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When the Third Reich ascended to the throne in 1933, it had on its agenda many changes which encompassed every sphere of life from arts, culture and music to military occupation and endless conflicts with neighboring countries. While the former was taken care of by Dr. Joseph Goebbels, the responsibility of the latter was handed over to the Wehrmacht which marched to German soldier songs and maintained a formidable as also fearless presence in the region. In order to further encourage his soldiers, Dr. Goebbels initiated the composition of German marching songs which upheld the mindset of the regime. In an attempt to purify German music, the minister of propaganda, Dr. Goebbels devised a four-prong plan which was aimed towards the popularizing of German marching songs and German soldier songs like wehrmacht edith heisst sie and wehrmacht paris triumf marsch 1941. Because these were typically dedicated to the defense wing of the country they were performed specifically by composers of German origin. This alienation of other races invited a huge outcry from the world and the result was the formation of an orchestra which incorporated the expelled members and played these tunes for the next five years that it existed. To ensure that the German military songs conformed to the propaganda policy of the regime, an English speaking Jazz band named ‘Charlie and His Orchestra’ were constituted. Divided into two volumes, the work of this group was focused on playing German marching songs and is popularly sold as CDs’ belonging to the epoch of propaganda swing. Apart from influencing and encouraging compositions which were odes to the regime, another measure which was taken to ensure their popularity was to ban performances of non-German composers, how much ever talented they might be. These were some of the visible changes which were taking place in concert halls not just in Germany but also in annexed countries. The wehrmacht westerwaldlied song and the wehrmacht schwarzbraun ist die h song were some of the German marching songs which dominated the musical arena Encouragement was further provided in form of establishment of highly organized intellectual and cultural infrastructure which ensured that German military songs continued to reign over all other forms of music during that period. While the Wehrmacht was a Nazi creation in terms of organization and authority which owed its allegiance only to Hitler, the German military songs could be described as being very much the same. The only difference between the two was in their method of operation – the songs were composed in such a way that they were meant to inspire the soldiers to accomplish their task as also remain faithful to their ultimate ruler. Wehrmacht ich hatt einen kameraden and wehrmacht lieddersturmartillerie were German marching songs which served the purpose and hence were popular melodies with that particular generation of soldiers. In spite of the controversial nature of their origin, German military songs have a magic about them which makes them sought-after even in this contemporary era. CDs’ titled ‘The Military Music of Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich’ and ‘Reichslieder’ which comprise of these tracks are available for purchase on virtual as also physical stores. Another alternative is to download these tracks from authorized websites which specialize in German marching songs and Wehrmacht songs. Not only do they offer the original versions in the best possible quality that can be desired but also a huge selection wherein the seeker is most likely to find even the rarest of compositions. Anyone who wishes to delve into the history of European music which was prevalent in the twentieth century is sure to come across German marching songs which had been composed with the Wehrmacht in mind. One might think that it is impossible to acquire such a collection nowadays but surprisingly there are comprehensive collections of German soldier songs which can be bought online from reputed websites.
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German marching songs, German soldier songs,
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