The Nazis adopted the works of certain composers for
their own use.
At Nazi rallies and public events, marching music and
propaganda songs were employed to rouse and inspire the
crowds. Richard Wagner’s music was often prominently
featured and he is perhaps the composer most closely
associated with Nazism.
See the main article on Music in the Third Reich and
Richard Strauss.
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born in Leipzig on 22 May 1813
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his music is now often considered ‘tainted’ with
the ideological associations of the Third Reich
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wrote a now infamous essay Das Judentum in
der Musik (Judaism in Music) in 1850, stating
that Jews were incapable of true creativity
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Hitler felt a deep connection to Wagner and as
early as 1924 claimed that his own vision of a
future Germany was evident in the composer’s
music
[FULL ARTICLE]
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The Reichsmusikkammer (Reich Chamber of
Music) was founded just months after the Nazi
party came to power.
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It was set up to improve the situation of ‘Aryan’
musicians.
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It also sought to ‘cleanse’ the musical scene of
Jews, foreigners, and people who supported
the political ‘left’.
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The Jüdischer Kulturbund (Jewish Cultural
League), was founded at the same time, to try
and give jobs to the thousands of Jews fired
under Nazi legislation.
[FULL ARTICLE]
The Nazis attempted to ‘cleanse’ Germany of what they
considered to be unsuitable cultural influences.
The term entartet (‘degenerate’) was introduced by
nineteenth-century psychologists to describe any
deviance or clinical mental illness. The words "Jewish,"
"Degenerate," and "Bolshevik" were commonly used to
describe any art or music not acceptable to the Third
Reich.
In 1938, an exhibition was
mounted called ‘Entartete Musik’
(‘Degenerate Music’) in order to
point out to the German public
what music was degenerate
(meaning ‘not normal or
desirable’), to demonstrate its
dangers, and celebrate its
removal from German society.
Jazz and ‘Jewish’ music and
musicians were particular targets
of attack and censorship.
See articles on Ernest Krenek and Jonny spielt auf
