Psyche, Science, and Society

Furtwangler, Nazi or Anti-Nazi?

October 23rd, 2006

In response to my post Music for peace this morning, Daily Kos diarist Valtin commented [see comments to that post]:

How ironic that Furtwangler should be chosen to promote peace, as he was a prominent conductor in Germany during the Nazi years. To prove I’m not a hypocite (or perhaps that I am), I own some recordings of Furtwangler conducting Wagner, and they are wonderful, with Furtwangler’s interpretations bringing out more the weirdness in Wagner than his bombast.

There are many of these German musicians and composers (or conductors — von Karajan is another) who were compromised by their work under the Nazi regime, or by association with them. (Wagner carries the stigma of the latter, although he died before Hitler was even born.) Richard Strauss also stayed in Germany through the Nazi and war years. I listen to and enjoy Strauss immensely, but I can understand if there were others who found the associations of these individuals to preempt any enjoyment of their work.

I sent this comment to Robert Rivard, the pianist who performed Furtwangler. He responded as follows:

Furtwangler is still a controversial figure after all these years. He was not a Nazi and used his position as conductor of both the Berlin Philharmonic and Vienna Philharmonic in helping Jewish musicians leave Germany. He wrote letters of recommendation for many Jewish musicians that he didn’t know well or at all so that they could get work once they escaped. He asked to be paid in cash when he was guest conductor outside of Germany so that he could use those monies to help others. He never gave the Nazi salute at any concert, avoiding that by carrying the baton in that hand. He was about to be arrested by the Gestapo in late January of 1945 when he escaped to Switzerland. He was cleared by the US Nazi Tribunal in 1947. He remained in Germany during the war thinking he was doing the right thing at the time. He made mistakes and made errors in judgment trying to walk the tight-rope.

His concerts were a source of great comfort to those who fought in the underground. The great Jewish violinist and humanitarian Yehudi Menuin personally investigated all the accusations against Furtwangler right after the war and found them without merit. He made this plain to the musical world when he appeared with Furtwangler in concert in Germany.

When I ask his permission to post his comments, Robert graciously gave it and also stated:

The main source for my information is the book “The Devil’s Music Master” by Sam Shirakawa whom I met at a Furtwangler symposium in San Francisco in 1992. There is an infamous photo of Furtwangler shaking Hitler’s hand after a performance. Hitler rushes up to the podium, catching Furtwangler off-guard. What is not seen in the photo but shows up in the film footage is the expression of extreme displeasure on Furtwangler’s face a second after the handshake. It speaks volumes. If he were the detective Adrien Monk, I’m sure he would have asked for a case of hand-wipes and still not felt clean.

You may post on the blog my email in response, in part or in whole, but also add that I recommend the Shirakawa book for a detailed and balanced discussion of this period of Furtwangler’s life….

I’m passionate about Furtwangler but he is not without flaws. Who among us is? To me he was courageous at a time when it was fatal to speak out. He could have left Germany but he felt he had to stay to preserve German musical culture. Others who stayed joined the Nazi party and co-operated. Furtwangler did his best not to do so and he never joined the Nazi party.

I fully understand and accept that there will always be those who are unable to see Furtwangler in a positive light. Furtwangler himself knew and understood this. My teacher at FSU was a piano student of Ernst von Dohnanyi, who stayed in Europe during the war. A fervent anti-Nazi, he was not accepted by some after the war either. He was shamefully treated when he first came to the US to teach at FSU in the late 1940’s. When I play publicly here there is someone who always tells me afterwards that I studied with a student of a Nazi. It bothered me at first, but over the years I’ve learned to accept the remarks with grace and try to appreciate where they are coming from. It’s taken me a lifetime to learn how not to judge others.

This case presents one of those complex moral dilemmas. I wonder what other readers think?

Entry Filed under: Culture, Music, War Crimes