CD63 - Volkskonzert (Peoples Concert)

Imagine listening to the radio without the vulgar degenerate so-called music that the poor American & British public were constantly exposed to. These Nazi concerts are relaxing and inspiring! Playing popular songs, melodies and military marches. This People's Concert was recorded in March 1942.

PEOPLE'S CONCERT!!

Customer Review:

What did German soldiers do for entertainment in the middle of the Second World War? A partial answer to that question may be found in this c.d. It features a typical program transmitted over Wehrmacht radio to servicemen on every front during 1942. At that year, the military forces of the Third Reich reached their greatest territorial extent, from u-boat crews operating off the shores of North America to foot-soldiers in Stalingrad; from Luftwaffe pilots flying over the Arctic Circle to Afrika Korps tank-men in the Libyan Desert. But this Volkskonzert, or “Racial Kinsmen Concert”, lived up to its name, and was heard by listeners across the home front, too. As such, the performances recorded here reached an audience of many millions throughout central Europe and half-way around the globe.

These broadcasts were noted for their popularity and almost total lack of propaganda. Of the fourteen selections on this c.d., only one, the last, is an overtly patriotic anthem, Deutschland, wir gruessen Dich, “Germany, we greet you”, which, in any case, makes for an appropriate finale: “We greet you from the bottom of our hearts.” More typical are comic pieces such as Wozu ist die Strasse da, zum marschieren --- which complains of marching with sore feet but without money --- or tear-jerkers like Feldpost fuer Annchen, wherein a lonely infantryman writes a letter to his girl-friend back home, Annie, from his remote outpost. No less designed to elicit sighs from its listeners is Unter dem Sternenzelt, “Under the vault of stars, reach your hand to me,” a big hit during the war and still well-known. Tapfere, kleine Soldatenfrau, “Brave, little soldier’s wife” is in a similarly sentimental vein: “You are my complete happiness,” the husband tells his bride, as he marches away. It is performed with orchestra, male chorus, and one of the greatest baritones of the 20th Century, Wilhelm Strienz, unjustly uncredited in the c.d.’s program notes.

A witty song certainly dated to the times in which it was known is Wenn unser Berlin auch verdunkelt ist: “When our Berlin is blacked out, the spirits of our Berliners shine ever brighter.” More militant is the Song of Lower Saxony, sung by an acapella male choir: “Strong as an old oak tree we always stand when storms break over our German Fatherland. We are storm-hard and sprung from the soil. Hail to the stock of Duke Witikind!” Witikind was a semi-mythical figure who personified German courage during the Middle Ages.

These soldiers’ songs, marches, and popular tunes reflect something of the mood that typified an era, as proved by their enthusiastic reception by service-men and civilians alike. As such, Volkskonzert is an audio time-capsule of a world that ceased to exist just three years after these performances were recorded. But their enduring appeal, after more than six decades, is high testimony to the talent that created them and the spirit that inspired them. - Marc Roland

CD63 - Volkskonzert (Peoples Concert)

= German Language

Details: Playing Time: 42:57

NO LONGER AVAILABLE