38 research outputs found
Music and the Holocaust
Text of address to the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme, April 2014
Glazba kao povijesni izvor: socijalna povijest i glazbeni tekstovi
Situated at the intersection between social history and musicology, this article is concerned with the distinctive ways in which music (broadly defined) can enrich and illuminate our understanding of particular historical contexts. Drawing on the example of songs created in the Nazi ghettos and concentration camps during World War II, it argues that music - taken alongside other historical sources relating to the period - can offer insight into how individuals and communities imprisoned under Nazism responded to and interpreted what was happening to them. The value of these songs is twofold: first, in a subject area where many sources originate from the post-war period, they are a significant body of texts originating from the time itself. In addition, they are distinctive among these contemporary sources as oral texts, disseminated - and, ultimately, preserved - within group frameworks. They convey to us not the retrospective understanding of individuals that survived the war (as do post-war testimonies), but the uncertain and shifting perspectives of prisoner communities facing daily reality over an extended time period. As an overview, the article is intended not only to shed light on this particular historical context, but also to stimulate discussion about other contexts in which the value of music as a historical resource might be similarly applicable.Smješten u sjecište između socijalne povijesti i muzikologije, ovaj se članak bavi odvojenim načinima na koje glazba (široko definirana) može obogatiti i rasvijetliti naše razumijevanje određenih povijesnih konteksta. Potaknut primjerima pjesama stvorenih u nacističkim getima i koncentracijskim logorima za vrijeme Drugog svjetskog rata, u njemu se pokazuje da glazba - uzeta uz druge povijesne izvore iz određenog razdoblja - može pružiti uvid u to kako su pojedinci i zajednice, zatočeni pod nacistima, odgovorili na to i interpretirali ono što im se dogodilo. Vrijednost tih pjesama je dvostruka: prvo, u području u kojem mnogi izvori datiraju iz poslijeratnog razdoblja oni su značajan korpus tekstova koji ima podrijetlo u samom tom vremenu. Uz to, oni se među tim suvremenim izvorima ističu kao usmeni tekstovi koje se širilo i, napokon, sačuvalo unutar okvira skupine. Oni nam ne otkrivaju samo retrospektivno shvaćanja pojedinaca koji su preživjeli rat (kao što to čine poslijeratna svjedočanstva), nego i nesigurne i promjenjive perspektive zatvoreničkih zajednica suočenih s dnevnom stvarnošću tijekom duljeg vremenskog razdoblja.
Nakon kratkog uvoda članak predstavlja pregled opsega dostupnih izvornih materijala koji se odnose na život u nacističkom zatočeništvu. Na toj podlozi autorica smješta važnost glazbe kao povijesnog izvora i istražuje njegove potencijalne vrijednosti u okviru nekoliko metodoloških kategorija. Naglasak je stavljen na ulogu glazbe kao usmene sudioničke djelatnosti, osobito u okolnostima kada je pisanje ili dokumentiranje bilo krajnje teško. U zaključku, članak se ukratko dotiče odnosa između glazbe i pamćenja te načina na koje glazba upotrijebljena retrospektivno, osobito na komemoracijama, može pomoći promicanju posebnog razumijevanja određene prošlosti. Kao ogledni slučaj, članak je namijenjen ne samo da osvijetli ovaj posebni povijesni kontekst, nego i da potakne raspravu o drugim kontekstima u kojima vrijednost glazbe kao povijesnog izvora može biti primijenjena na sličan način
Review: Music in Terezín 1941-1945. Joža Karas. 2nd ed. Hillsdale, NY: Pendragon Press, 2009. ISBN 978-1-5764-7030-5 and The Wonder and the Grace of Alice Sommer Herz: Everything is a Present. Dir. Christopher Nupen. DVD and Liner Notes. Allegro Films, 2009
Music in the Holocaust: confronting life in the Nazi ghettos and camps
Reveals the role of music in Nazi concentration camps Examines orchestras, choirs, communal sing-songs, and cabarets, amongst others Shows how music contributes to our broader understanding of the Holocaust and the experiences of its victims In Music in the Holocaust Shirli Gilbert provides the first large-scale, critical account of the role of music amongst communities imprisoned under Nazism. She documents a wide scope of musical activities, ranging from orchestras and chamber groups to choirs, theatres, communal sing-songs, and cabarets, in some of the most important internment centres in Nazi-occupied Europe, including Auschwitz and the Warsaw and Vilna ghettos. Gilbert is also concerned with exploring the ways in which music - particularly the many songs that were preserved - contribute to our broader understanding of the Holocaust and the experiences of its victims. Music in the Holocaust is, at its core, a social history, taking as its focus the lives of individuals and communities imprisoned under Nazism. Music opens a unique window on to the internal world of those communities, offering insight into how they understood, interpreted, and responded to their experiences at the time. Contents Introduction: Redeeming Music--'Spiritual Resistance' and Beyond 1. 'Have compassion, Jewish hearts': Music in the Warsaw Ghetto 2. Vilna: Politicians and Partisans 3. Songs Confront the Past: Life in the Sachsenhausen 4. Fragments of Humanity: Music in Auschwitz Epilogue Appendix: Repertoire Listing