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  • The "Reichsorchester": The Berlin Philharmonic and the Third Reich
  • Steve York
The "Reichsorchester": The Berlin Philharmonic and the Third Reich. DVD. Produced and directed by Eugene Sanchez Lansch. [Halle, Germany]: Arthaus Musik, 2007. 101 453. $28.98.

Lansch stumbled upon the idea for this documentary while working on other film projects with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Research led him to orchestral archivists from whom he learned of the relatively unknown period of the Phil har monic's storied history—from 1933 to 1945. Prior to this time, the orchestra was an independent entity, relying on its musicians for everything from marketing to budgeting to scheduling. World-class in their musicianship, they were just scraping by as a business while Hitler and the Nazi Party were gaining power in Germany. This new authority recognized the Philharmonic as an important cultural organization capable of portraying the Nazis and Germany as a nation with great artistic ability and integrity, and in October of 1933 an arm of the Nazi Party, the Ministry for Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda, led by Joseph Goebbels, took financial responsibility for the orchestra. Thus began the ensemble's work as a Nazi propaganda machine at home and abroad.

Lansch's documentary was produced almost too late for us to hear the story from the people who were there. He found only [End Page 566] two living musicians who had played during this dark period. He also tracked down several family members of former orchestra members, including relatives of some of the Jewish musicians who were expelled from the Philharmonic soon after the Nazi take-over.

Even with only a few first-hand accounts of the period, Lansch delivers a compelling film describing events and circumstances most musicians today could not imagine. Since the orchestra was deemed "essential" to the cause of Party propaganda, the musicians were treated very well; they were offered housing and, most importantly, were exempt from military service. But those with any Jewish connection via their spouses or other relationships were in constant fear for their jobs and their lives. The musicians, by and large, rejected the moniker "Nazi Orchestra." Just twenty percent of the musicians were card-holding Nazi Party members, some having joined under pressure; only four were remembered as being "hard-liners." Lansch offers rare footage of the Philharmonic as they played in front of audiences made up of what appears to be Nazi Party officials and military officers, with large swastika banners hanging behind the musicians, and including speech excerpts by Dr. Goebbels himself.

This moving documentary unveils a chapter of the Philharmonic most have not studied. From the beginning of its "ownership" by the Nazi Party to the destruction of Berlin's Philharmonie Hall, the reunion just days after the fall of the Nazis, and the "denazification" of some of the musicians, most notably their esteemed music director Wilhem Furtwängler, this story is compelling.

Program notes in English, German, and French include a brief narrative telling this film's story, as well as the filmmaker's "reflections." The documentary is in German with subtitles available in several languages, and is appropriate for any viewer interested in music and/or history.

Steve York
Christopher Newport University
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