Nazi Censorship
Dear Sophie from Fritz Hartnagel, sent from Occupied Poland, February 17, 1943
Context: Captain Fritz Hartnagel was one of the last Officers from the Sixth Army flown out of surrounded Stalingrad. Although this letter exists, it is doubtful that Sophie received it. It was written on the day before her last leaflet protest, capture and arrest. My dear…
Read MorePassive Resistance: Refusing to Yield to Censorship
Heinrich Heine (1797-1856) German poet and writer most recognized for satire and wit. His “Lieder (art songs)” were set to music composed by R. Schumann and F. Schubert. Historical Context: Sophie Scholl passively resisted Hitler. She was political active as a school girl in Ulm from 1938-1940.…
Read MoreSophie Scholl Defiantly Enjoyed Art Labeled “Entartete Kunst” (Morally Degenerate)
Historical Context: Summer, 1937. There was no stopping “American Swing” from making its way across the ocean. “Negermusik” was the Nazis’ pejorative term for Jazz and Swing. In July at the newly built “House of German Art,” the Nazi Minister of Culture infamously put on his first exhibit of “degenerate” paintings. Many of these now…
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