Kurt Hohenberger und sein Solisten-Orchester
Kurt Hohenberger (tp,arr); Walter Dobschinski (tb,arr); Herbert Müller, Kurt Wege (as,cl); Detlev Lais, Hans Meyer (ts); Fritz Schulz-Reichel (p); Hans Korseck (g); Harry van Dyk (d);
Berlin, January 02, 1941
In the years after the Nazis' rise to power in 1933, there was an exodus and persecution of Jewish musicians, together with a propaganda campaign against "nigger music" and the order not to play any jazz music on the radio. The swinging, free attitude in jazz contradicted the Nazi ideal of synchronising society to a march step by order. Although there was no categorical ban on jazz, jazz musicians were exposed to harassment and persecution. Nevertheless there were some remarkable jazz bands such as Kurt Hohenberger's group, which included excellent soloists like Walter Dobschinski and Fritz Schulz-Reichel. During this time the musicians became involved in a game of cat and mouse with their "controllers", in which for example jazz titles like the Tiger Rag were renamed Schwarzer Panther by the musicians. Young people who wanted to distance themselves from National Socialist organisations such as the Hitler Youth formed groups that dressed demonstratively differently, following US-American fashion and championing the cause of jazz. These so-called "Swing-Heinis" were persecuted by the Gestapo. In the Frankfurt Hot-Club, musicians like Carlo Bohländer and Emil Mangelsdorff joined forces, playing jazz illegally and preserving the spirit of this music even in the dark times of National Socialism. The infamous Nazi propaganda productions included performances by the Ghetto Swingers, who were allowed to - or had to - play jazz-inspired music in the "showcase" concentration camp Theresienstadt. The band Charlie and his Orchestra, formed by order of Joseph Goebbels' Ministry of Propaganda, falls more into the "Oddly enough" category. They recorded titles in a jazz style with anti-Allied Forces lyrics in English for radio broadcasts aimed at the West. The German Dance and Entertainment Orchestra, which was founded in 1942, accommodated a need for swing music that could not be completely suppressed and played a "neutralised" form of jazz music. It was not until the "Third Reich" was broken up after the end of World War Two that a new chapter of hope began in the history of German jazz.
Bert Noglik author, journalist and organiser of jazz events.
In the years after the Nazis' rise to power in 1933, there was an exodus and persecution of Jewish musicians, together with a propaganda campaign against "nigger music" and the order not to play any jazz music on the radio. The swinging, free attitude in jazz contradicted the Nazi ideal of synchronising society to a march step by order. Although there was no categorical ban on jazz, jazz musicians were exposed to harassment and persecution. Nevertheless there were some remarkable jazz bands such as Kurt Hohenberger's group, which included excellent soloists like Walter Dobschinski and Fritz Schulz-Reichel. During this time the musicians became involved in a game of cat and mouse with their "controllers", in which for example jazz titles like the Tiger Rag were renamed Schwarzer Panther by the musicians. Young people who wanted to distance themselves from National Socialist organisations such as the Hitler Youth formed groups that dressed demonstratively differently, following US-American fashion and championing the cause of jazz. These so-called "Swing-Heinis" were persecuted by the Gestapo. In the Frankfurt Hot-Club, musicians like Carlo Bohländer and Emil Mangelsdorff joined forces, playing jazz illegally and preserving the spirit of this music even in the dark times of National Socialism. The infamous Nazi propaganda productions included performances by the Ghetto Swingers, who were allowed to - or had to - play jazz-inspired music in the "showcase" concentration camp Theresienstadt. The band Charlie and his Orchestra, formed by order of Joseph Goebbels' Ministry of Propaganda, falls more into the "Oddly enough" category. They recorded titles in a jazz style with anti-Allied Forces lyrics in English for radio broadcasts aimed at the West. The German Dance and Entertainment Orchestra, which was founded in 1942, accommodated a need for swing music that could not be completely suppressed and played a "neutralised" form of jazz music. It was not until the "Third Reich" was broken up after the end of World War Two that a new chapter of hope began in the history of German jazz.
Bert Noglik author, journalist and organiser of jazz events.
