What was life like for amateur choral societies during the Third Reich?
Did their “forcible-coordination” (Gleichschaltung) mean giving up their independence? What stance did they have towards the “Reich” and their “Führer”? How did the transition to the realities of the German Federal Republic work? Hitherto, the choral societies have been in almost complete denial about this phase of their history. By taking the two neighbouring towns of Heilbronn and Neckarsulm as examples, this book endeavours to awaken memories of this period. Over 370 literal quotes taken from the societies’ minutes, newsletters, concert programmes, concert reviews, official newspaper reports and choir newspapers attempt to bring this period back to life. When observing “basic” activities, singing, concerts and the attitude towards the “service to the German song”, a political zeal will become evident, particularly on a larger scale within the regional choral societies which ultimately manifested the opinions that were officially expected in their periodical the “Schwäbische Sänger-Zeitung”, thus influencing their rank and file. The sources have been arranged according to subjects and each one has been furnished with an introduction. Based on the assumption of historical continuity, the Weimar Republic was also taken into account as a period of “preparation” for National Socialism in Germany. Numerous song texts and lyrics from 1925-1939 which were not only eradicated from songbooks after 1945 but also from German people’s memories can be found here. An abundance of previously unreleased troubling as well as thought-provoking material will not only be made accessible to interested readers but also to those still researching this topic.Möchten Sie Ihre wissenschaftliche Arbeit publizieren? Erfahren Sie mehr über unsere günstigen Konditionen und unseren Service für Autorinnen und Autoren.
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Die nationalsozialistische Kantate: vernichtet – verschollen – vergessen?
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Hamburg 2020, ISBN 978-3-339-11412-9 (Print) |ISBN 978-3-339-11413-6 (eBook)