[Dixielandjazz] JAZZ IN NAZI GERMANY

[Harry Callaghan]

Robert Calder's recent post here, still under the heading of "Hawkins and
Dixieland"  brought to mind a 1993 movie entitled "Swing Kids".

While the movie's title might intitally conjure a vision of an audience at
one of Steve Barbone's swing dances, it was instead a story of a bunch of
young jazz enthusiasts during the Nazi regime.

It starred among others Robert Sean Leonard (the oncologist on "House")
Christian Bale,(the latest Batman), Noah Wyle (from "ER") and the lovely
Barbara Hershey.

It was fictitious but I believe it was a reasonable depiction of how things
were at the time.  It had one of the cast members, a record collector,
explaining how any Benny Goodman records imported into the country would
only have Gene Krupa on the label as Goodman sounded Jewish and they would
be destroyed.

They would gather together for dances with a swing band but have a lookout
for the Gestapo.  When they were about to be discovered, the dance hall
would revert to them waltzing to an oompah pah band.

Well worth the watch if you can find it on video.

Tides
HC
-- 
Beware of Greeks bearing gifts
      - Vergil: The Aeneid Book II