Bruno Balz
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Bruno Balz (October 6, 1902 – March 14, 1988) was a German homosexual songwriter and schlager writer.
From the time he wrote the music for the first German sound film until his retirement in the 1960s, Bruno Balz was responsible for the lyrics to over a thousand popular hits. Much of his output was in conjunction with the composer Michael Jary; their songs helped make the singer Zarah Leander popular.
Balz was arrested several times for homosexuality. In 1936 he spent several months in prison, and was released under an agreement that mandated that his name was no longer to appear in public. To maintain the appearance of propriety he entered a "marriage blanc" with a woman named Selma. He was rearrested in 1941 by the Gestapo and was tortured in the Gestapo headquarters in Prinz-Albert-Straße. He was saved from imprisonment in a concentration camp by the intervention of Michael Jary, who persuaded officials that he could produce songs that would aid the war effort.[1] Within a day of his release, he had written two of his greatest successes, "Davon geht die Welt nicht unter" & "Ich weiß, es wird einmal ein Wunder gescheh'n". His film songs for Zarah Leander, a star of Nazi UFA musicals, became anthems for homosexuals imprisoned in concentration camps[2]
The fall of the Nazi regime did not spell an end to the persecution of Balz, as Paragraph 175, the law against homosexuality, continued in force. Thus his name is considerably less well-known than if he had been properly credited for his lyrics.
Balz's companion was painter and actor Jürgen Draeger, who was enjoined by a clause in Balz's will from talking about their relations for ten years following Balz's death.
The Bruno Balz Theatre in Berlin is named for him.
[edit] Songtexts
- Das kann doch einen Seemann nicht erschüttern (melody: Michael Jary, in: Paradies der Junggesellen)
- Wir wollen niemals auseinandergehen" (melody:Michael Jary)
- Das machen nur die Beine von Dolores (melody:Michael Jary)
- Kann denn Liebe Sünde sein? (Lothar Brühne, in: Der Blaufuchs)
- Roter Mohn (Michael Jary, in: Schwarzfahrt ins Glück)
- Der Wind hat mir ein Lied erzählt (Lothar Brühne, in: La Habanera)
- Ich weiß, es wird einmal ein Wunder gescheh'n (Michael Jary, in: Die große Liebe)
[edit] References
- ^ Guido Knopp, Hitler's Women, Routledge, 2003. p. 248.
- ^ Lareau, Alan (February 2005), “Lavender songs: undermining gender in Weimar cabaret and beyond”, Popular Music and Society, <http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2822/is_1_28/ai_n13716972/pg_10>. Retrieved on 26 November 2007
