Fritz Löhner-Beda

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Fritz Löhner-Beda, born Friedrich Löwy (born June 24, 1883, Wildenschwert/Ústí nad Orlicí, Bohemia – December 4, 1942, Auschwitz) was a Czech-Austrian librettist, lyricist and writer.

1 Life
2 Famous songs
3 Literature references
4 External links

[edit] Life

In the 1920s he became one of the most sought-after librettists and lyricists of Vienna. Together with Franz Lehár as composer, Ludwig Herzer as co-author and Richard Tauber as singer he produced the operettas Friederike (Frederica) (1928), Das Land des Lächelns (The Land of Smiles) (1929) and, with Paul Knepler as co-author, Giuditta (1934). Together with his friend Alfred Grünwald as co-author and Paul Abraham as composer he produced Viktoria und ihr Husar (Victoria and Her Hussar) (1930), Die Blume von Hawaii (Flower of Hawaii) (1931) and Ball im Savoy (Ball at the Savoy) (1932).

In mid-March 1938 Fritz Löhner-Beda was arrested and deported to the Dachau concentration camp on April 1, 1938. On September 23, 1938 he was displaced to the Buchenwald concentration camp. There he composed, together with his fellow prisoner Hermann Leopoldi, in the end of 1938 the famous anthem of the concentration camp, Das Buchenwaldlied (The Buchenwald Song):

O Buchenwald, ich kann dich nicht vergessen,

weil du mein Schicksal bist.

Wer dich verließ, der kann es erst ermessen,

wie wundervoll die Freiheit ist!

O Buchenwald, wir jammern nicht und klagen,

und was auch unser Schicksal sei,

wir wollen trotzdem Ja zum Leben sagen,

denn einmal kommt der Tag, dann sind wir frei!

O Buchenwald, I can’t forget about you,

because you are my fate.

Who leaves you, only he can appreciate

how wonderful freedom is!

O Buchenwald, we don’t cry and complain

and whatever may be our destiny,

even so we shall say “yes” to life

for once the day shall come when we shall be free!

His initial hope for an intercession by Franz Lehár was deceptive. On October 17, 1942 he was deported to the Monowitz concentration camp near Auschwitz. The circumstances of his death have been described by Raul Hilberg in The Destruction of the European Jews: After an inspection by directors of the syndicate IG Farben at which the already diseased Löhner-Beda was denounced as working not hard enough he was beaten to death on December 4, 1942.

[edit] Famous songs

Among the most famous songs for which he wrote the lyrics are:

In der Bar zum Krokodil (In the crocodile bar), music by Willy Engel-Berger
Du schwarzer Zigeuner (You black gypsy), Tango, an adaptation of Cikánka by Karel Vacek
Drunt' in der Lobau (Down there in the Lobau), music by Heinrich Strecker
Ausgerechnet Bananen (Of all things bananas), an adaptation of Yes, We Have No Bananas
Ich hab’ mein Herz in Heidelberg verloren (I’ve lost my heart in Heidelberg), music by Fred Raymond)
Oh, Donna Clara, Tango by Jerzy Petersburski
Wo sind deine Haare, August? (Where is your hair, August?), Foxtrot by Richard Fall
Was machst du mit dem Knie, lieber Hans? (What are you doing with the knee, dear Hans?), Pasodoble by Richard Fall
Dein ist mein ganzes Herz (Yours is my heart alone) from The Land of Smiles
Freunde, das Leben ist lebenswert (Friends, life is worth living) from Giuditta
Meine Lippen, sie küssen so heiß (My lips, they kiss so hotly) from Giuditta

[edit] Literature references

Günther Schwarberg: Dein ist mein ganzes Herz. Die Geschichte von Fritz Löhner-Beda, der die schönsten Lieder der Welt schrieb, und warum Hitler ihn ermorden ließ, Steidl, Göttingen 2000 (German) ISBN 978-3882437157 (hardback) ISBN 978-3882438925 (paperback)
Barbara Denscher, Helmut Peschina: Kein Land des Lächelns. Fritz Löhner-Beda 1883–1942, Residenz, Salzburg 2002 (German) ISBN 978-3701713028