The Swing Kids were a group of young people in Nazi Germany who were drawn to the swing music and jazz culture that was popular in the United States in the 1930s and 1940s. Despite the fact that the Nazi regime deemed this music to be degenerate and un-German, the Swing Kids were drawn to the energy and freedom that it represented. They would gather in underground clubs and dance to the forbidden music, often at great risk to themselves.
The Swing Kids were primarily made up of teenagers and young adults, many of whom were members of the Hitler Youth organization. However, they were not interested in the strict discipline and militarism of the Hitler Youth, and instead sought to express themselves through music and dance. They were often seen as rebels and nonconformists by the Nazi authorities, and were frequently targeted for persecution.
The Nazi regime was extremely intolerant of any form of cultural expression that did not align with its ideology. Jazz music, in particular, was seen as a threat to the Nazi ideal of a pure and disciplined society, and was banned in Germany. Despite this, the Swing Kids continued to defy the authorities by dancing to jazz and swing music, and by wearing clothing and hairstyles that were associated with this culture.
The Swing Kids faced many dangers for their refusal to conform to the expectations of the Nazi regime. They were often arrested and beaten by the Gestapo, and many were sent to concentration camps for their disobedience. Despite the risks, the Swing Kids remained committed to their love of jazz and swing music, and continued to express themselves through this medium.
In the end, the Swing Kids were unable to resist the power of the Nazi regime, and their movement ultimately came to an end. However, their legacy lives on as a testament to the power of culture and self-expression, and their bravery and defiance in the face of oppression will always be remembered.
Swing Kids (1993 film)
The bearing and behaviour of the members of the clique resembled their dress. The guitar player Arvid hated the idea and eventually it turned their friendship against each other, Arvid hates this Nazi rule and kills himself. They were housed together with other female political prisoners in the same block. The Swingboys admired his pale face and combed long black hair and tried to copy his attire. In Germany jazz music got banned and since swing music was part of jazz it was also banned Mosse, 1971. The swing kids would dance in an outrageous fashion linking arms, jumping up and down, jiterbugging to the point of physical exhaustion, one women often dancing with two man to the hot sounds of Luis Armstrong and Nat Gonella.
Germany’s Real
This movies shows the lifestyle, culture, dance, food and clothes that were used in 1930s. The Swing Kids were mostly middle and upper class and, it must be stressed, largely apolitical youths who wore long whips of hair in direct contravention of the order that men must wear military length hair and long, often checked English sports jackets, shoes with thick light crepe soles, showy scarves, homburg hats; some even carried umbrellas in imitation of the British foreign secretary at the time, Anthony Eden. These teenage hoppers were known as Swing-Heinis, a name the authorities called them. And there were the relatively affluent Swing Jugend Swing Youth , who developed a whole culture of dress and language, and defied their elders by playing forbidden records at house parties. As he is going he get shot by a surviving German in the side. What they all had in common was long hair-long enough to touch the collar, and slicked back in what was perceived as Hollywood style. The leaders of these organisations realized they had to offer some attraction in the area of social dancing to recruit members.
Opposition from youth
New political and social groups were formed both to support and oppose the Nazi and the Gestapo leaders. While not a huge box office success, the film influenced the swing revival of the late 90s and early 2000s by telling the fictionalized story of a group of teenagers in Nazi Germany. The British musicologist Swingjugend embrace of American music and the "English style" in clothing as reflecting the fact that: The Swingjugend rejected the Nazi state, above all because of its ideology and uniformity, its militarism, the ' Reflecting their Gymnasium could speak at least some French and English. Here, the teens had been particularly bold in their gatherings, from volunteering for lookout shifts and using those to sit on the rooftops and listen to illegal songs, to organizing dances of several hundred participants. Mainly located in Hamburg and Berlin this group consisted of boys and girls ranging in age from 14 to 18 years old. Their love of swing dance and jazz music was an overall view of life for them, in which they strictly opposed Hitler and his youth organizations.
Nazi Germany in "Swing Kids" by Kang Hyeong
Unsurprisingly, all ran into trouble with Nazi authorities. Awhile later, Bruno finds another child named Shmuel on the other side of a fence that surrounds the concentration camp, despite the vast sociological pressures that should have prevented their friendship, the naivety of their youth allows one to form. La Tristesse de Saint Louis: Jazz Under the Nazis, New York: Quartet. Retrieved 21 June 2016. As Thomas begins assaulting the club's patrons he attacks Peter; however, during the fight Peter is able to reach Thomas.
