Beethoven in history and politics

A charisma impressed on the pages of the twentieth century

A man of the 19th century with a Romantic spirit, Beethoven’s fortunes were extraordinary in the 20th century. Embodying the ideals of harmony and peace, his music and name brought light and hope to humanity at the darkest times of that tormented century. And yet, ideological dissonance with this spirit was seen on all sides of the political spectrum – whether it was the Nazis or the Viet Cong – along with crude exploitation of the composer’s charisma and his powerful music. Who knows whether, in some cases, the Maestro would have approved? Definitely not, but this is the tribute paid to the apotheosis of the Myth.

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WILHELM SCHULZ, German illustrator, painter, caricaturist and graphic artist, *1865 – †1952.
Beethoven, Simplicissimus, Nr. 38, 15. Dezember 1920.

Front page of the famous satirical weekly published in Munich. The large blue and black pencil drawing was produced in the spirit of patriotism for the 150th anniversary of the birth of Beethoven: the “Sovereign master of inspiration, without whom the sacred frenzy of the Muses would be extinguished forever” (Rodin)

WILHELM SCHULZ, German illustrator, painter, caricaturist and graphic artist, *1865 – †1952.
Beethoven, Simplicissimus, Nr. 38, 15. Dezember 1920.

The composer appears on a desolate battlefield, a reminder of the horrors of the recently ended First World War. His expression seems to be one of disapproval. His face is silhouetted against a black sky that is lit up from below by the sun’s rays, a message of hope for a better future.

A. JOHNSON
Das Schicksal pocht an die Pforte, Fate knocks at the door, Kriegspostkarte (war postcard), c. 1915.

In the foreground, General Paul von Hindenburg holds an hourglass in one hand and knocks at the door with the other. A terrified Tsar Nicholas II appears with his hands clasped in prayer. Even mice escape from his dilapidated house. Beneath the general’s boot are the opening bars of the Fifth Symphony.

Italy’s Participation in the Beethoven Centenary in 1927

Announcement of Benito Mussolini’s message to the Hamburger Nachrichten for the Beethoven Centenary.

Italy’s Participation in the Beethoven Centenary in 1927

Original handwritten message dated 4 February 1927 – V.

Italy’s Participation in the Beethoven Centenary in 1927

Mussolini meets Mascagni, Italy’s representative in Vienna for the Beethoven Centenary celebrations.

Heiligentadt, Pfarrplatz n.2, 1938, photo postcard of the famous Gasthaus in Heiligenstadt, Vienna, where Beethoven lived in 1817.

Loved and frequented by Viennese and tourists alike for its characteristic atmosphere and local fine wines (Beethovenwein), in this original photo the Gasthaus appears to have been “decorated”, not long after Austria’s annexation by Germany in 1938.

ELISABETH BENEDIKT, German-Austrian graphic artist, *Munich, 22 September 1897 – †Vienna, 8 May 1977, founded the renowned, historic Atelier Benedict-Krali in Vienna with her husband Franz Kralicek in 1937.
Beethoven–Woche (Beethoven Week), Baden bei Wien, Niederdonau, 3–11 September 1938.
Original chromolithograph poster on thick paper. With printed signature and initials at the bottom. Christoph Reisser’s Söhne editor.

A rare poster of great historical interest, forerunning German tastes of the 1940s. Beethoven is out walking in Baden, where he composed the Ninth Symphony. In the bottom left is the Beethoventempel in the Kurpark (1927), bottom right is the Stadttheater (1908–1909). The composer’s figure looms against the blue sky, a symbol of life, energy and all that is above.

However, the darkness of night surrounds the temple dedicated to the composer and the house where his music will be played: it is a sad presage of an imminent catastrophe. On 12 March 1938, the Nazis invaded Austria without resistance and were greeted in Vienna with enthusiasm. Written text and flags with the swastika were also displayed in the houses in Baden and Heiligenstadt where Beethoven had lived.

JOSEPH GOEBBELS (curator)
Wo die „Neunte” enstand: Beethoven – Fest 1939, 16 bis 23 Juli, Baden bei Wien.

Original programme for an event in Baden, where the Ninth Symphony was composed.
Under the patronage of the Reich Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda Dr Joseph Goebbels. Concerts conducted by: Hans Knappertsbusch and Oswald Kabasta.

PAUL BARBIER
Malheur! Qu’as tu fait de l’Allemagne!!! (O misery! What have you done to Germany!!!), French anti-militarist propaganda postcard, Paris, 1939.

Bemoaning the tragic war that has just begun, Beethoven and Goethe point an accusatory finger at Hitler, who holds a dagger and has blood on his hands, while standing over a pile of rubble and lifeless bodies.

HARLAN W. MORTON
Will Beethoven stop Hitler? The Etude No. 9, monthly magazine, Philadelphia Presser, USA, September 1941, page 586, continuing on page 642.

In-depth article on the use of the “V” sign to mean “Victory” and also “Fifth Symphony” in Anglo-American propaganda against Nazi Germany. The widespread use of this symbol and also of the opening of the Fifth Symphony is demonstrated in Morton’s thorough description.

V for Victory and for Fifth Symphony
Examples of forms and uses of the “V” symbol in propaganda by the Anglo-American Allies.

V stands for Fifth Symphony.
V •••– (three dots and a line) is the letter V in the Morse code alphabet.
V •••– (three short notes and one long note) are the opening notes to the Fifth Symphony: ta – ta – ta – taaam.
V stands for Victory.

British cinderella stamp seal, displaying the V for Victory, the first notes of the Fifth Symphony and the encoding of the letter V in the Morse code alphabet.

V for Victory. Winston Churchill’s famous sign during the Second World War and the opening notes to the Fifth Symphony, the introduction to the BBC’s Radio London.

Very rare stamp of the Third Reich with overprint “V•••–”, authorised by the Anglo-American Allied Command for circulation in Germany for a short period in May 1945.

V for the Voyager 1 space probe (Cape Canaveral, 1977) carrying the Golden Record with the First Movement of the Fifth Symphony. It is the furthest man-made object from Earth: on 25 August 2012 it permanently left the Solar System. Beethoven’s masterpiece is now in interstellar space, about 23 billion kilometres from Earth.

Commemorative stamp for the 30th Anniversary of the launch of Voyager 1, with sheet of the Republic of Guinea, 2007.

A daring portrait in a distinctly German style. Beethoven’s face is very broad and there are no clothing details. He is grim, invincible, timeless, perhaps wearing a uniform. The work was produced in 1941 in Austria, which by then was part of Greater Germany. The Austrians in this portfolio – Haydn, Mozart, Schubert and Bruckner – had now become “Deutsche Tondichter”!!!

GORGON VINZENZ, Austrian painter and academic, *Vienna, 16 March 1891 - †Vienna, 10 December 1961.
Ludwig van Beethoven 1770 - 1827, brown-toned lithograph on cardboard signed by the artist at the bottom left of the image. Part of a series of 16 lithographs in the original portfolio “Deutsche Tondichter”. Wien, Wiener Verlagsgesellschaft, Reisser’s Söhne 1941, cm. 68x48.

“I will seize Fate by the throat. It shall never wholly overcome me”, and continues, “Would I could have a thousand lives”, from Beethoven’s letter to Franz Gerhard Wegeler, Vienna, 16 November 1801.

WERNER VON AXTER-HEUDTLASS, German graphic artist and advertising illustrator, *Berlin, 27 March 1898 – †Berlin, 26 November 1949.
Ich will..., original Wochenspruch der NSDAP, wall newspaper of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party published by the Reich Ministry of Propaganda, Munich, 26 March – 1 April 1944, signed and dated, 35 x 24 cm.

Bombs refuse to hit Beethoven

To the right. Last photo of the Beethoven Monument in Münsterplatz, Bonn, before the bombing on 1 December 1944.

To the left. The monument miraculously undamaged after the bombing on 1 December 1944.

Bonngasse and Beethoven’s birthplace after the bombing.

View of the large concert hall, early 1900s.

Quartet of photographs of the old Beethovenhalle in Bonn.

View of the hall converted into a military hospital, c. 1916. A moving image that is so sharp that we can see the suffering on the faces of the war-wounded in the stalls, the boxes and even on the stage, as well as the staff posing and the many empty beds suggesting the worst.

Quartet of photographs of the old Beethovenhalle in Bonn.

View of the Beethovenhalle converted into a conference hall for the first meeting of Bonn city council on 31 march 1933.

Quartet of photographs of the old Beethovenhalle in Bonn.

The Beethovenhalle in ruins and an Anglo-American tank, 1945.

Quartet of photographs of the old Beethovenhalle in Bonn.

The cartoon refers to the conflict between the fedayeen of the Black September Organisation and King Hussein of Jordan, which began on 16 September 1970. A Fatah militant, almost entirely consumed by fire, turns furiously to King Hussein of Jordan, saying, “Ah, we will remember...”. And the king answers, “... ...the Beethoven anniversary year!”

REISER, one of the greatest French satirical cartoon artists of the 20th century.
L'Hebdo Hara-Kiri, cover of the famous French magazine with cartoons and satirical content. Paris, Editions du Square, n. 87, 28 September 1970. The magazine was a forerunner of today’s Charlie Hebdo, sadly famous for the 2015 terrorist attack.

Beethoven Viet Cong. A demonstrator comes down from the Beethoven Monument in Münsterplatz after “decorating” it with a Viet Cong flag. Young demonstrators left the flag on the statue throughout the entire demonstration organised to protest the visit of president of South Vietnam Nguyen van Thieu.

Original photograph, Bonn (West Germany), 11 April 1973.

Ode of Sadness, Sarajevo’s music nights. Moving, historic postcard produced during the tragic, years-long siege of the city (1992–1996). The glare from the fire that destroyed the historic National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the night of 25 August 1992 also illuminates the composer’s austere face above the ruins. 

The verso reads: “This document has been created in war circumstances: No paper, no inks, no electricity, no water. Just good will”.

FUAD HADZIHALILOVIC, director of the Collegium Artisticum arts and culture centre in Sarajevo.

NAVIGATION GUIDE

This section is a legacy of the online exhibition “The Man. The Genius. The Myth” presented in 2021, preserved here in its essential content. The narrative unfolds in three main themes:

THE MAN dedicated to the most important events and themes in the composer’s life;
THE GENIUS dedicated to his works and how they are interpreted in the figurative arts;
THE MYTH dedicated to the worldwide spread of the Beethoven Myth, the exploitation of the composer’s image for commercial and political purposes, his veneration and desecration.

Several sub-itineraries are proposed within each of the three.

For example:
when the “GENIUS” itinerary is selected, the “SIXTH SYMPHONY” sub-itinerary becomes available.
Each sub-itinerary consists of a Gallery of works and/or documents on the theme with a short introduction.
Each image is accompanied by a description and can be enlarged and viewed in a different resolution.
The “INTRO” feature is a short audiovisual introduction to the specific section.

CREDITS: all works and documents are from the Carrino Collection
© Collezione Carrino – Casa Museo Biblioteca Beethoveniana
Any use of these images is prohibited without the express permission of Casa Museo Biblioteca Beethoveniana.

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NAVIGATION GUIDE