Mozart and the Nazis

How the Third Reich Abused a Cultural Icon

Author: Erik Levi

Despite the apparent incompatibility between Mozart's humanitarian and cosmopolitan outlook and Nazi ideology, the Third Reich tenaciously promoted the great composer's music to further the goals of the fascist regime. This book provides a fresh understanding of how the Nazis shamelessly manipulated Mozart for their own political advantage.

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Despite the apparent incompatibility between Mozart’s humanitarian and cosmopolitan outlook and Nazi ideology, the Third Reich tenaciously promoted the great composer’s music to further the goals of the fascist regime. In this revelatory book, Erik Levi draws on period articles, diaries, speeches, and other archival materials to provide a new understanding of how the Nazis shamelessly manipulated Mozart for their own political advantage. The book also explores the continued Jewish veneration of the composer during this period while also highlighting some of the disturbing legacies of Mozart reception that resulted from Nazi appropriation of his work. Augmented by rare contemporary illustrations, Mozart and the Nazis will be widely welcomed by readers with interests in music, German history, Holocaust studies, propaganda, and politics in the twentieth century.

Critic Reviews

“"The story is complicated and many-faceted, yet Levi provides the detail and the context necessary for a convincing narrative. The tone, journalistic and anti-sensational throughout, could scarcely be more effective. . . . This intriguing study comprehends a range of vital topics, and seems oddly pertinent to the present day. Highly recommended."-B.J. Murray, Choice”

"The story is complicated and many-faceted, yet Levi provides the detail and the context necessary for a convincing narrative. The tone, journalistic and anti-sensational throughout, could scarcely be more effective. . . . This intriguing study comprehends a range of vital topics, and seems oddly pertinent to the present day. Highly recommended."—B.J. Murray, Choice -- B.J. Murray Choice
"Mozart and the Nazis is a well-researched, detailed account of perceptions about Mozart, his music, and his legacy in the Third Reich and beyond. . . . The rich detail provided in Mozart and the Nazis gives readers a wealth of material for gaining a deeper understanding of how such an important musical figure can be mythologized and exploited to serve both universalist and exclusionary political philosophies."—Pamela Potter, H-Judaic -- Pamela Potter H-Judaic