Overview

Music was an integral part of statecraft and identity formation in the Third Reich. Structured thematically and semiotically around the Wagnerian tetralogy of the Ring cycle, Hitler's Twilight of the Gods provides a sonic read of the Second World War and the Holocaust. Alexandra Birch sheds light on the specific type of music promoted under Nazism, linked to larger Teutonic mythologies and histories espoused in rhetoric and personal styling. The book explores the musical fixation of the command as it was extended to the ordinary troops of the Wehrmacht and SS in instances of musical sadism and destruction during the Holocaust. It reveals how, in constructing what was 'German', this process also intentionally fashioned a subaltern other with an assigned set of music and aesthetics. The book draws on analysis of testimony and perpetrator documents to reveal the execution of this binary identity and the inclusion of music even in extreme genocidal conditions. From drinking games in the interwar period, to musical sadism in the Holocaust, to the final delusions of the command in collapse, Hitler's Twilight of the Gods illuminates how music was a component of camaraderie, identity, masculinity, and warfare.

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9781487549190

Table of Contents

Reviews

“Eloquently researched and written, Hitler’s Twilight of the Gods intricately intertwines Wagner’s Ring with the grim realities of musical life under the Nazi regime. This illuminating work explores music as both a weapon of destruction and a means of resistance during the Holocaust, tracing its journey from Germany to Russia. The book is a profound contribution to the study of music, history, and humanity.” -- Tina Frühauf, Director of the Barry S. Brook Center for Music Research and Documentation, CUNY Graduate Center “Hitler’s Twilight of the Gods is a well-researched piece of scholarship that draws on many valuable primary sources, including testimonies, along with a thorough body of research that spans each decade of the twentieth century and the first two decades of the current century. Alexandra Birch reminds readers of the complex and multifaceted nature of Holocaust historicism and experience. The book cautions against painting all experiences with a broad brush, stressing that much more nuance and differentiation are required.” -- Kellie D. Brown, Professor of Music, Milligan University

Author Information

Alexandra Birch is the Mellon Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow at the Harriman Institute at Columbia University.

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