Alexander Pattavina

Arts in the Third Reich

Response | September 20, 2016

Response on
Hitlers Wagner:
Musical Discourse as Cultural Space
Hans Rudolf Vaget

It is hard to know exactly how much of an influence Wagner had on Hitlers

life. By the lack of research in this area, one can guess that music was not Hitlers
focus in his Nazi affairs. However, with a so-called Fhrer who oversaw every
aspect of his rule, even aesthetics, it is hard to doubt that Hitler carefully considered
his choice of music at his rallies. That said, one cannot say if music was seen as a
priority to Hitler and to the Nazi party.
It goes without saying that music is considered a priority in many films. If
one removes the music from a scene from a classic movie, the scene will lose a
certain dimension. Several film directors take pride in their films composers
emotionally completing their movies. Directors such as J.J. Abrams, Steven
Spielberg, and Ridley Scott frequently collaborate with their respective composers
(Giacchino, Williams, Zimmer) because they believe that their music fits the
directors ideals.
The pageantry seen at Nazi rallies was quite intense and elaborate. From
banners and militaristic choreography to the music, Hitler had an aesthetic vision
for how Germany had to be. Where Hitler himself did not create and arrange
aspects for rallies, he turned to those he believed not only to be qualified, but also
those who fit his ideals (or so he claimed). And so, he chose Wagners music (with
some degree of censoring) and that of Beethoven to be the soundtrack of the Nazi
party. Who can say to what degree Beethoven may have agreed with the Nazi
ideology? Would he have been comfortable with his music being performed?
Wagner likely would have been okay with it! As Vaget wrote, Wagners music
implied the coming of a savior, which, through elaborate orchestration, people
believed it to be Adolf Hitler.