Figure 1.--This is the famous Mendelssohn statue in Leipzig that was demolished as part of the NAZI anti-Jewish campaign.
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Figure 1.--This is the famous Mendelssohn statue in Leipzig that was demolished as part of the NAZI anti-Jewish campaign. |
The NAZIs sought to wipe out every aspect of Germany's Jewish heritage. For the NAZIs this was a racial and not a relogious issue. Thus it made no difference that Mendelssohn had converted to Christianity. It was his Jewish blood that mattered. Thus after the NAZIs seized power (1933), like that of the other Jewish composers, his music could no longer be played in public. The NAZIs even demolished the famous statue in his honor that was located in Leipzig. A Dutch reader with German family members writes, "
I sing in a German choir in Petaluma, Calif. (as a matter of fact I am President of that chorus since many years, you can click on Redwood Empire Saenger Chor and learn more about it). At our last concert we sang "Leise zieht durch mein Gemüt", a beautiful German folk song. It occured to me that the composer, Felix Mendelssohn, as well as the poet, Heinrich Heine, both were Jews, who had been converted to Protestantism. During the Third Reich all music by Jewish composers was verboten, but the NAZIs could never erase this particular melody. It simply was too beautiful and had found a steady place in the hearts of the people. As for the text: they referred to it as "poet unknown". When I visited Hamburg some years ago I noticed that the guides mentioned Brahms as a native of the city. Unfortunately the house in which he was born got destroyed during the war. I knew that also Mendelssohn was born in Hamburg. When I asked where I could find his house I was met with silence. The guide did not even know that Felix Mendelssohn was a Hamburger too. In all fairness (if it is possible to be fair in regard to the NAZIs) I must say that Israel too is guilty of this kind of discrimination, because the music of Richard Wagner and Richard Strauß are officially boycotted in the concert halls, the radio, and on television. This on account of Wagner's anti-semitism and Straußes refusal to leave Germany where he was made President of the Reichskulturkammer. I think that's also Israel's loss, because the music of these two composers is beautiful and important, no matter what."
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