E72: Swing Kids and Edelweiss Pirates

E72: Swing Kids and Edelweiss Pirates

Author: Working Class History April 3, 2023 Duration: 31:51
Podcast episode about anti-fascist youth cultural movements in Nazi Germany before and during World War II. In particular we look at the German Edelweiss Pirates and Swing Kids, and in our patreon bonus episode we also speak about the French Zazous and the Austrian Schlurfs.
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Despite years of indoctrination, young people in fascist Europe in the 1930s and 40s resisted the authoritarianism and conformism of Nazi rule. We hear from former Edelweiss Pirate Walter Mayer, and speak with historian Nick Heath about these little-known movements.
See sources, more information and a transcript on the webpage for this episode here: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/72-edelweiss-pirates-swing-kids/.
Acknowledgements
  • Thanks to our patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands and Jamison D. Saltsman.
  • Episode graphic, mural of a group of Edelweiss Pirates in Cologne, courtesy wwwuppertal Flickr, CC by 2.0.
  • Edited by Louise Barry
  • The theme music was Functionizin’, by Fats Waller, courtesy of the Swiss Foundation and Wikimedia Commons.
  • Also featured was Richard Wagner’s Gerechter Gott, performed by Ernestine Schumann-Heink also courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

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