Waltzing in 4/4 march tempo: Viennese music in the third reich

Abstract

Research into music in the Third Reich has been relatively neglected by historians since WWII. This study investigates the impact of Third Reich policies on the Gesellschaft der Musilifreunde (GdMt), a major Viennese music Society, while the Society was under the Nazi Regime from 1938-1945. The GdMf case study evidence is measured against Primo Levi's "gray zone" theory of human behaviour in a totalitarian state. GdMf music programs flourished under Franz Schiltz, a professional musician and Nazi Party member. Under his GdMfleadership, the Nazis were not just perpetrators and the Viennese were not just victims. The study shows the response of the Viennese to the Nazi takeover of the Society can best be classified as collaboration, compromise and complicity. This case study also sheds light on the question of Austria as the first victim of Nazi aggression and how Austrians today are coming to terms with their Nazi past.