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sound, technology and urban space
in Germany, 1933-1945
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CarolyN BirdSall
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amsterdam university press
Nazi Soundscapes
Nazi Soundscapes
Sound, Technology and Urban Space in Germany, 1933-1945
Carolyn Birdsall
amsterdam university press
This book is published in print and online through the online OAPEN library (www.oapen.org)
OAPEN (Open Access Publishing in European Networks) is a collaborative initiative to develop
and implement a sustainable Open Access publication model for academic books in the Humani-
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Europe.
Cover illustration: Ganz Deutschland hört den Führer mit dem Volksempfänger, 1936. © BPK,
Berlin
Cover design: Maedium, Utrecht
Lay-out: Heymans & Vanhove, Goes
isbn 978 90 8964 426 8
e-isbn 978 90 4851 632 2 (pdf)
e-isbn 978 90 4851 633 9 (ePub)
nur 686 / 962
Creative Commons License CC BY NC ND
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0)
Vignette cc C. Birdsall / Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam 2012
Some rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, any part of
this book may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise).
Every effort has been made to obtain permission to use all copyrighted illustrations reproduced
in this book. Nonetheless, whosoever believes to have rights to this material is advised to contact
the publisher.
Content
Acknowledgements 7
Abbreviations 9
Introduction 11
1. Affirmative Resonances in Urban Space 31
2. The Festivalisation of the Everyday 65
3. Mobilising Sound for the Nation at War 103
4. Cinema as a Gesamtkunstwerk? 141
Afterword: Echoes of the Past 173
Notes 180
Bibliography 217
Track List 255
Index 257
5
Acknowledgements
A great number of individuals have helped me during the preparation of this
book. In 2003-2004, I began archival research and an oral history project. This
was enabled by the institutional support offered by Erika Münster-Schroer (Stad-
tarchiv Ratingen), who made phone calls and introductions, provided me with a
workspace, and even set up a newspaper interview to feature the research project.
I am particularly grateful to Ernst van Alphen, who first took a chance on an “in-
triguing” idea and nurtured its development into what was eventually a funded
project in 2004. Ernst, Mieke Bal and Esther Peeren not only inspired me through
their own writing, teaching and intellectual commitment, but also made my own
process that much easier with their perceptive feedback and meticulous attention
to detail. At the University of Amsterdam, I thank the Amsterdam School for
Cultural Analysis and the Department of Media Studies for institutional support,
my colleagues for their discussions and peer support, and my students, whose
enthusiasm and critical questions about listening and sound media have helped
to shape this book.
A number of individuals and institutions kindly supported me in gathering materi-
als for the book. Special thanks to the archives and organisations who hosted me,
and whose staff provided invaluable assistance: Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv Berlin,
Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin, Düsseldorf Stadtarchiv (Andrea Trudewind
and Clemens von Looz-Corswarem), Düsseldorf Universitäts- und Landesarchiv,
Düsseldorf Karnevalsmuseum, Filmmuseum Düsseldorf (Sabine Lenk and Mar-
gret Schild), Geschichtswerkstatt Düsseldorf, German Radio Archive (Andreas
Dan and Jörg Wyrschöwy), Preussischer Kulturbesitz (Bildarchiv), Schloss Wahn
(Theaterwissenschlaftliche Sammlung), Staatsarchiv NRW (Düsseldorf), Stadt-
museum Düsseldorf and Westdeutscher Rundfunk (Cologne).
Several portions of Nazi Soundscapes have been derived from the following arti-
cles: “Earwitnessing: Sound Memories of the Nazi Period,” in Sound Souvenirs:
Audio Technologies, Memory and Cultural Practices, edited by Karin Bijsterveld
and José van Dijck (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2009, 169-81);
“Sound Bites! Dissonant Audiovisions as Historiophony in Hitler’s Hit Parade,”
in Sonic Mediations: Body, Sound, Technology, edited by Carolyn Birdsall and
Anthony Enns (Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars, 2008, 259-75); “‘Affirmative
Resonances’ in the City? Sound, Imagination and Urban Space in Early 1930s
Germany,” in Sonic Interventions: Sex, Race, Place, edited by Sylvia Mieszkows-
ki, Joy Smith and Marijke de Valck (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2007. 57-86); “‘All of
acknowledgements 7
Germany Listens to the Führer’: Radio’s Acoustic Space and ‘Imagined Listen-
ing Community’ in Nazi Germany,” in Hearing Places: Sound, Place, Time and
Culture, edited by Ros Bandt, Michelle Duffy and Dolly MacKinnon (Newcastle:
Cambridge Scholars, 2007, 192-201). I’m grateful to each of the publishers for
permission to draw on relevant portions of these chapters, and for the comments
from the readers and editors of these publications, which were very helpful in the
subsequent development of the book.
I would like to thank those colleagues and friends who took the time to share
helpful feedback and guidance during the research process: Jasper Aalbers, Alec
Badenoch, Ruth Benschop, Stephan Besser, Karin Bijsterveld, Thomas Elsaesser,
Anthony Enns, Andreas Fickers, Hanneke Grootenboer, Matthias Grzegorczyk,
Tereza Havelková, Jan Hein Hoogstad, Elke Huwiler, Annelies Jacobs, Chris-
toph Lindner, Vincent Meelberg, Ihab Saloul, Natalie Scholz, Senta Siewert, Jen-
nifer Steetskamp, Susan Stocker, Wanda Strauven, José van Dijck, Frank van
Vree, Pieter Verstraete and Michael Wedel. In particular, I’d like to thank Bruce
Johnson, for his mentorship, intellectual generosity and astute comments on the
dissertation. While I was still an undergraduate student, it was Bruce who first
encouraged my research interests, introduced me to soundscape studies, and took
me on a great excursion to visit an anechoic chamber in a scientific laboratory
in Sydney.
For their assistance with copyediting and translations, I thank Clare Donald,
Joop Bindels, Claudia Funk and Johanna Kirn. My special appreciation goes to
Amsterdam University Press for their professionality and assistance, in particu-
lar Jeroen Sondervan and Chantal Nicolaes, as well as to the two readers of the
manuscript for their feedback and insightful suggestions for sharpening my argu-
ments. On a more personal note, for their kind hospitality during my research
in Germany, I wish to express my appreciation to Sruti Bala, Wibke Bergemann,
Dagmar Bleu, Bozena Leschczyk and Hendrik, Carola and Jupp Ingenhoven.
This book could not have been completed without my friends and family – thank
you for your encouragement and for reminding me how to enjoy the good life.
In particular, I thank my mother for her love and support, and my sister for her
friendship and ready advice on English technicalities! Most of all, I thank Mat-
thieu Uittenbogaard. The whole process has been that much easier thanks to your
love and faith in me, as well as your patience, sound advice and good company.
8 nazi soundscapes
Abbreviations
BA Bundesarchiv
DRA Deutsches Rundfunkarchiv (Frankfurt)
DTMB Archiv Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin, Archive
FLAK Flugabwehrkanone (Anti-aircraft artillery)
HStaD Hauptstaatsarchiv NRW (Düsseldorf)
KdF Kraft durch Freude (Strength through Joy)
KPD Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands (German Commu-
nist Party)
NSDAP Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (Nation-
al Socialist German Workers’ Party)
NSV Nationalsozialistische Volkswohlfahrt (National Social-
ist People’s Welfare)
RFB Roter Frontkämpferbund (Red Front Fighters’ League)
RLB Reichsluftschutzbund (National Air Protection Corps)
SA Sturmabteilung (Stormtroopers)
SPD Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (Social Demo-
cratic Party of Germany)
SS Schutzstaffel (Shield Squadron)
StaD Stadtarchiv Düsseldorf
ULB Düsseldorf Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek, Düsseldorf (Univer-
sitätsarchiv)
abbreviations 9
