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.
Our podcast is brought to you by our patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early access to podcast episodes, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistory
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.

Podcast Episodes
E100: Vietnam War strike wave, part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:38
With the background of the Vietnam war, rising prices and stagnant wages, workers in the US began to ignore calls to support the war effort and keep working, and instead launch a wave of wildcat strikes in key industries…
E99: Vietnam War strike wave, part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:16
With the background of the Vietnam war, rising prices and stagnant wages, workers in the US began to ignore calls to support the war effort and keep working, and instead launch a wave of wildcat strikes in key industries…
E96: Bootleg miners, part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:52
During the Great Depression in the US, facing mass job losses and abject poverty, thousands of coal miners in Pennsylvania took direct action and began digging their own mines on company property. We tell their story in…
E95: Bootleg miners, part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:27
During the Great Depression in the US, facing mass job losses and abject poverty, thousands of coal miners in Pennsylvania took direct action and began digging their own mines on company property. We tell their story in…
WCL9: Chinese migrant worker poetry, part 3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:00
The final episode of our three-part series about migrant worker poetry in China. We speak to Maghiel van Crevel, Professor of Chinese Language and Literature at Leiden University. Maghiel has travelled extensively in Chi…
WCL8: Chinese migrant worker poetry, part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:08
Part 2 of our three-part series about migrant worker poetry in China. We speak to Maghiel van Crevel, Professor of Chinese Language and Literature at Leiden University. Maghiel has travelled extensively in China, meeting…
WCL7: Chinese migrant worker poetry, part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:33
First of the three-part series on migrant worker poetry in China. In these episodes, we speak to Maghiel van Crevel, Professor of Chinese Language and Literature at Leiden University. Maghiel has travelled extensively in…