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History Repeating Itself? Swing Kids in the 30s vs Ravers/Clubbers in America in 2001
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| beroshima |
Check it out (if you feel like reading the whole thing). I think it's pretty similar (and scary) if you think about it:
Around 1936 American swing was catching on in all of the major German cities. Hitler was slowly tightening his grip around the German people. “Though not yet compulsory, pressure to join the Hitler Jugend (Hitler Youth)-a quasimilitary group for youths between the ages of ten and 18 was increasing rapidly”(Jooss 3). The desire for freedom among the non-Nazi kids grew just as fast. In the movie Swing Kids, this is seen repeatedly. The swingers mostly were centralized in Hamburg. “The swing scene that developed involved 500 to 800 kids”(Manning 5).
Many of the Hamburg swingers were from the elite families that were almost described as Marxist. The kids were well traveled and very cultured. “Hitler appointed friend and fellow Nazi, Joseph Goebbles to be in charge of The Reich Radio Chamber, which censored radio, theater, film, the press, creative writing and music”(Maggie 1). These swing kids soon took up international record collections. These record collections included artists such as Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, and Django Reinhardt. “Because Jazz was forbidden on the German radio stations after 1935, the kids listened to the foreign radio stations like London’s BBC, where Ellington and company headed the play lists”(Manning 5). Hitler didn’t like jazz because most of the artists were minorities, like blacks and Jews, and the music was American. What first began as teenage rebellion soon turned into a serious political issue.
The dancing aspect of swing was as important as the music. The swings kids crowded the nightclubs willing to book live bands that played jazz. The kids would jitterbug the nights away. Two of Hamburg’s hottest swing spots were the Café Hienze and the Trocadero. Swing kids could also be found in the Faun Tanzlokal and the Alsterpavillon. Almost every popular German and European band performed at these places.
The swing dances were parties where swing dancers wanted to be seen. Swing boys would wear custom-tailored zoot suits, crepe soled shoes, trench coats, and silk scarves. The girls would wear short skirts, silk stockings, and fitted blouses. They stood out from normal society. They caught the attention of the Nazis, who despised them for their dancing and good times. “The Nazis would call them Swing Heinis (Swing-Jerks)-but no official action was ever taken against them”(Jooss 6).
A lot of things changed when World War II broke out in 1939. The draft was mush more intense and the membership to the Hitler Youth became mandatory. “Meanwhile, the average jazz listener was threatened with penalties such as jail, the penitentiary, concentration camps, and the death penalty”(Maggie 2). Swing dancing soon became illegal throughout all of Hamburg. To the swingers who dodged the military swing became the symbol of political opposition. “Most of the swingers were not intimidated by the restrictions, but in fact moved their parties to private clubs, basements, or their parents yachts and partied on”(Manning 4). Ignoring the restrictions put the kids in serious danger. The Gestapo began to watch them and started making arrests. Swing kids were interrogated, thrown into submission, and then made to join the Hitler Youth or sent directly to the front lines.
The full page is at:
http://www.mtchs.mtlib.org/faculty/...01/dmurphy2.htm |
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| Palivar |
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| beroshima |
| Why no 'Zoot suit' pic, Pavilar? |
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