Introduction
The Kennesaw State University Department of Museums, Archives and Rare Books (MARB) presents exhibitions, public programs, collections, and educational services supporting KSU’s mission and encouraging dialogue about the past and its significance today.
The Museum of History and Holocaust Education, as a unit of MARB, has developed a series of online modules, including this one, for university students to explore pivotal moments from the history of World War II and the Holocaust.
This unit analyzes music created during the Holocaust in order to understand victims' experiences of the Holocaust. The intensification of Nazi ideology and violence, conditions of life in concentration camps and ghettos, and perseverance of Jewish culture are evidenced in the period’s music.
Image: Art installation in the exhibition Threads of Memory. Courtesy Museum of History and Holocaust Education at Kennesaw State University
Essential Questions
Using the primary source material and content in this online unit, respond to the three essential questions found below. In your responses, include evidence from the content in this online unit. Please refer to the directions provided by your instructor on submitting your responses to these essential questions as well as to the questions posed throughout this unit.
- What motifs recurred throughout Holocaust music?
- How did Nazi definitions of "degenerate" art reflect their views on race?
- How did religion impact Holocaust music?
(Left) A woman (Luba Kupritz) performs a song with a pianist and a trumpeter at the Kovno ghetto. Image Courtesy United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Before the Holocaust
Jazz and swing music gained popularity in the 1930s and 1940s. It originated in African-American communities in the early 20th century and eventually migrated to Europe. Many musicians and composers of the time were Jewish, like Polish pianist Władysław Szpilman and American bandleader Benny Goodman, who was nicknamed the "King of Swing."
As jazz and swing gained popularity worldwide, antisemitism and fascism also prevailed as dictators gained control over countries across the globe. After Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party rose to power in Germany in 1933, even music, one of the cornerstones of German culture, came under scrutiny.
(Right) An orchestra supported by the Jewish Cultural Society performs both religious and secular music in the late 1930's. Image Courtesy United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
"My Yiddishe Momme" by Sophie Tucker
Sophie Tucker (1886-1966) was a vaudeville singer who was active from 1903 to 1965. Tucker was from a Ukrainian Jewish family, and she sang in both English and Yiddish. "My Yiddishe Momme" was one of her most famous songs.
Click the buttons below to learn more about Sophie Tucker. Then, watch the accompanying video and listen to a recording of "My Yiddishe Momme."
Click the button below to review the translation of "My Yiddish Momme."
Based on the sources above, consider the following questions:
- Throughout the song, what are some ways that Sophie Tucker pays homage to her Jewish heritage?
- What does Sophie Tucker's life and career tell us about American vaudeville and Black-Jewish relations during the early twentieth century?
- How did My Yiddishe Momme relate to the Jewish people during and after the Holocaust?
(Left) A portrait of Sophie Tucker from 1917. Image Courtesy Wikimedia Commons
Yiddish Tango
The tango was a form of dance and music created in Argentina during the 1880s. It became popular in European ballrooms during the 1920s and the 1930s. As the popularity of the tango spread across the world, Jewish communities developed their own version called the Yiddish tango.
Click the button below to learn more about the Yiddish tango. Then, consider the accompanying questions.
- How did tango become popular in Yiddish speaking communities?
- How was the tango used in the ghettos and the concentration camps?
- What made Yiddish tango different from South American tango, especially during the Holocaust?
Click the button below to listen to a recording of the Yiddish tango. Then, consider the accompanying questions.
- What lyrics refer to the events of the Holocaust? How are these events alluded to in the song?
- Hypothesize why Der Tango fun Oshvientshim mentions “the black man”, the "Englishman," and the "Frenchman" in the second verse.
- How does the music enhance the lyrics in De Tango Fun Oshvientshim?
(Right) Prisoners-of-war who were part of a tango orchestra at the Stalag VIII-A camp holding their instruments. Image Courtesy United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Degenerate Art
Hitler claimed abstract and modernist paintings contributed to the downfall of Germany during World War I. Many twentieth century artists - including Pablo Picasso and Paul Klee - were influenced by African Art. This artwork was condemned by the Nazis, who viewed any cultural ties to supposedly inferior peoples as a threat to Aryan racial purity.
In order to show the supposed dangers of modern art, the Nazi party held two exhibits: one showing “pure”, Nazi-approved art, and the other showing “degenerate”, modern art. In 1937, the “Degenerate Art" Exhibit, or Entartete Kunst, featured 112 “degenerate” artists (such as Picasso, Klee, Marc Chagall, Piet Mondrian, and so on). Six of the artists highlighted in this exhibit were of Jewish heritage.
The success of Entartete Kunst led to a “Degenerate Music" Exhibit (Entartete Musik). Many of the traits that deemed modern art as being “degenerate” also applied to music.
Click the button below to explore an online exhibition from the Museum of Modern Art showcasing works of art included in the Nazi "Degenerate Art" exhibit.
(Left) Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi's propaganda minister, at the "degenerate" art exhibit in Munich. Image Courtesy Wikimedia Commons
Degenerate Music
The success of Entartete Kunst led to a “Degenerate Music" exhibit (Entartete Musik). Shown in 1938, this exhibit claimed that "degenerate" music was harmful to Nazi Germany. Most of the musicians featured in the exhibit were Jewish.
Click the button below to learn more about music banned in Nazi Germany.
Click the button below to listen to a selection of songs banned in Nazi Germany.
Based on the sources above, consider the following questions:
- Why did the Nazis claim that these particular forms of music were problematic?
- What about these songs made the Nazis views them as inferior?
- How did the Nazis try to censor the creation of art from those they persecuted?
(Right) Poster advertising a "degenerate" music exhibit in Düsseldorf. Note the racist black caricature and the Star of David badge. Image Courtesy Wikimedia Commons
Jazz as Nazi Propaganda
Nazi Germany viewed jazz as a form of "degenerate" music, as it was a genre created and popularized by African Americans. Despite this, jazz was broadcasted from the Nazi radio station "Germany Calling" with the band Charlie and His Orchestra.
Click the button below to learn more about Charlie ad His Orchestra. Then, consider the accompanying questions.
- What was the difference between Alfred Rosenberg and Joseph Goebbels's opinion of jazz?
- Why did the Nazis create “Germany Calling?"
- How was Charlie and His Orchestra formed?
Below is "St Louis Blues Standard" as performed by Bessie Smith and "Blackout Blues" as performed by Charlie and His Orchestra. "Blackout Blues" was the Nazi version of the song "St Louis Blues Standard."
Watch the videos below to listen to "St Louis Blues Standard" and the Nazi version, "Blackout Blues". Then, consider accompanying questions.
- What about St Louis Blues Standard made the Nazis view it as “degenerate”?
- How did Blackout Blues reflect Nazi ideology and events occurring during World War II?
- How did Charlie and His Orchestra try to mimic the style of St Louis Blues Standard?
(Left) A surviving copy of a recording of Charlie and his Orchestra. Image Courtesy Smithsonian Magazine
The Use of Songs in the Ghettos and Concentration Camps
Within the ghettos, music was used as a form of entertainment to help people through the grueling conditions, but also as a way to express their own political views on what was happening to them. Most notably, the Vilna ghetto in Lithuania continued the artistic (mostly musical) culture of the Jewish community. Vilna was a known hot spot for Jewish culture and earned the nickname the “Jerusalem of Lithuania”.
Between 1941 and 1943, the artists of Vilna created a plethora of poetry and music that would describe the Holocaust, from the feeling of fear and the sadness of being away from their hometown (e.g. Vilne) to the loss of their loved ones (e.g. Friling (Spring)).
Within concentration camps, there were established orchestras that consisted of those imprisoned at the camps. Auschwitz alone had six orchestras. There were times when the Nazis would force the musicians play music as their fellow inmates were being led to the gas chambers.
Singing was also used to make those imprisoned feel more disheartened, as the Nazis would force them to sing when they demanded it, like during forced labor or while marching.
Despite the cruel nature in which prisoners were forced to sing, there were times when they wanted to sing among their peers. In these sort of settings, they would typically sing songs from their hometowns or their respective cultures. These instances were examples of resistance to the Nazi effort to eliminate the faith and culture of their prisoners. For example, some Jewish prisoners sang Hatikvah, the organizational anthem of the First Zionist Congress, on their way to the gas chambers at Auschwitz. Many Polish prisoners sang Warschawjanka, a Polish song popular among Socialist revolutionaries.
Click the buttons below to learn more about the Vilna Ghetto and music in concentration camps.
(Right) Polish prisoners-of-war carrying instruments in a German prison camp. Image Courtesy United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Music in the Ghettos
The ghettos were overcrowded, rampant with disease, and often didn't have enough food for those living there. These harsh conditions were immortalized in songs like "Es Brent" and "Kartofl".
Watch the video below to listen to "Es Brent." Then, consider the accompanying questions.
- How does the music enhance the poem by Mordechai Gebertig?
- What could the lyrics be alluding to concerning the Holocaust?
- What is the main theme of the song?
Click the button below to listen to "Kartofl." Then, consider the accompanying questions.
- Why does the singer of Kartofl place the potato in such high regard (through the lyrics "I'll make you into hamburger and the finest dish of greens")?
- How do the lyrics and the lack of music reflect the living situation in the Lodz ghetto?
- What does the "visa" refer to in Kartofl?
The Theresienstadt Ghetto was unique in that it had a flourishing musical culture, one that was encouraged by the Nazis. The ghetto was used in propaganda films, like "The Führer Gives the Jews a City", which was made in 1944.
Click the button below to read about music in the Theresienstadt ghetto. Then, consider the accompanying questions.
- What caused the music culture in the Theresienstadt ghetto to grow?
- How did Nazi propaganda affect those at the Theresienstadt ghetto?
Click the button below to watch the Nazi propaganda film made about Theresienstadt. View the following film segments: (0:00-1:30), (12:00-14:40), (17:50-19:27), and (20:19-21:40).
Based on the sources above, consider the following questions:
- How does the music in the film influence the viewer’s perceptions of what’s being shown to them?
- Why did the Nazis feature orchestra footage prominently as part of this propaganda film?
(Left) A frame from propaganda film "The Führer Gives the Jews a City" that shows composer Karel Ancerl compose an orchestra in the Theresienstadt ghetto. Image Courtesy United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Music in the Concentration Camps
In the concentration camps, music was used as a tactic and a coping mechanism for those imprisoned. Many songs created in the concentration camps recorded the horrors that took place.
Click the button below listen to "Dachau Lied." Then, consider the accompanying questions provided.
- What motto was Dachau Lied created in response to? How do the lyrics mock it?
- What was the purpose of creating Dachau Lied for the prisoners? How did the creation of the song and the lyrics accomplish this?
- How do the lyrics of Dachau Lied reflect the mentality of those imprisoned at the Dachau concentration camp?
Click the button below listen to "Die Moorsoldaten." Then, consider the accompanying questions provided.
- Why did the Nazis want the prisoners to be singing while going to and from the moor?
- How did the prisoner’s political background influence the song?
- What lyrics in The Soldiers of the Moor refer to the horrors and struggles that the prisoners faced at the Börgermoor concentration camp?
(Right) Open rail cars of the death train at the Dachau concentration camps. Image Courtesy United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Joseph Beer: Music Made in Hiding
During the Holocaust, many Jewish artists and musicians decided to go into hiding to stay safe. One prominent Jewish composer forced into hiding was Joseph Beer. While Beer was in hiding for three years in France, his family in Poland was killed in the concentration camps.
Click the button to learn more about Joseph Beer and his music. Then, consider the accompanying questions.
- How did Joseph Beer survive and still make a living during the Holocaust?
- Through listening and analyzing the music and lyrics of Weit Draussen Im Sonnenglanz, how does it reflect Beer’s own experiences and feelings?
- How did Beer cope with the aftermath of World War II?
(Right) Joseph Beer's false identity card while he was in hiding, made in 1943. Image Courtesy Official Site of Composer Joseph Beer
Songs for Remembrance
Songs written and composed during the Holocaust became central to recovery, rebuilding, and remembrance efforts in the years afterwards. This music helps us to understand how victims experienced this tragedy. In many ways, music from the Holocaust helps us to remember and by remembering, we can prevent genocides from occurring in the future.
(Left) Violinist Leila Josefowicz performs at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum on the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Image Courtesy United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
"Huylet, Huylet, Beyze Vintn"
"Huylet, Huylet, Beyze Vintn" was originally a poem titled "Tsum Vinter", written by Avrom Reisen in 1901. It developed into the song titled "Huylet, Huylet, Beyze Vintn" before the Holocaust but became very popular within the Jewish ghettos.
Daniel Kahn & The Painted Bird is a klezmer band based in Germany. Klezmer refers to a music tradition derived from Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe. This band often used Yiddish songs to discuss politics and Jewish culture.
Watch the video below to listen to "Beyze Vintn" (the shortened title of "Huylet, Huylet, Beyze Vintn") as performed by Daniel Kahn & The Painted Bird. Then consider the accompanying questions.
- How did the lyrics resonate with those imprisoned at the ghettos?
- As this is a more modern performance of Huylet, Huylet, Beyze Vintn, how does it relate to those still wanting to preserve the horrors of the Holocaust?
(Left) English Translation provided by Elya Courtney
Yiddish Glory
Antisemitic laws in the Soviet Union persecuted Jewish intellectuals and artists. As a result, Jewish culture, like songs created before and during the Holocaust, was at risk of being lost again in Eastern Europe. Luckily, a troupe of musicians were able to recreate and preserve songs from that time through the album "Yiddish Glory: The Lost Songs of World War II".
Click the button below to read the article "Yiddish Glory: The Lost Songs of World War II."
Below, listen to select songs from the album and analyze the translated lyrics provided
"Mayn Pulemyot" (My Machine Gun)
"Tsum Nayem Yor 1944" (Happy New Year 1944)
"Mames Gruv" (My Mother's Grave)
Based on the sources above, consider the following questions:
- What was the motivation behind creating Yiddish Glory: The Lost Songs of World War II?
- How were these Yiddish songs recreated after the Holocaust in the Soviet Union?
- Through analyzing the music and lyrics in all three songs, describe the state of mind of the Jewish people after the Holocaust.
(Right) A poster advertising a Yiddish music concert at the Zeilsheim displaced persons camp. Image Courtesy United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Let's Research
Write: Read and analyze the three poems linked above. Delineate how the poems are similar to the songs featured in the unit, based on motifs, themes, literary devices, and so on. Then, create your own poem that reflects what you've learned.
(Behind) Papers that include songs and poems from 1935 by Norman Salsitz in Poland. Image Courtesy United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
This digital lesson was curated and designed by Alysa Matsunaga from the University of Georgia in collaboration with staff from the Museum of History and Holocaust Education at Kennesaw State University.