Forgetting Аbout Тraumatic Past? On the Position of Film Music Composers in Post-WWII Germany
Keywords:
film music composer, NS film music, German music after WWIIAbstract
This paper presents selected German film music composers who were active in Germany during the inter-war period as musicians trying to regain their position and renegotiate their role in the German post-war society marked by trauma and transition processes. Film music composers were believed to have stayed above politics and associated with a “harmless” type of music; therefore, they could adapt to the new situation comparatively more easily, particularly since the Allies had already treated musicians ambivalently. While pinpointing the reasons behind such a lenient attitude towards film music composers, the paper also touches on those rare cases when film music composers were actually accused of supporting the Nazi system.
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