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When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", University of Southampton, name of the University School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination http://eprints.soton.ac.uk UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON FACULTY OF LAW, ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES School of Humanities Striking a Discordant Note: Protest Song and Working-Class Political Culture in Germany, 1844-1933 by Mark Colin Rose Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy September 2010 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON ABSTRACT FACULTY OF LAW, ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES Doctor of Philosophy STRIKING A DISCORDANT NOTE: PROTEST SONG AND WORKING- CLASS POLITICAL CULTURE IN GERMANY, 1844-1933 by Mark Colin Rose This thesis examines the role played by protest song in the development of the political culture of Germany’s industrial working class between 1844 and 1933. Protest song was an integral component in the struggle of the German working class to achieve some measure of political and social equality in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Throughout this period, the working class found itself subjected to varying levels of political repression by the German authorities, and in order to promote their political views, industrial workers used the medium of song to protest against injustice. The thesis seeks to determine the significance of protest song for the political development of the German industrial working class through an analysis of song lyrics. The study of working-class protest song lyrics has largely been the preserve of historians from the former German Democratic Republic, where scholarship was shaped by the unique political imperatives of history writing under the Communist regime. This thesis seeks to redress the historiographical imbalance that this approach engendered, arguing that protest song produced under the auspices of the Social Democrats was both a culturally valid and politically significant feature of German working-class political life, albeit one that offered a different ideological approach to that of the overtly revolutionary output of the Communist movement. Additionally this thesis will acknowledge that working-class song was not merely used as an instrument of protest, but also as a medium to communicate political ideology. Protest song was an integral part of the cultural capital of the working class milieu, creating a distinct canon upon which German industrial workers drew in a variety of political, social and cultural situations. This study will engage with this canon in order to establish how the cultural practice of singing endowed working-class protest songs with an intrinsic political significance. Contents Contents i List of Illustrations iv Declaration of Authorship v Acknowledgements vi List of Abbreviations vii Introduction Striking a Discordant Note: Protest Song and 1 Working-Class Political Culture, 1844-1933 The Aims of this Thesis 4 Songs and Associational Life 5 Protest Song Historiography 9 Definition of Terms 18 Sources 20 Methodological Approaches 21 Chapter Structure 23 Chapter 1 The Role of Protest Song in Working-Class 27 Political Culture The Relationship of Folk Song to Protest Song 27 The Role of Protest Song 33 Song as a Medium of Political Communication 41 The Emotive Aspect of Protest Song 46 The Effectiveness of Protest Song 49 Conclusion 51 Chapter 2 Responding to the Challenge of Protest Song 53 Protest Song after the Failure of the March 54 Revolution The Anti-Socialist Law 56 The Aftermath of the Anti-Socialist Law 60 Censoring Songs and Songbooks 65 Protest Song on the Streets 76 Conclusion 80 Chapter 3 The Origins of Working-Class Protest Song, 83 1844-1878 Protest Song prior to the French Revolution 84 Songs of the Vormärz 85 The First Arbeiterlied 88 The March Revolution 94 The Failure of the Revolution and its Aftermath 100 Protest Song and the Workers’ Political Parties 106 The Onset of Illegality 115 Conclusion 117 i Chapter 4 Protest Song from the Anti-Socialist Law to the 119 Eve of the First World War, 1878-1914 Protest Song and the Anti-Socialist Law 120 Song and the Legacy of the Anti-Socialist Law 122 Internationalism 129 ‘Programme’ Songs 132 Protest Song and Political Radicalisation 137 Women and Protest Song 141 Youth and Protest Song 144 Song and Sporting Associations 148 Song, Anti-militarism and the Approach of War 154 Conclusion 155 Chapter 5 Protest Song in War and Revolution, 1914-1923 157 Protest Song and the First World War, 1914-1918 158 Protest Song and the Post-war Chaos, 1918-1923 169 Youth and Protest Song 177 1923 and the End of the Revolution 182 Conclusion 184 Chapter 6 Protest Song in the Weimar Republic, 1924-1933 187 1924: The Changing Nature of Political Violence 188 The Middle Years of Weimar, 1925-1928 196 Communist and Social Democratic Song 198 Compared Song on the Streets: The emergence of Agitprop 201 Theatre Social Fascism and Blutmai, 1928-1929 204 The Economic Crisis and the Battle for the 207 Streets, 1930-1933 Protest Song and the Rise of Authoritarianism 212 Sport, Women, Youth and Protest Song 217 The End of the Weimar Republic 221 Conclusion 222 Conclusion Striking a Discordant Note 225 Appendix A Full Song Texts 231 Das Leuna Lied 231 Das Weberlied 232 Robert-Blum Lied 233 Die Arbeitsmänner 234 Wacht auf, Verdammte dieser Erde 235 Lied der Arbeiterinnen 236 Bundeslied 237 Es zog ein Rotgardist hinaus 238 Der Rote Wedding 239 ii Bibliography 241 Primary Sources - Archive Collections 241 Songbooks 241 Song Anthologies 245 Books 246 Newspapers and Periodicals 247 Musical Journals 247 Unpublished Primary Literature 247 Secondary Sources - Books 248 Chapters in Edited Volumes 260 Journal Articles 264 Bibliographies 266 Dissertations 266 Electronic Sources 266 iii List of Illustrations Fig. 2.1 Extract from Der Rote Front, Vierte Auflage 71 (Berlin:Jugend Verlag, 1928). Fig. 2.2 Extract from Der Rote Front, Vierte Auflage 72 (Berlin:Jugend Verlag, 1928). Fig. 4.1 Flügblatt copy of the ‚Streiklied 1903’, as distributed on 140 the streets Fig. 4.2 Front Cover of the original 1894 first edition of Der 150 Freie Turner Fig. 4.3 Songbook of the Arbeiter Radfahrerverein, published 153 around 1900 Fig. 6.1 Haus und Hofpropaganda in a typical Berlin 214 Mietsekaserne, performed by the Agitprop troupe Der Roter Wedding iv DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP I, MARK COLIN ROSE declare that the thesis entitled: Striking a Discordant Note: Protest Song and Working-Class Political Culture in Germany, 1844-1933 And the work presented in the thesis are both my own, and have been generated by me as the result of my own original research. I confirm that: • this work was done wholly or mainly while in candidature for a research degree at this University; • where any part of this thesis has previously been submitted for a degree or any other qualification at this University or any other institution, this has been clearly stated; • where I have consulted the published work of others, this is always clearly attributed; • where I have quoted from the work of others, the source is always given. With the exception of such quotations, this thesis is entirely my own work; • I have acknowledged all main sources of help; • where the thesis is based on work done by myself or jointly with others, I have made clear exactly what was done by others and what I have contributed myself; • none of this work has been published before submission. Signed: ……………………………………………………………….. Date: ………………………………………………………………….. v Acknowledgements The Author wishes to thank the following for all their assistance and support throughout the preparation of this thesis: My supervisor, Professor Neil Gregor – for his continued infinite patience and good humour The remainder of the University of Southampton History Department, both past and present, for all their support My friends and family, who have supported me loyally throughout the duration of this project Thank-you all. Mark vi List of Abbreviations ADAV Allgemeiner Deutscher Arbeitervereine - General German Workers’ Association AdK Arbeiterliedarchiv des Akademie der Kunst - Workers’ Song Archive at the Acadamy of Art DASB Deutscher Arbeiter Sängerbund - German Workers’ Singers’ Association DVP Deutsche Volkspartei – German People’s Party FSJ Freien Sozialistischen Jugend - Free Socialist Youth KdA Kampfgemeinschaft der Arbeitsänger und Musiker - Fighting Association of Workers’ Singers and Musicians KJVD Kommunistiches Jugendverband Deutschlands – Communist Youth Association of Germany KPD Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands – Communist Party of Germany KPO Kommunistische Partei-Opposition – Communist Party Opposition RJ Roter Jungfront - Red Youth Front RFB Roter Frontkämpferbund – Red Front Fighters’ League RFMB Roter Frauen und Mädchen Bund - Red Woman and Girl League SAJ Sozialistische Arbeiter- Jugend - Socialist Workers’ Youth SDAP Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei