Art mirrors politics

Rules and exceptions During World War II, the Nazis centralised musical censorship in tandem with their political alliances: while music by Italians, who were allied to the Germans, was performed, composers from enemy countries such as France and Poland were banned. Exceptions included Bizet’s Carmen, which remained a popular favourite in German opera houses, and Chopin, who enjoyed the patronage of Hans Frank, the Governor of Occupied Poland. Russian music temporarily enjoyed favour between 1939 and ’41 with the signing of the Molotovribbentrop pact, but largely disappeared after Germany invaded Russia.

The British were less regimented, preferring the fluid policies that guided musical life during World War I. Nevertheless, the BBC issued a list of composers whose work was deemed unsuitable for British audiences. The voluminous correspondence to be found in the BBC Written Archives reveals that the researchers who compiled the list of forbidden German and Austrian music had failed to do their homework properly. Among those proscribed were several composers who were not only victims of Nazi persecution, but who had also been granted refugee status in Britain.