[Smt-talk] Boulez And World War II

[LORENZ, RALPH]

I find this very interesting since my dad had very similar experiences to Stockhausen, being that he was born the same year (1928) in the greater Cologne area and raised Roman Catholic as well (I'm helping him in the next month or so to self-publish his memoirs of this time period in Germany, so if anyone is interested, please let me know). He talks a lot about the roadwork, etc. they were called to do--I'll have to ask him about some of these other things.

Best regards,

Ralph Lorenz, Ph.D.
Associate Dean, College of the Arts
Kent State University
rlorenz at kent.edu
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From: Smt-talk <smt-talk-bounces at lists.societymusictheory.org> on behalf of Berry, David Carson (berrydc) <berrydc at UCMAIL.UC.EDU>
Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2014 11:11 PM
To: smt-talk at lists.societymusictheory.org
Subject: Re: [Smt-talk] Boulez And World War II

Regarding Carson Farley's comment that he has heard "some rather unpleasant rumors about Stockhausen's youth regarding the Hitler Youth":

Yes, you will occasionally find references (interestingly, usually passing ones) in books and articles to Stockhausen's "forced" joining of the Hitler Youth. I don't know if anyone has unearthed actual records, or has ever quoted Stockhausen directly on the matter, although composer/critic Carman Moore was quoted in a recent article as having heard from Stockhausen himself that "he had sat in stadiums with the Hitler Youth where everybody was singing the same song and enjoying singing together. That really put him off." (See <http://www.newmusicbox.org/articles/carman-moore-curiosity-is-the-strongest-engine/>.)

It was of course true that young boys in Germany were coerced by law into joining the Hitler Youth. Some may remember that this came up when Pope Benedict XVI (the current "Pope Emeritus") was elected: he had to join upon his fourteenth birthday. (BTW: Stockhausen, born 1928, become a teenager in the early 1940s.) Not only did membership become mandatory for Ayrans during the mid 1930s, but certain other youth groups were forced to merge with the Hitler Youth, meaning that members of the former became members of the latter without ever taking steps to do so.

--David

David Carson Berry, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Music Theory
University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music
Email: david.berry at uc.edu
https://uc.academia.edu/DavidCarsonBerry/
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