Like the Rock and Roll revolution of the 1950s, which shocked the White Staid public with translations of black rhythm and blues, the popularity of jazz caused all kinds of racial panic and social anxiety at the beginning of the 20th century. Long before the rise of European fascism, Many American groups have expressed extreme fear and agitation on the rise of minority cultural forms. But by the Second World War, jazz was intrinsically woven in the fabric of American majority culture, although often in the versions rubbed with nuances of blues. This was not, of course, the case in Europe occupied by the Nazis, where jazz was deleted; Like most forms of modern art, it brought the stigma of impurity, innovation, passion … All totalitarian qualities frown (even the anti -fascist theorist Theodor Adorno had a serious beef with jazz).
And even if it is not a big surprise that the Nazis hated jazz, it seems that they expressed their disapproval in a very strangely specific way, at least in the memory of the writer and dissident Czech Josef Skvorecky.
On the occasion of the death of Skvorecky, JJ Gould underlined The Atlantic That the writer was himself one of the characters who interested Kubrick Si. A weed -up -down saxophone player living in Czechoslovakia occupied by the third Reich, Skvorecky had the opportunity to discover the “hatred of jazz control of the Nazis”. In the intro of his short novel The low saxophoneHe tells of memory a set of ten bizarre regulations issued by a GAULIERA regional Nazi official, who linked local dance orchestras during the Czech occupation.
- The pieces of the Foxtrot rhythm (supposedly swing) should not exceed 20% of the directories of light orchestras and dance groups;
- In this so-called jazz type repertoire, preference must be given to compositions in a major key and words expressing joy in life rather than Jewish words;
- As for the tempo, preference must also be given to lively compositions on slow compositions (supposedly blues); However, the rhythm should not exceed a certain degree of allegro, proportional to the Aryan sense of discipline and moderation. In no case, the negative excess of the tempo (supposedly hot jazz) or in solo performance (so-called breaks) will be tolerated;
- The so -called jazz compositions can contain at most 10% syncope; The rest must be made up of a natural legato movement devoid of the opposite hysterical rhythm characteristic of barbaric breeds and conducive to dark instincts foreign to the German people (supposedly riffs);
- Strictly prohibited is the use of foreign instruments to the German spirit (supposedly cow bells, flexatone, brushes, etc.) as well as all the dumbs that transform the noble sound of the wind and brass instruments into a Jewish-freemasonic yowl (so-called wa-wa, hat, etc.);
- The so-called battery breaks are also prohibited more than half a bar in four quarters (except in stylized military marches);
- The double bass must be played only with the arc in the so -called jazz compositions;
- The ropes dough is prohibited, because it is damaging to the instrument and detrimental to Aryan musicality; If a so-called pizzicato effect is absolutely desirable for the character of the composition, strict care should be taken for fear that the chain will be allowed to make fun of the Sordine, which is now prohibited;
- Musicians are also prohibited from making vocal improvisations (supposedly Scat);
- All the light orchestras and dance groups are invited to restrict the use of saxophones of all the keys and replace them the violin-cell, the viola or perhaps an appropriate folk instrument.
As The Atlantic Note: “Being Nazi, this civil servant obviously did not miss an opportunity to make as much these regulations as possible in racist or anti -Semitic terms.” This racialized fear and hatred were the source, after all, of the objection. It is almost impossible for me to imagine what type of music this set of restrictions could produce, but it would certainly not be something that people would like to dance. And that was probably the point.
To learn more about the life of Josef Skvorecky as a writer under Nazism and his escape from Czechoslovakia after the Soviet invasion, Read his lighting Paris Review interview.
Note: a previous version of this article appeared on our site in 2013.
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Josh Jones is writer, publisher and musician based in Washington, DC. Follow it @jdmagangi