
Germany'sgreatmusicalpast. They were held beforethe contem-
porarycomposer as a source of inspiration,and actuallyincor-
poratedin numerousseriousmusicalofferings on theconcertstage,
at partyfestivities,and at an arrayof otheraffairswhichrequired
the solemnaccompanimentof prestigiousand purifiedfolk-related
music.Two directionscan thusbe discernedin the makeup of the
newmusiccultureof theThirdReich: popularmusicwas accorded
an officialand potentiallyhighart status;and highart music was
selectivelydefinedas an expressionof popularculture.
Organizationallyand ideologically,the goals were quickly
realized. All professionalmusicianswere immediatelyaffectedby
theNazi assumptionof powerin 1933, theRe-establishment of the
CareerCivilServiceAct (April7), variousspecificGleichschaltungs -
gesetze,new copyright regulations,and a seriesof measures which
culminatedin theReich CultureChamberLaw (September22) and
thecreationoftheReich Music Chamber( RMK ) in whichmember-
ship was compulsoryfor professionalmusicians.11Musicians and
musicologistscoordinatedtheirmediumwithNazi policies which

, 15-115;KarlFriedrich
nSee Wulf,Musik Das RechtderReichs-
Schrieber,
kulturkammer 1935);
(Berlin, and WillyHoffmannand WilhelmRitter,
Das RechtderMusik(Leipzig,1936).

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 MusicintheThirdReich 9

theyhelpedformulate and institutionswhichtheyhelpedfound.The

product was a musical culture on traditionaland volkischlines.
Whereasthe institutional and ideologicalintegration of musicwith
National Socialism alone deservesthe attentionof the historianof
Nazi culture,12the fieldof compositionis of special interestsince
totalitarian
aimsand claimsultimately had to be checkedhere,in the
experimental laboratory of musical culture.
Prospectsappeared promisingwhen Richard Strauss,the out-
standinglivingcomposer,agreed to being named presidentof the
RMK, as well as presidentof thechamber'sdivisionof composers.
He was assisted by other luminariesand thus presided over the
Nazificationof musicthroughtheguise of normalcy.Straussspoke
ofmusic'srepresentation in thenewstate,itsregulations, theleader-
shipprinciple,and, at thefirstconventionof theentirechamber,of
thepolicy,"thatthenew Germanyis notwillingto allow artisticlife
to remainin isolation,but thatnew means will be exploredforthe
revivalof our musical culture."A few monthslater,however,he
wroteto hislongtimeassociate,theemigreStefanZweig: "Who told
youthatI haveventuredtoo farpolitically?Is itthatI am play-acting
thepresidentof theRMKT ' Afterthe Gestapo intercepted thisand
othercompromising lettersto Zweig,aggravating an alreadystrained
relationshipbetweenStraussand the authorities, he was pressured
intoresigningin June,1935. He was replacedby theviolinistPeter
Raabe as presidentof theRMK and thecomposerPaul Graeneras
presidentofthebranchof composers.13
As otherpostsin theRMK changedhands,Nazi policiescould
be pursuedwithgreaterzeal and efficiency. The single-most impor-
tantNazi organizerof culture,Hans Hinkel, who had personally
supportedPaul Graener'srise in theRMK forhis "abilityto bring
a senseofcamaraderieintotheprofession," addressedtheprofession
in
under Graener's presidency 1935. As commissioner and later
secretaryin both Rust's Education Ministry and Goebbels' Reich
CultureChamber,Hinkel reassuredthe composers of the state's
support,adding that the Culture Chamber would cease to deal
directlywithmattersof the individualprofessions.The chamber
would no longeract as an agentof musicians,havingalreadygiven
up itsfunctionas musicpublisher.However,politicalleadershipin
culturalaffairswould be reservedforthose who had experienced

as MythMakerin theThird
"TheNazi Musicologist
12SeeMichaelMeyer,
Journal
Reich," (Vol.
History
ofContemporary 10,No. 4, October,
1975)
649-665.
Musik,194-202.
l^Wulf,

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10 Historical
Reflections

National Socialism in the time of struggleand thus were able to

realizeitsgoals.14Again at thefirstnationalconventionof German
composersat Schloss Burg at the Wupper in May 1936, Hinkel
addressedthecomposers,notingaccomplishments: "The Reich pro-
fessionof Germancomposershas been formedand is marchingand
livingas a battalionof creativeGermanmusicians.Germancom-
posers derivean extraresponsibility fromthe factthatour people
are led bya greatstatesmanwho is also thefirstartistof thenation."
The composersrespondedwitha telegramto theFiihrer- "thefirst
artistof theGermannation,"whomtheywere"ever-readyto serve
faithfully"- signedby Graenerin the name of the composers.15
Composers had joined musicologistsand partypolicy makers in
offering guidelinesfora new music culture.This concertedeffort
broughtto a close thedebateon thenatureand functionof musicin
themodernworld.Rejected was Schonberg'smanifestothatmusic
shallnotadorn,butspeaktruth.Music was to adorn.As controversy
and factionalism werereplacedby whatHinkelcalled "the uniform
propagandisticline," the modernist'sview of music as a self-con-
t^ined experience,autonomous,and subject only to musical laws,
was categoricallydenied. Proponentsof the "progressive"pointof
viewweresilenced,forcedto resign,dismissed,and sentintoexile.16
Schonberg,Hindemith,Bartok,Stravinsky,Krenek,Weill, Toch,
theirstudents,and literaryapologists,all lumped togetherby the
Nazis, emigrated.The "non-Aryan,"other"raciallyalien element"
and ideologicallydefined untragbareexponents of decadence,
materialism,intellectualism, individualism, primitivism, and other
anathemaswere collectivelydenouncedas artfremd, and generally
classifiedunder the epithetsof atonalityor jazz. Atonalityas a
collective expressionof serious music having gone wrong was
declared by AlfredRosenbergto be "contraryto the rhythmand
blood oftheGermanpeople." One of theforemost Nazi interpreters
ofmusic,WalterAbendrothpointed out thatthese "consciousema-
nationsof the disintegrating spirit,"had been conqueredby "our
volkischawakening."The former,representedby the international
music festivalsof modernmusic at Donaueschingen,with which
Hindemithhad been associated,was held to have been fundamen-
tally subvertedby an internationalspiritbent on destroyingall
notionsof "blood- and FoM;-dependent art." No "internationale"

^Frankfurter Zeitung
(September4, 1935);Wulf,Musik,125.
i5"Diedeutschen KomponistenaufSchlossBurg," tierStodt
Generalanzeiger
Wuppertal (May 11,1936);Wulf,Musik , 153-154.
l6Seetheannouncements fiirMusik
inthepagesofDie MusikandZeitschrift
of1933;alsoSlonimsky,561-801.

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 MusicintheThirdReich 11

convenedin theGermanyofWalterAbendroth.He welcomeda new

kind of presentationwhich featuredan internationalfestivalof
modernmusiccomprisedof "representatives of differentnationali-
ties,different folk-characters." He announcedin 1936 that"pure
atonalitylay buried,appearingas old-fashioned in occasional hear-
ings."17Popular forms of musical entertainment were also screened
foralien elementsand collectively rejected jazz. The youngcom-
as
poser of serious and popular music was asked to relateto his own
traditionand Volk and to reject foreigninfluence.There was no
need forjazz, "since we Germansare able to communicatequite
adequately in our own musical idiom," wrote the musicologist
RichardLitterscheid in theNational-Zeitung of Essen, as he echoed
officialsentiment.18
HavingpurgedGermany'spopularmusicof alieninfluencesand
its seriousmusicof atonalityand otherdisintegrating and primitivis-
tic elements,the youngGerman composercould contemplatehis
missionin termsof the establishedpopular base. He was to be
exposed exclusivelyto the soundsof the nativefolksongs,military
and brassconcerts,properformsof musicalentertainment, and his
own high-arttradition.In close contactwiththeculturalrevolution
of NationalSocialismand itspageantry,he was readyto producea
newmusic.19
Participatingin the "regeneration"of German culture,"the
youngcomposerno longerwritesforan audience,"said the com-
poser Hans Uldall in 1937, "but forhis people." Saved fromthe
marketplace,esotericintellectualsand alien influences,"the ideo-
logical foundationwill give direction and purpose to artistic
creativity, guidingit intohealthyand practicalpaths.. . . Artin the
serviceof an ideal has alwaysbeen a fruitful undertaking."By an
act of will the acknowledgedproblemsinherentin the evolutionof
twentieth-century music were believed to have been eliminated.
"The idea determines the purpose of composition,and purpose
createsform.We are stillin search of new formswhichwill truly

l7Rosenberg, Gestaltung derIdee (Munich,1940) 337; Wulf,Musik , 230;

Abendroth , "Neue Musikaus neuerGesinnung," DeutschesVolkstum
(Hamburg, 1936) 555-556;Wulf,Musik , 365-370;Slonimskyreferenceto
Baden-Baden 624;andWulf,"UmPaul Hindemith,"
festival, Musik,371-
382.
18Wulf,Musik , 386.SeeWulfsentire sectionon "Jazz,"383-396.
i9SeeSiegfried Scheffler between
distinguishing "serious"andentertainment
music,thelatter as anexpression
presented ofpopularculturewhich"isable
to influencean unsuspecting ("Deutsche
publicinstantly." Unterhaltungs-
musik " Die Musik,
April,1941,229-231.)

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12 Historical
Reflections

reflectthe spiritof the time,but we are aware of somethingnew

emergingin thefestiveand solemnmusicals,open-airfestivals, mass
choruses,youthmusic-festivals, and folkinstrumental musicals-
eventsinwhichtheyoungmusiciancan talkto hisfellowGerman."20
Attendingmusicspectacularsas well as otherNazi pageantries
theyoungmusicianheardGoebbels' speecheson cultureamidstthe
sound of fanfares,the brass of officialorchestras,and even tradi-
tional orchestraswhichofferedthe heroictraditionof select great
masters.The contemporarywas frequentlyrepresentedby Hans
Pfitzner'smusic,particularly his Von DeutscherSeele, performed as
complement to the party special Deutschland Erwache . The
audienceswouldjoin in massivesupportof thesesolemntones,and
readingsby professionalactorsof Hitler'sthoughtson popularcul-
tureand the artswereofferedin the absence of the leader himself.
Withinthis atmospherethe contemporary composer was to find
inspirationforwhichin turnhe was awarded scholarships,prizes,
and careers.
Partymusicplayeda keyrolein thesepartyaffairs,particularly
21
the fighting song traditionof the StormTroopers,the SA. The
originalrepertoire was enrichedby a greatnumberof compositions
dedicatedto Hitler,otherpartyleaders,and theNazi spirit.Cantatas
wereoffered, suchas thoseofFritzBiichtger, an otherwiseunknown
individualat thattime.The mostprolificcomposerforofficialcele-
brationswas GeorgBlumensaat,who was activein theReich Youth
Authoritiessince 1934 and whose songbooksand marchesforthe
HitlerYouthwerepropagatedbytheNazi press.At one demonstra-
tionof theNS-Kulturgemeinde , he offereda compositionwhichwas
praised in the pressfor itscompactand consistent formand declared
to be quitein contrastto othermoreobviouslytendentious offerings
composedspecifically butnotverysuccessfully fortheHitlerYouth,
the HJ. Blumensaatwas said to have succeeded in masteringthe
interplay of orchestra,song,dialogueand choralverse,therebycon-
veyingtheidea of a modernoratory.He organizedthework,based
on theFuhrer'swords,in fourmovements, displaying,accordingto
Nazi critics,noteworthy and workmanship,
inventiveness all in effec-
tiveand beautifulterms.A criticrecommendedthiscompositionas
a model foryoungcomposers.The new compositionwithHitler's
words formedone part of an eventwhichpresentedRosenberg's

20"Weltanschauliche
Grundlagen Die Musik(May,1937)
einerneuenMusik,"
674-675.
211havewritten A Singing
on"TheSA SongLiterature: Posture,"
Ideological
ofPopularCulture.
intheJournal
forthcoming

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 MusicintheThirdReich 13

lectureon " Weltanschauung and Culture"and whichclosed withthe

finalchorusofPfitzner's cantataVon DeutscherSeele - thekindof
programfrequently heardin Germany.22
More important thanthesimpleand thegrandiosecompositional
contributions was the totaleffectof the presentation, in whichthe
Nazi traditionwas commemoratedand confirmed.The partycon-
ventionwas the ideal mediumformusicalofferings. The Parteitag
der Arbeit(PartyCongressof Labor), 1937, was recalled by one
observeras an imposing,solemnprocessionof the leaders and the
standard-bearers, accompaniedby the festivesounds of the Reich
SymphonyOrchestraled by Franz Adam and Erich Kloss. The
musicalpartof the festivities was introducedwithWagner'sRienzi
overture.An appeal was thenmade to all composersin Germanyto
create solemnmusic forsuch occasions. They were asked to take
theirtime,however,so thatgreatmusicwouldemergeout of "inner
tensionand not by use of patheticmeans simulatinggenuineex-
perienceas has beencustomary inthepast." Politicaldemonstrations
generally included such presentations of a musicalprogramof the
great masters and contemporary productionswrittenspecifically for
the occasion. The political elite itselfwould participatein the
preparation.Franz Adam composedfortheseevents,"consecration
fanfaresof verygreatdistinction and strongpolyphonictensionfor
trumpets and trombones which sounded at the momentof the
Fuhrer'sapproach."For thisPartyConventionof 1937, theOrdens-
burgVogelsangcontributed witha "striking flag-raisingsong."After
a ceremonycommemorating the dead, a solemn hymnof Franz
Adam was soundedas "life-affirming" highpoint. The enthusiastic
commentatornoted thatthe fanfaresmightserve as model in the
area of the new sound whichaffirmeda new way of life without
destroying theold in theprocess.23
At somepartyconventionsovera thousandmusicianswereused
in behalfof themass appeal of NationalSocialismand forobvious
propagandisticand acousticeffects.As in all massiveNazi demon-
strations,formulators of new musiccultureaimed at theelimination
of complicatedtechnique,thepossibility of reflection,and theculti-
vationoffinersensibilities.Pure and imposingsoundwas important.
All individualidentitywas to be submergedin thechorusof massive
however,thattheorganizersofthemusical
oneness.It is interesting,

22Gustav - General-
Cords,"Das grosseKonzertin derDeutschlandhalle
am
Berlin 4.3.1933";Wulf,
appellderNS-Kulturgemeinde, Musik, 143-144.
23ErwinBauer,"Musikauf demParteitag Die Musik-Woche
derArbeit,"
Musik
9, 1937)6; Wulf,
(October , 248-249.

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14 Historical
Reflections

programforthe partyconventionof 1938 acknowledgedfailurein

theattemptto integrate thehumanvoice in a chorusof 1,600 mem-
bersformass effect.The voice apparently did notlend itselfto these
demonstrations as did brassinstruments,whichweremoreadaptable
to the physicaland visual displaysof the day.24Nonetheless,the
people were to sing. All the people can participate,wrote one
enthusiast:"We no longerstand outsideof officialmusic,we no
longerfightas lowlycompetitors, we belong,we are a people also in
music. . . . We have the people singingalready.The people per-
forming willbe thesalvationoftheconcertstage."25
The officialReichsmusiktage in Dusseldorfin 1938, knownfor
theinclusionofa displayof"degenerate"and "raciallyalien" music,
also offeredthenewmusicoftheThirdReich. Indeed,theold guard
ofNazi stalwartsadded newcompositions written fortheoccasionto
theirexistingliteratureof Hitler dedications and political testi-
monials. A new work of Graener, with the movemententitled
"Solemn Hour" of "strictform,rhythmic and hymnlikemelody"
opened the festivities underthe leadershipof DusseldorfGeneral-
musikdirektor Hugo Balzer. Graener,who explainedthepurposeof
the Reichsmusiktage , pointedout that,"in additionto the proven
and traditional,experiment - insofaras ittouchesthedomainofthe
-
soul was notto be forgotten." As on mostsuchoccasions,Wagner
was offered.The firstmovementof his C-major Symphony(a
productofhisyouth)providedthefinishing touchesto thefestivities
whichwereclosed witha three-fold Sieg Heil to theFiihrerand the
singingof Germanhymns.26
Even the one-timerevolutionary Strauss was encouragedto
compose a National Socialistmusic drama, in spiteof the reserva-
tionshe had demonstrated towardthe new order.We can assume
that this talentedcraftsmancould have produced a monumental
oratoriumcloselyobservingtechnicalspecifications and celebrating
the dawn of a new civilization.Instead,he composed a comedy,
Arabella, also Die SchweigsameFrau, and the one-act opera,
Friedenstag , premieredat theMunichStateOpera, and Daphne, at
theDresdenOpera, thelattertwo worksin 1938.27He did notlend
himselfto thenew spirit.

24Helmut "Blasmusik
Majewski, aufdemReichsparteitag 1938,"Musikin
JugendundVolk(1937-1938),
547-550.
"Konzert
25KarlSchiiler, undVolkstum," MagdeburgerZeitung(February
20,1934);Wulf, 278-279.
Musik,
26Berliner
Lokal-Anzeiger ot
(May 24, 1938). Moreabouttheexhibition
670;andWulf,
Musik"inSloninisky,
"entartete , 460-471.
Musik
570,675.Wulf,
27Slonimsky, Musik, 194-202.

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 MusicintheThirdReich 15

WhileGraener,bornin 1872, belongedto an older generation,

newmen also offeredtheirservices.The talentedWernerEgk, born
in 1901, contributed to Nazi pageantrywithmusicforthe national
mysteryplay, Hiob der Deutsche, 1933, forWeinheber's"greater
Germanconsecrationplay," Die hohenZeichen, 1939, and forthe
propagandafilmBlaue Jungs , 1941, whichincludesthe "stirringly
demagogic Marsch der deutschen Jugend ." Egk also composed
operas, one of which had earned him a "national prizeforcomposi-
tion,"amountingto 10,000 RM; pieces fororchestra,two of which
had been substitutedfor Hindemithworks at the sixthFrankfurt
Museum Concertsin 1938; and a workwhichhad been offeredat
thethirdconcertof themusicalstaffof theSS Leadership.In addi-
tion,one heardEgk's intonationof Klopstock'shymn,Mein Vater-
land, 1937, whichwas not so harmlessin theThirdReich and was
applied to Goebbels' propagandafilm,Das deutscheLied, and the
well-known musicforthefestivalperformance, OlympischeJugend,
commissionedbyHitlerforthe 1936 Olympics,forwhichhe earned
thegoldmedal.28
Most activityin thisarea of partycompositionsinvolvedcom-
posersofless staturethanGraenerand Egk. These othercomposers
produced volkisch- Nazi compositionscategorizedas German folk
songs.Some songsweremorefrequently heardthanothers:Gustav
Buchsenschutz's MarkischeHeide, ArnoPardun'sVolkans Gewehr,
and thoseof Hans Baumann,HerbertNapiersky,GerhardMaass,
ReinholdStapelwerk,HermannBlume,HansheinrichDrausmann,
and Hugo Rasch.29Compositionswereofferedfortheorgan,which
was especially suited for the solemn occasions of party events,
nationalcelebrationsand choralworks.Patrioticprogramswerealso
presentedovertheradio,sometimesforno specialoccasion,at other
timesforsuch eventsas Hitler'sbirthdaywhichin 1933 culminated
in the choral cycle of RichardTrunk,Du mein Deutschland. This
professoroftheCologneMusikhochschule also composeda cycleof
fourchoral movementsentitled,Hitler,Des FuhrersWachter,O
Land, and HorstWessel,to thewordsofBaldurvonSchirach,forthe
Feier der neuen Front, November30, 1933. The German Labor
Front,the DAF , offeredan annual prize forthe compositionmost
suitableformass-choralpresentation. was
The male chorustradition

28FredK. Prieberg,
"DerFallWerner Egk,"Die Zeit(April29,1970).Subject
ofa post-war hefileda suitagainst
controversy, thecontemporary composer
KonradBohmer whohadcalledhim"oneoftheworst inNazimusic
figures
politics.'* tohiscompositions
References throughout 561-801.
Slonimsky,
29Alfred
Berner,"Das deutsche
Volkslied," DeutscheMusikkultur(1936-1937)
116.

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16 Historical
Reflections

keptalive in compositions, forexamplebyHermannGrabnerin the

cycleformale chorus,Der Fackeltrager.The DeutscherSdngerbund
propagatednew workssuch as HermannSimon'sBauernerde, Karl
Schuler'sLied derBauleute, and songsofWalterHeusel and Konrad
Ramrath.30The composers of songs were reviewed in groups,
whereasthemajorartistswho lentthemselvesto officialceremonies
receivedindividualtreatment in the coordinatedpress and in the
Jahrbucher , which were essential readingfor anyoneinterestedin
thisfieldof accomplishment in compositionwithinthe broad out-
linesofNazi culture.31
AlthoughNazi musicwas heardin theThirdReich and inspired
creativeacts,the intendedrenaissancewas not realized.The ideals
were announceduniversally,and the streets,beer halls, and folk
festivalsrespondedto thecall. However,theartisticevolutionwithin,
a necessaryingredientof any meaningfulcreative output, was
arrested.Talented Nazi sympathizers and career-oriented oppor-
tunistsalike admittedthatthepoliticalrevolutionwould be realized
in musicalcreativity onlyin thefuture.WernerEgk, who headed the
corporateprofessionof composerswithinthe RMK after 1941,
wrotein the VolkischerBeobachteras late as 1943 thattherevival
of compositionwas at presentbased on "folk-classical"forms.
Referring to a "recuperativeprocesswhich,indeed,has been mani-
festedin composition,"he hopedfor"an allianceof an ideal politics
withreal artso thatall humanendeavorwillbe again directedfrom
itsnaturalroots."32
PerhapsEgk was posinga problemwhichhad no solutioninas-
muchas thetraditional developmentwithinthe sophisticatedstages
of musichad been brokenoff.The anachronismof the volkischand
classic as guidingprinciplesin a cultureof revolutionary musical
is
development hardly key the for thediscovery of the rootsof life.
FritzStegeignoredtheproblemaltogether. If thenew culturewas to
giveriseto newcreativity, he wrote,thenthisendeavoroughtnotto
be confusedwiththesearchfora new formof music."There is no
suchthingas NationalSocialistmusic,"he wrotein 1942. "Thereis,
however,an art whichregardsNationalSocialism as its source of
experience.It is indebtedto National Socialism for its spiritual

3"Kleine - Gesellschaften
Mitteilungen undVereine," fiirMusik
Zeitschrift
(November, 1934)1173.
3lHelImuthvonHase (ed.), Jahrbuchderdeutschen Musik(Leipzig/Berlin,
1943);AlbertDreetzandHellmuth vonHase(eds.,)Jahrbuchderdeutschen
Musik(Leipzig/ Berlin,
1944).
32"Worum es gingundworum es geht,"Volkischer
Beobachter 14,
(February
1943).

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 MusicintheThirdReich 17

stimulation.A symphony,as absolute music in no apparentway

relatedto NationalSocialism,can demonstrate NationalSocialismto
a greaterdegreethan a workof art bearingthe National Socialist
attribute by non-musicalmeans- insofaras the NationalSocialist
sentiment determines thepersonalconstruction of thesymphony."33
In the 1940's, the appraisalof compositionsoundslike an echo of
the sentimentsof 1933. Dresden musicologistEugen Schmitz
reflected on thisverypointin 1939 in an articlein theZeitschrift fur
Musik. Regardingopera as an ideal formof National Socialist
musicalexpression,he could findaccomplishment in thiscategory
only in terms of not
organization, of creativity. acknowledgedthe
He
tremendous regenerative effort
of National Socialismin thepast five
of
years, referring, course, to ideological definitionand actual
purges. He listed the products the formerera as degenerate,
of
decadent, alien and immoral.He castigatedatonalmusic,thatsense-
less negationof all "naturallaw" of formand the "raciallyalien
negroidjazz," all of whichhad affectedopera production.National
Socialismhad eliminatedthemanifestations ofa pastera fromopera.
This completed"surgicalact," nevertheless had to be followedby
somethingpositive. Schmitz believed that in spite of tremendous
activity no
on thestagesof Germany, newly created opera withcon-
temporarysubjectshad been added to the repertoire;in fact,"the
stylizedformof opera resistssuch efforts.The person of Horst
Wesselmightlendhimselfto spokendrama,butas an operatenor,in
thecompanyofbaritoneand bass SA friendsand communist antago-
nists,thissortof herocould deteriorate to thatformof nationalistic
Kitschwhichhas been denouncedbytheNationalSocialiststateand
forbiddenon culturalgrounds."34And in 1940 even Rosenberg
impliedin his Gestaltungder Idee thatonlythe theoreticalbasis of
something newwas created;he nonethelessvoicedfaithin thefuture
and in Germanyouthwhich"will expressin powerfulrhythm the
immediateexperienceof our time."35
The literaturefromthe late 1930's to 1945 reflectsthe general
conclusionthatorganization, policy,program, and evenmorerefined
theory were but
well-established, thatthe creative era in musichad
not yet dawned. Displays of the past were not followedby com-
parable productsof the new age; the era was one of struggleand
intentions.Irrespectiveof the impactof the Nazis upon music,the

ttVolkische (1936), 91; Wulf,Musik

Musikerziehung , 247. See Jayabout
similar inMarxist
splits 173-175.
circles,
imAufbau,"
34"Oper fiirMusik(April,1939),380-382.
Zeitschrift
Musik
337;Wulf,
35Rosenberg, , 230.

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18 Historical
Reflections

traditionalestablishmentmanagedto produceitstraditionaltypeof
music. Furtwanglercontinuedcomposingin conservativemanner
and style,followingthosetraditionalformswhichwere considered
tragbarin theThirdReich. This was musicof a past era which,as
Furtwangler laterclaimed,was one formofinneremigration. When-
ever political circumstancesforced him into semi-retirement, he
produceda numberof compositions.A piano concertoof 1942 was
to reflecthis "tragic figure,"as he wrote to his friendLudwig
Curtius.36To be sure,Furtwangler inpreservingmuchoftheold also
encouraged youngergeneration. biographerin theNazi period
the A
listedan impressivenumberof contemporary composerswho were
promotedby him,including youngergroupwhichincludedKurt
a
Hessenberg,Heinz Schubert,WernerEgk, and Carl Orff.German
concert halls, opera stages, and other institutionssuch as the
academiesand provincialconservatories, continuedtheirsupportof
theirgenerallytraditionalformof composition.Some of it was
applauded,whilesome was merelyacceptedor tolerated,but none
can be regardedas the fulfillment of earlierNazi claims. Still,the
Nazis would not admitfailure.The new generation,a Nazi critic
claimed,had undertakenthe revivalof opera in the spiritof the
present,realizingthat
opera,throughthesuggestiveeffectsof itsmanifestelementsof
style,has remainedan artisticmediumof profoundimportance,
particularlysinceevenin timesofextremecrisisthepeoplenever
ceased to remainfaithful to opera. If the presentmusicgenera-
tionreplacestheformerly individualisticpsychologicaldevelop-
ment of the characterswith a supra-individual type,given to
objectiveconsiderations,and ifit stressesgeneralcommunity in
its music-dramaticexperiments,the fate of entiregroups of
people ratherthanindividualheroes,thentheyoungmanifestin
artisticformtheNationalSocialistconceptofcommunity.37
Thus defined,National Socialismwas incorporatedin workscom-
posed in theThirdReich by membersof theRMK , the articlecon-
tinued. WernerEgk's Peer-Gyntand Rudolph Wagner-Regeny's
Burgervon Calais werepremieredin Berlinin 1939 in responseto
a commissionof Berlin State Opera Director Tietjen, "deriving
impulsesfromthecontemporary Zeitgeistand imprintingnewmusi-
cal and scenic formson opera throughinnovationin style."Carl

36Wilhelm 1964),Letter
e, ed. FrankThiess(Wiesbaden,
Brief
Furtwangler
No. 97.
3?Otto "Dietiefcren
Eckstein-Ehrenegg, Ursachen undderWeg
derOpernkrise
ihrerUberwindung," furMusik(February,
Zeitsclirift 1942)62-65.

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 MusicintheThirdReich 19

Orffwas also listedas a followerofnewdevelopments withhisopera

DerMond, premieredin Munichin 1939.38Orffbecameincreasingly
popular,offering new workswhichin theiraffinity to some aspects
of what National Socialism asked of composition,constitutea
remarkablecoordinationof the mass-demandsof organizedmusic
cultureand thatof an independentartistwho would have produced
regardlessof officialstandards.
It would appear that opera was indeed the ideal form for
NationalSocialism.It allowed forthe presentation of program,the
creation of heroes and enemies in physicalterms,and the all-
encompassingstructurewhichcould be said to reflectthe spiritof
community, of National Socialism,as of Wagner'sconceptionof a
complete work ofart.Opera was alive,butnewformsofsignificance
were not created in proportionto Nazi expectations.Fritz von
Borries, Walter Abendroth,Karl Blessinger,Oskar von Pander,
GeorgBlumensaat,Franz Adam,SiegfriedScheffler, and numerous
othercomposers,Nazi organizersof music, and frequentcontribu-
tors to the literaturereviewedhere as primarysources of Nazi
opinion,have notbeen remembered fortheircreativecontributions.
Theircompositionsare not heardtoday,althoughtheirnames have
become attachedto the artifactsof an epoch which recordedits
sentiments. Graenertoo combinesall thesequalitiesin his person,
althoughhe cannot be comparedto the othersas composer.This
respectedmusicianin Nazi ranks,the subject of celebrationand
honorsin theThirdReich,wrotean opera,Der Prinzvon Homburg,
whichpremieredin March 1935. He wrotea letterto Hitlerperson-
ally,askingthechancellorto attenda performance at theStateOpera.
"It tookme years,"he wrote,"to compose thisopera as a national
workof art."39Thus,thegreaterand thelessermusiciansupheldthe
traditionand theirprofessionwithina societywhicheitherappealed
to themor was at least acceptableto the pointof accommodation.
In theirartisticofferings,however,theirsignificanceis established
as mediocreimitation ofBrahms,Wagner,or evenStrauss,whilethe
progressivetraditionof Germanywas largelypreservedabroad in
the wide spectrumencompassingSchonberg,Hindemith,Bartok,
Stravinsky, Weill,Toch, and others.
In spiteof the generalorientationof composition,some expo-
nents of the progressiveschool presentedworks inside Germany
regardless of ideological guidelines. The performanceof such
modernisticspirits as Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky,Hindemith,

681-686.
62-65.SeealsoSlonimsky,
38Eckstein-Ehrenegg,
Musik,96-97.
39Wulf,

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20 Historical
Reflections

Honegger,Carl Niellsenand AlexanderScriabinbyFurtwangler has

been notedby his biographerFriedrichHerzfeld.But even in the
fieldof compositionthelinksto an international progressiveschool
were not totallybroken.One Nazi commentator even allowed for
the existenceof "atonal music" as long as its creator invented
genuinemusical themeswhichwere systematically developed and
in
presented existing art form. In most cases, however,the efforts
were deemed fruitless,since critics declared this music to be
generallyresponsiveonlyto thedictatesofthemind,requiringgreat
technicalmastery,while leavingthe generalmusical sense empty
and dissatisfied.One such composition,a "Missa brevis"by Her-
mann Reutter,whichwas presentedby the NorddeutscherRund-
funk, was said to deservethe characteristic Nazi classificationas
"bolshevismin music." Reutter's opus was writtenas chamber
music,forvoice (soprano), violinand cello. "In thefieldof instru-
mentalmusic,composersmightadhereto certainmoderndirections,
butin thearea oftext. . . morethanpurelymusical-technical playis
required."The partforvoice was judgedtoo difficult, and muchof
the remainderof the workwas criticizedas "a confusionof tone-
sequence in whichmusical licentiousnesscelebratesreal orgies."
The authorsuspectedthat"thisworkintentionally rejectedall ofthe
past and that the musical laws of structure,form, melody,harmony
and treatment oftextwereconsciouslyrelegatedto thejunkroom."40
Yet thetwelve-tone opera,Michael Kohlhaas, by Paul von Klenau,
and compositionsby the "quarter-Jew"HeinrichKaminski,and
modernisticworksby Paul Hofferand Carl Orffwere composed,
heard and tolerated.Such contradictions betweentheoryand prac-
tice abounded throughoutthe Third Reich; the saxophone, for
example,was bannedbyGoebbels- yetused in Goring'sAirForce
Orchestra.Most significant in the categoryof progressivemusic is
the work of the SchonbergstudentWinfriedZillig whose operas
Rosse, Das Opferand Die Wildbraut,were premieredin the Third
Reich, thoughbanished fromprogramsthereafter.In all three
worksZilligappliedSchonberg'stwelve-tone technique.Throughthe
use of "serial forms"he attemptedto clarifythat relationshipto
tonality which Schonberg had earlier characterizedwith the
prophecy,"One day we maybe able to unmasktonalityas a special
case of the twelve-tonesystem."41 Zilligalso wrotea cycle of songs

40"Bolschewismus Beobachter
inderMusik,"Volkischer (February10,1933).
On May26, 1936Reutter's Faustwas produced
operaDoktorJohann in
Frankfurt
(Slonimsky,628).
der neuenMusik
Zillig,Von Wagnerbis Strauss:Wegbereiter
41Winfried
(Munich,
1966), 189-190.

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 MusicintheThirdReich 21

and othertwelve-tone chamberand orchestramusic,but,it mustbe

admitted,fewof hisworkswereheardsubsequentto theirpremiere.
Afterthe war he reintroducedmany of those works to Germany
whichtheThirdReichhad suppressed- "classics"ofthenewmusic
whichwere heardthusforthe firsttimein Germany.
At theirbest,Nazi sympathizers in musicrecognizedone of the
seriousproblemsstillpresentin our own musicalculture,described
byPaul HenryLang as "thefrustrating isolationofyoungcomposers
and performers fromeach other,whichis intensified by the often
unsympathetic attitudeofperformers towards themusic oftheirown
time."He added,"althoughthissituationhas beenabundantly recog-
nized,mostattemptsat alleviationhavebeendiffuseand sporadic."42
Max Trapp,a composerofsomereputation, lenthimselfto theinter-
estsof thenew Nazi community withan articleentitled"Appeal to
theCreative,"publishedin June1933. He took issue withthe state
ofcompositionand referred to a 1922 articleof his in whichhe had
called on fellowcomposersto preservethefunctionof melodyas a
means of savingmusic fromchaos. Trapp attackedthe all-stifling
intellect,whichhe called pitfallsof self-deception and to whichhe
attributedthe suppressionof the composer'snaturalinclinations.
In 1933, a yearin which"timehas become the just judge," Trapp
felthis viewsconfirmedand vindicated,whereasbefore1933 "the
people had been removedfromthe arts,leavingthefieldto a small
clique of bloodlessideologists.. . . Ornamentation, the graphicline
alone, satisfied,substitutedforgenuineintuitionand spiritualcon-
tent."He thenfaced the questionof accomplishment; firstposing
one himself."What have you done withthosewho were willingto
create nativeart? You destroyedthemthroughfalse examples or
by means of normsof an alien race, or, iftrueto themselves,they
were rarelyheard,doomed to perish. . . . Withthe new Weltan-
schauungwe gaineda victoryforGermany."In spiteof thissenseof
accomplishment, Trapp set theprecedentwithhis 1933 articlefor
looking to the futureforfulfillment. "This victoryis to be exploited
in strenuouslabor,strictdiscipline,and withgreatresponsibility to
ouryouth.Onlywhenthewholepeople participatesin our collective
creativeeffort,onlywhenitviewsnewmusicwithoutreservation and
fear,whenactivelyreadyto enjoy a new composition, then we will
have a new art."43A rereadingof Egk's article on the stateof com-
positionin 1942 confirms theconclusionthatin thearea ofcomposi-

Lang(ed Problems
42paulHenry ofModernMusic:ThePrinceton
Seminar
inAdvancedMusicalStudies(NewYork,1960),17.
UDieMusik(June,
1933) 649-652.

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22 Historical
Reflections

tion, the impact of National Socialism was purelynegativeand

anticipatory.For both idealists and totalitariansthe revolution
would be able to bear fruitin creativefieldsonly afterthe total
victoryof NationalSocialism.
Even lightmusicfailedto live up to the preceptsof the official
policy. The composer Carl Ehrenbergaddressed the "Southern
GermanConventionon New LightMusic" in 1942, an assemblage
of southernGerman composersof "good entertainment music,"
stressingthe culturalsignificance of thiskind of music because of its
great popularity. As in all such conventions, he encouragedthe
raising of emotional and artisticvalues in the sense of a "purgingof
alien, in particular,jazzlike influence,which still appears occa-
sionally as an unfortunate reminderof vanquished times." The
program of thisparticular convention covered"entertainment of the
eighteenth century"by Telemann and Mozart. Such was progress
undertheNazis.44
National Socialism did not fulfillitselfin the delicate area of
musical composition.Ulrich Dibelius, music critic and musical
journalistat the Bavarian Radio in Munich,notedin his Moderne
Musik 1945-1965 thatwiththeexceptionof theVienneseschool of
Schonberg,Webern,and Berg, music of the twentiesand thirties
mustbe styledas "neoclassicism."He pointedout thatduringthe
ThirdReichmusicin Germanyconsisteduniquelyof"victoryhymns
and marchingsongs,"and thatnot muchgood music,qualitatively
or quantitatively, was composed,noteven in secret.An excuse had
been offeredearlierby one of the main Nazi authoritieson race
theory,RichardEichenauer,who criticizedhis partyfriendsfordis-
regardingone basic assumptionof NationalSocialism,thatof racial
improvement as prerequisite ofall success."Significant and enduring
he
renewal," argued in Musik und Rasse , "may be expected in the
cultural-political area only when the biologicalprerequisiteshave
been established.This workcalls forthinkingat least in termsof
decades,betteryetofcenturies.. . . NationalSocialismis engagedin
directing thewholepeopletowardsomething better,but"- and this
is thesignificant point - "National Socialism cannotraisethevalue
ofexisting individuals. . . . Our volkisch renewal" is to be thoughtof
as "an endeavorof generations. If we were asked whetherwe may
look forwardto greattone masters, true to our spiritualnature,in
the future,race researchmust answer that this is not an artistic

"EineWocheUnterhaltungsmusik
4*FranzGotzfried, Zeit-
in Miinchen,"
1942)408-412.
fiirMusik(September,
schrift

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 MusicintheThirdReich 23

question,but simplyone which involvesthe laws of life, i.e., a

biologicalnecessity."45
Musical creativityhad firstbeen redefinedin termsof thecom-
munity.Increasingly, however,thefactorofrace establisheditselfas
themostfundamental and powerfulcomponentof Nazi ideologyin
its philosophicattemptto undo traditionalsocial theoriesas under-
stood in the Westerntradition.When racistfeaturesof the Third
Reich became more apparent,the relationshipbetweenmusic and
race gained in generalinterestand esteem.The questionof racial
contentand raciallydetermining featuresbecame mostimportant in
all areas of music,and the theoreticians promoted their"science"
withzeal. Even the noted musicologistFriedrichBlume wrotein
1938 thatthe relationshipof music and race mustbe considered
fundamental in any evaluationof music. Beforemusic would gain
fromtheseinsights,however,the science of race in its relationto
music had to be furtherexplored.At present,the science lagged
behind,he noted, althoughthe intuitiveracial feelingscould be
applied already.46Compositionwas conceivedas a formof expres-
sion of thepeople, thecommunity, the race. On the questionof an
era of new creativity, the science of race offeredthe perfectalibi.
The briefexperienceofNazismin powercould be ofno consequence
to thetheoretician dealingin generationsand centuries,who spoke
of a new man. How thenargue withsuch a position?
The problemsof music mightnot be soluble in ideologicalor
sociologicalterms.Hans Mersmannoffereda tellingpointofviewin
his Eine deutscheMusikgeschichte . This workwas devotedto the
maintenanceof musicologicalstandards,yet was subjectedto the
coordinatedcriticismof colleagues in 1934, since it argued that
musicwas stillin thesame criticalstateas before.He acknowledged
thatthe timedid not yetallow meaningfulanalysis."The develop-
mentofsubjectiveindividualism, ofisolationof thepersonality from
community is
music, consequently maintained," he concludcd. Like
his volkisch and Nazi cplleagues, he deplored the riftbetween
modernartand thepeople.He acknowledgedtheefforts of theThird
Reich in overcomingthisestrangement, but regrettedthatthiswas
done throughattemptsat linkingup withthe lastingcontributions
of the past. Thus, Wagner'smusicdrama bccame fundamental, as
Bayreuthsymbolized the community-creating power of an idea.
MersmannacknowledgedthatWagner'saimsstooda good chanceof

45Richard Musikutu!Rasse(Munich,
Eichenauer, 1937)316.
46"Musik einermusikalischen
undRasse,Grundfragen Die
Rassenforschung,"
Musik(August,
1938)737.

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24 Historical
Reflections

realization.This is a mostinteresting commentary of a respectable

musicologist, although official
pressure must be taken into account
in a trueevaluationof thesesentiments. Mersmannreflectedaccu-
ratelyNazi efforts to relatethe productivenineteenth centurywith
the timesof National Socialismin a dialecticprocess,denyingall
recentdevelopmentsin the art.Yet Mersmannrecognizedthe self-
defeatingaim of a movementwhichwas dedicatedto winningover
the youngby means of a past more distantthanthatremembered
by most members of the older generation.He suggestedthat
NationalSocialismmustfinda way intothefuture.That, of course,
is eitherthemarkof a cynicor of an optimistwho is too willingto
overlookgivenconditions.47 In fairness,however,thisassessmentof
Nazi accomplishment mustbe understoodin thecontextofgenerally
acknowledgedcrisis.The Americancomposerand one of the most
giftedcontemporarycommentators, Virgil Thomson, has argued
thattheevolutionof tonalpossibilitiesand grammarhad been com-
pletedby 1914, and thatsincethenonlyvariationof expressionhas
been possible,a view sharedby Theodor W. Adorno in A Itemder
Neuen Musik. Dibelius reads an elementof "disillusion"into all
moderncomposition.KarlheinzStockhausen,forinstance,demon-
stratesa musicfullofcontradictions thefurtherhe travels,although
he is unique, original,and strong,notwithstanding his attemptto
subordinatehis musicto his ideas of a social revolutionof the late
1960's and 1970's. PierreBoulez also wantsto expandtheold rather
than discover new forms,and, aftera hopefulbeginning,Hans
WernerHenze fellintothe categoryof Gesellschaftskunst , thereby
reflectingthespiritof thepublic,thepatron.48
In strictlymusical terms,indebtednessto the past distinctly
characterized themusicalworldoftheNazis. Perhapsuncomfortable
in the surroundings of Nazi Germanyor fruitlessly attempting to
interpretthe essence of the new Germanyin musical terms, the
composerof thistwelve-year periodwas spellboundby the product
of the ideologicalforebear,Richard Wagner,as acknowledgedby
the most representative Nazi spokesmanin music,WalterAben-
droth. The problems of modern music were illustratedin this
indebtedness.The synthesisof popular and high art in the Third
Reich remainedan ideal. The artitselfresistedcommand.

47HansMersmann,Einedeutsche 1934)506.
(Potsdam,
Musikgeschichte
48Spiegel(December
12,1966).

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 MusicintheThirdReich 25

Les nazis croyaientque la musiqueclassique et la culturepopulaire

pouvaientetre integrees.En effet,les nazis pensaientque par un
retour aux origines,aux motifset aux rythmesfolkloriques,la
regeneration de la musiqueallemandepouvaittriompher.
Avec l'etablissement de l'Acte surles carrieresdu servicepublic,
de nouvelleslois sur les droitsd'auteurs,et une serie de lois culmi-
nerentdans la "Loi du Reich pour le Ministerede la Culture"
(22 Septembre1933). Par la creationde la Musique de Chambredu
Reich a laquelle tous les musiciensprofessionnels devaientappar-
tenir,les nazis etablirentrapidement les conditionsnecessairesa une
organisationeffective dans la domainede la musique.
Au debutRichardStraussaccepta la presidencede la R.M.R.,
mais quand sa devotionau regimenazi devintsuspecte,il futforce
de demissionneret futremplacepar d'autres,dont le zele pour le
nazismen'etaitpas encoreentame.
Les compositeurs devaientfuirles influences etrangeres,et eviter
les mauvaises influencesmusicaleset les Elementsdegeradantset
primitifs. Le jeune compositeurdevaitecrirepourle "peuple" plutot
que pour le public. Ceux qui avaient une bonne attitudeetaient
encouragesgrace a des bourses,a des prixet ils etaientassur6sde
de fairecarriere.
Le partipolitiquemusicalatteignait son summum.Des composi-
tionsrefletant la traditiondu partietaienttresdemandees.Bien sfir
Wagneretaitadule et il eclipsa les talentsentretenus par les nazis.
Les meilleursde ces compositeurs etaient Graener et Egk, maisleurs
efforts etaientsoutenuspar un public de moindre importance.
Cependant,meme parmiles musicologuesnazis, on admettait
qu'une vraie vague creativede la musique n'etaitpas encore sur-
venue.La theoriedu "folklore"encourageaun retourversles formes
traditionnelles dans la recherchepour une vraie essence revelatrice
- l'essence de Fame allemande.Une explicationdu manque de
compositionseminemment originatesetait,bien sur,que la musique
devait etre purifieedu point de vue de la race et on ne pouvait
s'attendrea des resultatsrapides. La purificationprendraitdes
generations.
A notreavis, quoiqu'il soit clair que les nazis inspirerentun
grandnombrede musiquespopulaires,ils ne reussirent pas a synth6-
tiserla culturepopulaire avec un haut degre d'art, parce que ce
resistaitaux ordresnazis.
dernier,d'une vraieoriginalite,

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26 Historical
Reflections

s'attendrea des resultatsrapides. La purificationprendraitdes

generations.
A notreavis, quoiqu'il soit clair que les nazis inspirerentun
grandnombrede musiquespopulaires,ils ne reussirent pas a synthe-
tiserla culturepopulaire avec un haut degre d'art, parce que ce
resistaitaux ordresnazis.
dernier,d'une vraieoriginalite,

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