Friedrich Wilhelm Herzog (30 March 1902 – 3 November 1976) was a German writer and music critic.

Life

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Born in Oldenburg, Herzog joined the National Socialist German Workers' Party in 1931 and became head of the music department of the Militant League for German Culture.[1] After the Machtergreifung by the Nazi, he and 87 other writers signed the Gelöbnis treuester Gefolgschaft to Adolf Hitler in October 1933.[1] In 1934, he published the book Was ist deutsche Musik in which he wrote: "We want music that is filled with the expressive power of the National Socialist idea."[2] In the same year on 1 July, he became editor of the magazine Die Musik, Organ der NS-Kulturgemeinde. At the end of August 1935, Herzog was briefly held in Gestapo custody because, according to the diary entries of Goebbels, he had seriously insulted his wife Magda.[3] This only harmed him in the short term, however, because in 1936 he was promoted from editor to editor of the journal Die Musik by the editor-in-chief. However, he was later replaced by Herbert Gerigk.[4] The latter judged thus Herzog: "Herzog made Die Musik into an uncompromisingly managed organ of National Socialist culture.“[5]

After the Second World War Herzog worked as a music teacher.[3] He died in his hometown Oldenburg in 1976 at the age of 74.

Work

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  • Wilhelm Backhaus. Der Pianist der Totalität, Berlin 1935 (Musikalische Schriftenreihe der NS-Kulturgemeinde, H. 8)[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b Ernst Klee: Das Kulturlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Who was what before and after 1945. S. Fischer, Frankfurt 2007, ISBN 978-3-10-039326-5, p. 238.
  2. ^ Quote from Ernst Klee: The Cultural Encyclopaedia on the Third Reich. Wer war was before and after 1945 S. Fischer, Frankfurt 2007, p. 238.
  3. ^ a b Ernst Klee: The Cultural Encyclopaedia on the Third Reich. Who was what before and after 1945. S. Fischer, Frankfurt 2007, p. 239.
  4. ^ Klee, Kulturlexikon, p. 179.
  5. ^ Quote by Ernst Klee: Das Kulturlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Wer war was vor und nach 1945. S. Fischer, Frankfurt 2007, p. 239.
  6. ^ Wilhelm Backhaus Der Pianist d. Totalität on WorldCat
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