2nd June 1941
Franz Lehár

Franz Lehár (1870 - 1948)

Franz Lehár (1870 - 1948) was an Austro-Hungarian composer. He is mainly known for his operettas, of which the most successful and best known is The Merry Widow (Die lustige Witwe).

Lehár's relationship with the Nazi regime was an uneasy one. He had always used Jewish librettists for his operas and had been part of the cultural milieu in Vienna which included a significant Jewish contingent. Further, although Lehár was Roman Catholic, his wife, Sophie (née Paschkis) had been Jewish before her conversion to Catholicism upon marriage, and this was sufficient to generate hostility towards them personally and towards his work. Hitler enjoyed Lehár's music, and hostility diminished across Germany after Joseph Goebbels' intervention on Lehár's part. In 1938 Mrs. Lehár was given the status of 'Ehrenarierin' (honorary Aryan by marriage). Nonetheless, attempts were made at least once to have her deported.

The Nazi regime was aware of the uses of Lehár's music for propaganda purposes: concerts of his music were given in occupied Paris in 1941. Even so, Lehár's influence was limited. It is alleged that he tried personally to secure Hitler's guarantee of the safety of one of his librettists, Fritz Löhner-Beda, but he was not able to prevent the murder of Beda in Auschwitz-III. He also tried to prevent the arrest of Louis Treumann, the first Danilo in The Merry Widow, but the 70-year old Treumann and his wife Stefanie were sent to Theresienstadt concentration camp on 28th July 1942, where Stefanie died in September of that year and Louis died on 5th March 1943.

On 12th January 1939 and 30th April 1940, Lehár personally received awards from Hitler in Berlin and Vienna, including the Goethe Medal. On Hitler's birthday in 1938, Lehár had given him as a special gift a red Morocco leather volume in commemoration of the 50th performance of The Merry Widow.

Lehar died aged 78 in 1948 in Bad Ischl, near Salzburg, and was buried there. His younger brother Anton became the administrator of his estate, promoting the popularity of Franz Lehár's music.

Source: Wikipedia

Pierre Vandendries (1908 - 1993)

Pierre Vandendries is a Belgian poet and literary critic, he is also the author of biographies of painters and artists.

Vandendries collaborated on the Tribune magazine founded in 1934 by the poet Jean Groffier.

Vandendries was one of the founders of the Society of Young Authors and founded the literary and cultural magazine Évasion. He also made a career with Belgian radio where he was editor-in-chief of the Radio-Conférence talk show and from 1930 to the end of the 1950s, the voice of Pierre Vandendries became familiar to many both on the radio and in the filmed news commentary.

Vandendries devoted some time to composing songs. The pianist and publisher Robert Swing asked him to create songs, some of which are still broadcast today, notably La Chanson des violins. He abandoned singing in 1959 to become a member of the general secretariat of the Conference of Summits, a cultural and humanitarian organisation.

Source: Wikipedia

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