Durham E-Theses The inuence of politics on German cultural life during the third Reich, with particular reference to opera Howell, Anna How to cite: Howell, Anna (1983) The inuence of politics on German cultural life during the third Reich, with particular reference to opera, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/7873/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 THE INFLUENCE OF POLITICS ON GERMAN CULTURAL LIFE DURING THE THIRD REICH, WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO OPERA The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. Submitted for the degree of M.Mus. at the University of Durham by ANNA HOWELL February 1983 20. AUG. 1984 ABSTRACT One of Hitler's intentions on acceding to power was to formulate a new cultural policy which would be fit to represent his new Reich. He never succeeded in this aim, and this thesis sets out to examine the reasons for his failure. Firstly, it places the efforts of the Nazis in the cultural sphere in the context of the cultural climate of Germany as a whole, and also in relation to the developments and trends which had taken place during the Twenties. Secondly, the genre of opera is considered in relation to the social and political climate of the time. When the Nazis came to power, many artists - a lot of them Jewish - either left Germany of their own accord or were driven out. This was the first step in the Nazis' purging of the arts. They then fiercely supported the operas they felt were representative of their new regime, whilst at the same time organising exhibitions to denigrate all foreign, Jewish and avant garde art. The Nazis encouraged composers to write operas with specific themes and on certain styles, and these are examined, as, too, is the role of Wagner, his influence, and position in Nazi ideology. This study concentrates on the situations in the various opera houses during the Thirties, and specifically on those composers who decided to remain, and in most cases continue their careers, in Germany during the Thirties noting why some were successful, and the reasons why others came into conflict with the regime. CONTENTS - VOLUME 1 Page CHAPTER ONE The Political and Cultural Situation during the 1920s - the Weimar Republic 1 CHAPTER TWO The Organisation and Administration of the Reichskulturkammer: 42 A) Literature ^9 B) Art 66 C) Press 87 D) Broadcasting 97 E) Film 98 F) Theatre 111 CHAPTER THREE A) A Background to Musical Life during the Third Reich 118 B) Conductors! i) Wilhelm Furtwangler 132 ii) Bruno Walter 139 iii) Arturo 'Tascanini 1M iv) Fritz Busch 1^3 v) Otto Klemperer 1^-7 vi) Erich Kleiber 152 Page vii) Herbert von Karajan 155 viii) Clemens Krauss 157 CHAPTER FOUR Opera and Ideology: the effect of political interference during the Third Reich 159 CHAPTER FIVE The Main Composers of Opera during the Third Reich: A) Richard Strauss 18? B) Werner Egk 202 C) Carl Orff 219 CHAPTER SIX Other Composers of Opera during the Third Reich: A) Paul Graener, Ottmar Gerster, Joseph Haas, Hermann Reutter, Ludwig Roselius and Paul von Klenau 23^- B) Mark Lothar and Rudolf Wagner-Regeny 263 C) Winfried Zillig, Gottfried von Einem and Boris Blacher 283 D) Richard Mohaupt, Karl Amadeus Hartmann and Viktor Ullmann 297 E) Lesser Known Composers 311 CONCLUSION 316 BIBLIOGRAPHY 325 CHAPTER ONE 1 The Political and Cultural Situation during the 1920s - The Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic was declared by the Social Democrats on 9 November 1918, immediately after the war. Germany was at that time in a very weakened position - it had lost millions of pounds because of the war, and was unable to pay its reparations. The years between 1919 and 1923 were extremely troubled and since the acceptance of the Treaty of Versailles, there had been much propaganda against the Republic, and even plots for the restoration of the monarchy. On account of the non-payment of reparations, in December 1922 the Reparations Commission officially declared that Germany had failed to meet her obligations, and in January 1923 a French-Belgian contingent occupied the Ruhr to operate the mines and industries on behalf of the victorious powers. This resulted in further strained relationships within Germany and began to strengthen the already pervasive distrust of the Weimar Republic. During 1923 Hitler began to emerge as a strong political figure. In July 1919 he had joined an anti-Semitic, socialist, right-wing group, which by 1920 was called the National Socialist German Workers' Party (National Sozialistische Deutsche Arbeiter Partei, N.S.D.A.P.). The uprisings, which consisted of speeches against the Republic and particularly against the Jews, collapsed in 1923 and around this time a calm seemed to emerge when the 'Dawes Plan' was accepted. The plan proposed evacuation of the Ruhr and was accepted by the German government, the French troops having moved out entirely by July 1925• It was about this time that people reckoned the 'Golden Twenties' had 2 arrived. The opponents of the Weimar Republic however, were a serious and dangerous undercurrent to the general prosperity. The first Nuremburg Party Rally to be held by the Nazis was in August 1927 and there they expounded their theories on race and called for a purge of the German soul and body politic. By the end of the Twenties Germany's economic situation was becoming increasingly unstable - unemployment rose and tax-collections declined. The situation was aggravated by the world economic crisis and in 1929 when the Stock Market on Wall Street collapsed, the Weimar coalition was dead. The Nazis seized their opportunity and made no secret of their plans for the future. Led by Goebbels, they spoke out against republicans, democrats, Jews and Communists and attempted to create a 'national' front against Bolshevism. Although Hitler stood for President in the early Thirties, Hindenburg was re-elected. In the 1932 elections, however, the Nazis scored a victory and von Papen, the German Governor at that time, was prepared to negotiate with Hitler in order to take the Nazis into his government. Supposing that he might be able to 'use' Hitler, von Papen persuaded Hindenburg to make Hitler Chancellor of Germany and from that moment onwards, Hitler and his National Socialist Party began to seize power. In discussing the Weimar Republic it is important to reflect on the views of the 'left' and 'right' political parties of the time, as both held very strong views on the subject of art and its future in Germany. 3 The left-wing advocated discussion and debate on the subject of culture and in general attempted to adopt a humanistic attitude on such fronts as capital punishment and sexual freedom. Among their number were thousands of radical journalists, writers and artists, mainly from the middle-class, with a strong Jewish element. The optimism of the right, on the other hand, was fraught with extreme caution and scepticism. 'For them the manifestations of the new spirit were a betrayal of the national values and the German tradition, were degeneracy, Kulturbolschewismus.'^ The two camps tended to isolate 2 themselves from each other and as Walter Laqueur says, 'Just as a man of the right would not dream of attending a performance of a Krenek opera, not to mention one of the plays staged by Piscator, a left-wing intellectual would take no interest in right-wing literature about the war. The Weltbtihne was the most influential journal of the non-partisan left intelligentsia led by Kurt Tucholsky. It was founded before the first World War and was devoted to the theatre and related arts. In the 1920s, like the Zeitschrift fur Musik, it began to become political in character. The journal attacked Social Democratic Leaders not just for their political mistakes, but for their personal shortcomings as well and its attitude towards Nazism was totally negative. Jews were involved with the WeltbiUhne, both on the editorial and publishing side and they were well-represented in most other fields of learning, literature and the arts. Indeed without them 'Weimar Culture' would have been very poor indeed. 1 Walter Laqueur, Weimar, A Cultural History 1918-1933 (London, 19?4), 36 2 Ibid, 42. The right-wing used the fact that there were so many Jews in key positions at this time to explain the cultural decay and moral disintegration which they believed was taking place within the Weimar Republic. Alfred Rosenberg held the view that Bolshevism was the revolt of racially inferior elements against Aryans and that Kulturbolschewismus was therefore its equivalent in the cultural sphere. The right-wing was consequently very keen to support any purge of German art from its foreign influences. Psychoanalysis, which had become fashionable after the war, was denounced by the right-wing as undermining national values.