Figure 1.--A dissapointing, but well costumed film is "Swing Kids". Notice the Navy Hitler Youth in this torch lit rally. The premise of the film does deal with an actual event in NAZI Germany.
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Figure 1.--A dissapointing, but well costumed film is "Swing Kids". Notice the Navy Hitler Youth in this torch lit rally. The premise of the film does deal with an actual event in NAZI Germany. |
Disney's somewhat sanitised effort Swing Kids is another movie dealing with the Hitler Youth. The evocation of Nazi Germany is not very believable, but the costuming was quite elaborate. Promotions for the film explain that it's 1939 and NAZI Germany has "declared war on freedom", demanding conformity from its youth. Of course this did not occur in 1939. But a group calling themselves Swing Kids rebel with their American "swing" music and dare to stand up against the poweful forces around them. Most had no idea of the ferocity with which NAI authorities would react. Robert Sean Leonard (Dead Poets Society and Christian Bale (Empire of the Sun) deliver solid perormances in a flawed film. The two friends must choose between individual freedom and loyalty to the murderous Thuird Reich.
Disney's somewhat sanitised effort Swing Kids is another movie dealing with the Hitler Youth. The evocation of Nazi Germany is not very believable. The NAZI objection to swing music, a style of jazz, is, however, accuate. The basic premise of the film is accurate. NAZI authorities considerd groups of young people who enjoyed jazz and disliked their regimented life in fact were suppressed by the police. Quite a number of teenagers were arrested and sent to concentration camps. Many were executed, incliding one 16-year old boy. Goebbels considered jazz to be music for sub-humans, as they associated it with both blacks and Jews. An American jazz band of black nuscicians touring Europe before the War was not even allowed to get off the train at stops. Public performances were not permitted and there were no jazz recordings made in the Third Reich. During the War, beginning in 1942, some propaganda broadcasts were made to be aimed at American troops. The music had hateful anti-semetic lyrics. I'm not sure if they were broadcast domestically. A propaganda film was made at the German "model" concentartion camp, Terenzinstadt inCzecheslovalia. A odel village was constructed there and the inmates given new clothes. Bands nand orchestras were formed. The jazz band was named "The Ghetto Swingers". After filming, the band along with others in the model village were transported to Auzwitz.
The costuming for Swing Kids was quite elaborate.
The main charcters are older Hitler Youth boys. THey war the standard brown shirt and black shorts. The Hitler Youth arm band is seen here. Notice the wide stripe added to the normal NAZI arm band. I'm not sure who wore the band as in groups of Hitler Youth, most boys are not wearing them. Perhaps just the leaders. At the totch light rally, boys can be seen wearing the naval Hitler Youth uniform.
Other uniform not yet available.
Promotions for the film explain that it's 1939 and NAZI Germany has "declared war on freedom", demanding conformity from its youth. Of course thisbdid not occur in 1939. But a group calling themselves Swing Kids rebel with their American "swing" music and dare to stand up against the poweful forces around them. The Swing Kids were enthralled by American Swing, but the NAZIs considered American jazz as decadent. They had much more in mind for Germany youth and descipline was required in the New Order.
Figure 2.--The Hitler Youth arm band is seen here. Notice the wide stripe added to the normal NAZI arm band. I'm not sure who wore the band as in groups of Hitler Youth, most boys are not wearingbthem. Perhaps just the leaders. |
Robert Sean Leonard (Dead Poets Society and Christian Bale (Empire of the Sun) deliver solid perormances in a flawed film. The two friends must choose between individual freedom and loyalty to the murderous Thuird Reich.
The main characters are loosely based on actual events. A group known as the Edelweiss Pirates dressed in British private school style clothes, or like stereotypical British businessmen, or American youths. They rejected the HJ, the NAZIS, and Hitler. They were
constant pests for the NAZIS. There were other groups besides the Edelweiss Pirates; Cologne and Hamburg were their strongholds. A more serious dissenting group was the "White Rose", university students who opposed everything the NAZIS stood for. Two of their
most famous members were Sophie and Christopher Scholl, who were eventually arrested and executed for their opposition.
Most of the boys wear short pants to school and, later, when the Nazis make membership in the Hitler Youth compulsory, the brown shirts and black shorts of the Hitler Youth uniform. The Swing Kids,
in their desire to emulate American music and fashions of the 1930's,
switch to long pants suits in the evening as they play and dance to
American-style jazz. Their preference for such music and dress in defiance of the strictures of the increasingly repressive Nazi regime leads to the inevitable violent conflict between the Nazi brownshirts and the rebellious, non-conforming teens.
Swing Kids WAS a disappointment of a film, but the music and dancing were wonderful, especially some of Count Basie's music and the version of Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen sung in the film. -- JB
Information on several other Hitler Youth films, several made in Germany, are avialable on HBC. The first such film was made in Germany, Hitler Jugend Quex. While it looks rather hokey to us today, it had a powerful impact in mid-1930s Germany. The Hitler Youth also played a prominent role in the classic propaganda film of all time--Triumph of the Will.
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