The use of music as propaganda was not lost on the Nazi war effort. Throughout nearly all of World War II; broadcasts, records, and concerts were all used as a means of conveying messages to the public both near and abroad. Goebbels knew the power that music had on a captive audience and was able to see that this would serve as a valuable tool for the Hitler war machine. German citizens and soldiers would be treated to music whose style would have otherwise been deemed vulgar to the German State (like Jazz). Pro-Nazi messages littered the airwaves, spreading as much dis-information as it could in hopes of swaying support in favor of the Axis powers. The same music was also broadcasted on airwaves that Allied soldiers used in an effort to dishearten the war efforts of those opposed to Hitler’s agenda. In some cases music that was popular to Allied forces, had lyrics changed to crush the morale of listeners with words of pro-Nazi sentiments. Music that originated in England, by English composers suddenly rang with German messages of futility and despair, all aimed at both the private and public sectors alike.
Even swing music, which was considered impure by Nazi standards, was used as a means to an end for the Germans. Charlie and his Orchestra was one such example where Jazz played a part of the war effort that was aimed at crushing the spirit of Allied forces while boosting the morale of German, pro-Nazi supporters.
Recovered music from an era when censorship and oppression was commonplace has helped shed light into the lives of people inside Nazi concentration camps. Songs were not only a way to hang on to the traditions and heritage of an oppressed people, but was also a way of lifting spirit. For some, it gave hope when all seemed grim, for others it was a way to hold onto memories of a better life.
**Warning: Content may be explicit in nature**
Often composers that had celebrated success and fame during the Weimar era in Berlin were not met with the same enthusiasm during Nazi Germany. Many artists, like Schoenberg, Weill or Hindemith saw much scrutiny from Party members and often faced serious artistic and personal limitations. The threat of death was always a fear, even for well-established professionals, anything that went against the Nazi agenda (including simply composing vile music according to Nazi standards) was grounds for incarceration or worse. For many famous composers of the period, options ranged from trying to remain in Germany and fly under the radar of persecution to fleeing Germany altogether. Unfortunately neither was a viable option for many composers who would meet their end inside the borders of Nazi camps. "In a few hours in Auschwitz, an entire generation of musicians, composers, famous piano virtuosos, the fifth column of the Jewish musical elite of Central and Eastern Europe disappeared," Lotoro says. (Poggioli, pg.1) Francesco Lotoro, an Italian Musicologist, has gone to great links to find, restore, and finish musical pieces composed in Nazi camps as a way of allowing the shunned music to once again be heard. Through his efforts in restoration, he has recovered thousands of pieces of sheet music. The amount of music that he has collected helps make understandable the number of musically trained people that were imprisoned inside the various camps across Nazi controlled Europe. Any composer who was Jewish, Romani, Communist, or P.O.W stood the chance of spending their final days behind barbed wire fences, as many did.
At Sachsenhausen, a concentration camp that resides near Berlin, a display in the back corner of one of the buildings still standing tells a brief history of one of the many people to spend time in the dreary place. Having been born with the name Martin Rosenberg, Rosebery D’Arguto was a Polish composer fated to spend his last days incarcerated by the Nazi establishment. The glass case marked with his name displays a piece of sheet music that he had written while inside the walls of the camp. A beat up scrap piece of paper with only a few lines and some notes seems as if it was not much to look at, but it in fact tells the tale of a man dedicated to his way of life, and the story he had to tell in his final days. The story would remind future generations of the atrocities he was a victim of, like so many others. What he strived to do was establish a means of resistance against the Nazi party, through his music he felt he could say what needed to be said. He would eventually be sent to Auschwitz where he would meet his fate, but not before composing songs that still exist today. Along with the sheet music displayed some conductor wands and a summary of his life within Nazi Germany stand as a testament to one man’s fight against overwhelming odds. Many composers who would spend time inside the walls of the Nazi camps would choose to do the same. Each with their own reasons for acting against the parties beliefs, they would all serve to help paint a picture of what it was like to be victims because of their beliefs or ideologies.