4. National Socialism
The Vienna Philharmonic under National Socialism (1938 - 1945)
In 1938, politics encroached upon the Vienna Philharmonic in the most brutal manner. The National Socialists dismissed all Jewish artists from the Vienna State Opera and disbanded the Association of the Vienna Philharmonic. It was only the intervention of Wilhelm Furtwängler and other individuals which achieved the nullification of the disbandment order and, with two exceptions, saved the "half-Jews" and "closely-related" from dismissal from the Vienna State Opera Orchestra. However, five members of the orchestra perished in concentration camps, despite the intervention of the new Nazi chairman of the orchestra, who attempted to rescue them from deportation. Another two members died in Vienna as a direct result of attempted deportation and persecution.
A total of nine orchestra members were driven into exile. The eleven remaining orchestra members who were married to Jewish women or stigmatized as "half-Jewish" lived under the constant threat of revocation of their "special permission".
Yet also within the orchestra, as part of the NS Personnel Organization State Opera (NSBO), there was an active illegal cell, so that even before 1938, when the ban of the NSDAP was in effect, 20% of the members of the orchestra belonged to the Nazi party. In 1942, 60 of the 123 active orchestral musicians had become members of the NSDAP.
The Project "Vienna Philharmonic - A Historical Overview of the NS Era"
Since April 2011, Prof. DDr. Oliver Rathkolb has collected new material on members of the Vienna Philharmonic who fell victim to the Nazis and/or were forced into exile. This material now appears here on the orchestra's website. Much of it is derived from primary sources regarding the lives of the two murdered members of the orchestra, of the five who died following persecution and/or imprisonment in concentration camps and of the nine who were driven into exile. The stories of the eleven members of the orchestra who had Jewish wives or were branded “half-Jews” also receive close study and analysis.
In January 2013, the former chairman of the Vienna Philharmonic, Professor Dr. Clemens Hellsberg, commissioned an independent group of historians (Prof. DDr. Oliver Rathkolb (Director), Mag.a Bernadette Mayrhofer, Dr. Fritz Trümpi) to integrate the results of their research and publications, including newly found documents in the Vienna Philharmonic archives, into the orchestra's website.
Mag.a Bernadette Mayrhofer has written biographical sketches of those members of the Vienna State Opera Orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonic who were either forced into exile by the Nazis or lost their lives as a result of Nazi persecution. As far as the sources so far available have allowed this, these sketches highlight a great number of biographical facets in their quest to do justice to the diversity and complexity of the biographies of the exiled or murdered members of the Philharmonic. Her sketches address both the traumas and the achievements of the nine exiles.
Dr. Fritz Trümpi provides an overview of the orchestra’s politicization during and after WWI and of how this process developed in the First Republic and in the era of Austrofascism. Dr. Trümpi deals in detail with the relationship between the Nazi regime and the Vienna Philharmonic’s newly appointed governing body. Newly discovered sources form the basis for a study of the history of the orchestra as an association. He interprets the Philharmonic repertoire in political terms and studies the orchestra’s media presence in the Nazi era.
New sources play a similar part in Prof. DDr. Oliver Rathkolb’s analysis of the marginalization and exclusion of Jewish sponsors and sections of the audience. The second focus in his contribution is on the great number of honorary awards made to Nazi potentates, including Arthur Seyss-Inquart and Baldur von Schirach. Another focus of Rathkolb’s work is the genesis of the New Year's Concerts. A chapter on the goals and the implementation of denazification focuses on continuities both in regard to personnel and content. In both cases, these continuities stretch back to before the Nazi era. Out of the 123 members of the association of the Vienna Philharmonic, 60 were either members of the NSDAP or candidates for membership, two were members of the SS. After 1945 four musicians were dismissed immediately and six were pensioned off. Of this group, two were later readmitted to the State Opera Orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonic.
The Politicization Process of the Vienna Philharmonic from World War I until 1945
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Surge in Politicization during World War I
During the First World War, the orchestra saw itself confronted for the first time with diverse politically motivated attempts at exploitation, some of which it tried to resist, others which it supported and promoted.
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The First Republic and Austrofascism: Enhancing References to Vienna as the “City of Music“ and Strengthening Internal Authoritarian Structures
Unlike the time before World War I, when musical events were primarily initiated by private committees, there was a considerable degree of politicization after 1919.
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An Association Based on National Socialist Principles
Having been spared disbandment, the Association was charged with implementing far-reaching changes in its statutes: important personnel decisions now required the consent of the Reich Propaganda Ministry and later that of the Reichsstatthalter in Vienna.
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Increased References to Vienna in the Vienna Philharmonic's Media Presence under the National Socialist Regime
The Vienna Philharmonic has always had a multifaceted media presence. It remained at a steady high under the National Socialist regime.
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The Repertoire of the Vienna Philharmonic in the Nazi Era
The Vienna Philharmonic’s concert performance during National Socialism was marked by a high degree of continuity in terms of its repertoire – but only concerning the subscription concerts.
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From the Johann Strauss Concert in 1939 to the New Year's Concert in 1946
[...] the tradition of New Year's concerts given by the Vienna Philharmonic with works by Johann Strauss, broadcast on the radio and later on television, dates back to the National Socialist era [...]
Expulsion and Murder of Vienna Philharmonic Musicians after 1938
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Expulsion and Murder of Vienna Philharmonic Musicians after 1938
Thirteen active musicians were expelled from the Vienna State Opera Orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonic in 1938. Three additional musicians who were already in retirement also became victims of the holocaust.
Deportation and Murder
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Persecution and Murder of Members of the Vienna Philharmonic
A total of five members of the Philharmonic were killed in the course of racist cleansings. One member of the Philharmonic died as a result of the eviction from his apartment, and another died in Vienna before his impending deportation.
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Moriz Glattauer (Violin I)
On July 14, 1942, Moriz Glattauer, a retired first violinist with the Vienna Philharmonic, was deported to Theresienstadt along with his wife, Anna Schidlof Glattauer.
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Viktor Robitsek (Violin II)
After 35 years of service in the Vienna State Opera Orchestra and Vienna Philharmonic, Viktor Robitsek received notice from the management of the State Opera informing him of his compulsory suspension.
Download PDF from Bernadette Mayrhofer
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Max Starkmann (Violin I, Viola)
... on October 5, 1942, Max und Elsa Starkmann were forced under the most demeaning of conditions to board a train as part of a mass transport to Maly Trostinec (about 18 km from Minsk).
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Julius Stwertka (Concertmaster, Solo Violinist)
Julius Stwertka was recruited from Hamburg as concertmaster by Gustav Mahler and was engaged for this position with the Vienna State Opera Orchestra and Vienna Philharmonic from 1902-1936.
Download PDF from Bernadette Mayrhofer
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Armin Tyroler (Oboe II)
“It has always been my aim to lighten the struggle for existence faced by my less fortunate colleagues and to make their lives more bearable. There is no more to it than that."
'Died in Vienna'
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Paul Fischer (Violin I, Section Leader)
Paul Fischer had played first violin for 39 years with the Vienna State Opera Orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonic. Additionally he was a long time member of the internationally renowned Rosé Quartet.
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Anton Weiss (Violin I, Section Leader)
Anton Weiss was a victim of the brutal expulsion policies of the National Socialists; and this even before the systematic mass murder of the Jewish population had begun.
Vienna Philharmonic Musicians in Exile
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Vienna Philharmonic Musicians in Exile
Nine members of the Vienna Philharmonic managed to flee into exile.
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Hugo Burghauser (Bassoon I, Chairman)
[...] and of your former students no one apart from Hugo Burghauser, the poor man, who is so utterly lost on the asphalt of Manhattan ...
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Friedrich Siegfried Buxbaum (Principal Cellist)
Friedrich Buxbaum, who had held the exposed position of principal cellist, was expelled from the orchestral association immediately after Austria’s annexation to Nazi Germany.
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Daniel Falk (Violin II)
"Since leaving Vienna I have experienced years of wandering and the tragic fate of losing my entire family - mother, brothers and all other relatives - in the concentration camps and gas chambers, as well as years of becoming acquainted with a highly interesting new country."
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Leopold Othmar Föderl (Violin II)
However, Föderl’s expectations were soon to be shattered: In the summer of 1948, he received a second letter from Salmhofer feigning false kindness that affronted him.
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Josef Geringer (Violin I)
Josef Geringer was among the most impressive musicians of the Vienna Philharmonic in terms of his artistic qualities.
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Ricardo Odnoposoff (Violin I, Concertmaster)
„[...] he established himself as one of the outstanding violinists of the day. The Argentine artist, who came here virtually unknown to the general public, took his audience by storm by the virtuosity, power and fire of his performance. [...]" New York Times.
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Arnold Rosé (Concertmaster, Violin I, Viola soloist)
„As you correctly assume, after 57 years in the opera, 56 years with the quartet and 44 years in the Hofmusikkapelle I have now disappeared into retirement without further ado."
Download PDF from Bernadette Mayrhofer
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Berthold Salander (Violin II)
For Berthold Salander it was like the end of the world when he was, virtually by force, driven from the orchestra. At 51 years of age, he was suddenly excluded from his familiar and very successful professional life.
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Ludwig Wittels (Violin I)
Wittels was able to save himself physically, but he was permanently traumatized by his experience of persecution and the murder of his mother: "He spoke about it over and over again. It ate him up inside all these years. He took it with him to bed at night and got up with it in the morning."
- Impending Expulsion of Those Declared in Nazi Terminology as "Closely Related" (Versippte), "Half-breeds" (Mischlinge) and Foreigners Lacking a "Certificate of Aryan Descent" (Ariernachweis)
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The Vienna Philharmonic’s “Cancelled“ Subscription Audience
In the course of his research, the author of this article, together with the Vienna Philharmonic’s archivist, found a handwritten register of accounts in a basement storeroom of the Vienna State Opera which is used today as a sheet music archive.
Observations on Nazification and Denazification
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From the Organization Cell Group State Opera to the Managing Comittee
The core group of NSDAP sympathisers in the Vienna Philharmonic had in 1931/32 already organized themselves in the framework of the NSBO – the NS Organization Cell Group State Opera.
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Honours and Awards (Honorary Members, Rings of Honour, the Nicolai Medal and the “Yellow” List)
A compilation of the bearers of rings of honour was produced in preparation for the Vienna Philharmonic's centennial celebrations. It cannot currently be reconstructed when exactly the first rings were awarded.
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Denazification and the Long Shadow of the Past in the 1950s and 1960s
The most distinctive example of the insurmountable conflict of priorities in cultural denazification – namely the demand of artistic performance while simultaneously eliminating National Socialist thought by rigorous personnel cleansing – was represented by the political classification of a collective orchestra such as the Vienna Philharmonic.
Post-war period
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Ambivalente Loyalitäten: Beziehungsnetzwerke der Wiener Philharmoniker zwischen Nationalsozialismus und Nachkriegszeit
Dieser Aufsatz beleuchtet Beziehungsnetzwerke, Interessenverflechtungen, kulturelle und politische Positionen und Projekte der Wiener Philharmoniker im Kontext der Wiener Kulturpolitik zwischen 1938 und 1945.
Today
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The Historical Archives of the Vienna Philharmonic
An extensive collection of programmes and a concert database are at the heart of the historical archives.
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Commemorative Stones
In cooperation with Univ.-Prof. DDr. Oliver Rathkolb, the Chairmen of the association "Stones of Remembrance for the Victims of the Shoah", DI Thomas Breth and Mag. Gerhard Burda, as well as the Cultural Office of the City of Vienna, the Vienna Philharmonic commissioned 17 commemorative stones, which were placed since spring 2022 in front of the last residences, which are listed as their addresses in the Vienna Philharmonic Historical Archives.
"Our commemoration is intended to be a clear and visible signal against forgetting and to contribute to returning to all our colleagues the honor that was at one time denied them. We are aware that today, even in the field of culture, we are not immune to injustice structures similar to those of that time. We have deliberately chosen this hour of commemoration on the day that marks the 181st anniversary of the birth of the Vienna Philharmonic. But it also points to the future and is to be understood as an appeal to present and future generations of musicians to remain vigilant and to assume social and democratic responsibility," says Daniel Froschauer, Chairman of the Vienna Philharmonic.
On 28 March 2023, the Vienna Philharmonic held a memorial ceremony to remember its colleagues and their families who were murdered, persecuted, and exiled during the period of National Socialism and the Shoah. It took place in front of the house of former concertmaster Arnold Rosé and his family at Pyrkergasse 23, 1190 Vienna. The ceremony was attended by Prof. Daniel Froschauer, Chairman of the Vienna Philharmonic, a brass ensemble of the Vienna Philharmonic, the President of the Jewish Community Vienna, Oskar Deutsch, the Chief Cantor Shmuel Barzilai and the Executive City Councillor for Culture and Science, Mag. Veronica Kaup-Hasler.
