Willst du ein Deutscher sein

Discussions on the music in the Third Reich. Hosted by Ivan Ž.
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Mitridat
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Willst du ein Deutscher sein

#1

Post by Mitridat » 08 Oct 2019, 03:41

Dear forum members, this song by Dr. Karl Knauer
(first published 1927: https://archive.org/details/Musikalisch ... /page/n123)
was recorded on a cassette in the Hammer collection.

[A pirate YouTube link removed by the host, Ivan Ž.]

Does anyone have its lyrics and more detailed information?
Would you know if Dr. Knauer was author of the music, or the text, or both?

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Ivan Ž.
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Re: Willst du ein Deutscher sein

#2

Post by Ivan Ž. » 08 Oct 2019, 15:04

Hello, Mitridat

Hofmeister's monthly reports sorted the compositions by their composers. So, Dr Knauer composed the music.

According to the Lindström recording list (edited by Christian Zwarg), the lyrics were written by (Hans) Pflanzer and Poor (surely a misspelled name), see: http://discography.phonomuseum.at/parlo/parlo030173.pdf (search for the matrix number 34196-2).

You'll also find the discographical info there: the song was performed by an orchestra conducted by Otto Dobrindt, with vocals by Harry Steier and his quartet; recorded in Berlin, 19.10.1927.

I don't have the lyrics, but I can tell that it's a Rhine song (Rhine songs were soft patriotic songs, quite popular at the time; this one, however, doesn't seem to have been much popular: there are no other known recordings of it and I've never seen it listed in a songbook).

This barely-known 1927 song had absolutely nothing to do with the Third Reich, WWII or the military. It was wrongly tied to the Nazi period and the Kriegsmarine half a century later (1987) by some guys from the US who didn't even know how to spell its title correctly.

By the way, there was another, more successful Rhine song created by Dr Knauer and Pflanzer (and Weiß), and it was called "Das war bei Tante Trullala in Düsseldorf am Rhein" (1926). It was recorded several times and its lyrics can be found in "Der Rhein im Lied" songbook (1927).

Cheers,
Ivan


Mitridat
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Re: Willst du ein Deutscher sein

#3

Post by Mitridat » 08 Oct 2019, 23:47

Thank you for the extensive information.

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Gorque
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Re: Willst du ein Deutscher sein

#4

Post by Gorque » 09 Oct 2019, 01:46

Is what you seek the same as this?

[A pirate YouTube link removed by the host.]

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Ivan Ž.
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Re: Willst du ein Deutscher sein

#5

Post by Ivan Ž. » 09 Oct 2019, 02:03

It's the same recording / pirate link.

Believe it or not, but the YouTube actually enabled the ridiculous Neonazi pirates called "RMK Records" to claim copyright to this recording (and many others too). Based on what - I can't imagine. So much about YouTube's alleged fight against Nazism and piracy - they legalised them! And if I'm not very much mistaken, these pirates can also legally earn money via YouTube now. Tragicomedy...

Cheers,
Ivan

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Gorque
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Re: Willst du ein Deutscher sein

#6

Post by Gorque » 09 Oct 2019, 03:33

Hi Ivan:

My apologies in posting the link. I meant no harm. Just affirmation on my part as to if it was the same the song. It's old and scratchy and therefor, hard to decipher. Maybe one of the German native speakers can give it a try.

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Ivan Ž.
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Re: Willst du ein Deutscher sein

#7

Post by Ivan Ž. » 09 Oct 2019, 11:58

Hello, Gorque

I'ts all right, it's not your fault that the YouTube links the recording to some Neonazi pirates.

If anyone's interested in hearing / finding a copy of it, the 1927 song "Willst du ein Deutscher sein" was originally published on the record Beka B 6273 (in Germany) and Odeon 10494 (in the US). It was copied from the Odeon record on a cassette half a century later (1987) by the Hammer (US); the cassette was entitled "German Navy Marches" vol. II, and the song was misspelled "Willst Du Deutscher Sein" (16 years later, the misspelled Hammer copy was copied by the PzG pirates on one of their ridiculous CDs, and 12 years later, the RMK pirates shamelessly started claiming copyright on it on YouTube). As I wrote, the song had no ties to the Third Reich period, war or the military. It's a historically insignificant piece that was long forgotten until some guys from the US misused it for commercial purposes, misrepresenting it as a Third Reich war song.

Cheers,
Ivan

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Gorque
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Re: Willst du ein Deutscher sein

#8

Post by Gorque » 09 Oct 2019, 21:45

Hi Ivan:

Thanks for detailed and interesting history of the song.

Scholes
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Re: Willst du ein Deutscher sein

#9

Post by Scholes » 24 Dec 2019, 11:43

Great story, thanks!

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