Sic Semper Tyrannis

Synchronicity

Tonight I saw a movie that was the culmination of about three or four weeks of art house delights. The Rape of Europa was a documentary about the systematic theft and destruction of fine art by Nazi Germany all across Europe and the recovery efforts mounted by artists and experts after World War II that still continue today. Quite a fascinating movie about a period of history that I don't really know much about.

But seeing this movie bookended nicely with the novel I just finished today-- Dragon's Teeth by Upton Sinclair, the dude who is more famous for writing The Jungle. This is a book about the rise of the Nazis, written very close in time to the actual events, told in an interesting manner, as seen from the viewpoint of people of high society globetrotting around with their surroundings slowly decaying from the troublesome economy of the time.

There was a passage toward the end describing a performance of the Beethoven Violin Concerto, (which I really want to hear now), by an accomplished Jewish performer that really caught my attention:

Nobody in that hall failed to know that he was a Jew, and that this was a time of anguish for his people. Such anti-Semitism as there was in Paris was not among the art-lovers, and to shout "Bravo!" at this young virtuoso was to declare yourself for the cause of freedom and human decency.

Lanny thought about the great composer, friend of mankind and champion of the oppressed. His concerto had been played badly in his own lifetime, and what a revelation it would have been to him to hear it rendered by a soloist and a conductor, neither having a score. But then Lanny thought: "What would Beethoven think if he could see what is happening in the land of his birth?" So the dreams of art fled, and painful reality took their place. Lanny thought: "The German soul has been captured by Hitler! What can he give it but his own madness and distraction? What can he make of it but an image of his distorted self?"

This is recommended reading.

posted by Mike @ 9:59 PM