Fritz Weiss (

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

: Bedřich Weiss) (28 September 1919 – 28 September 1944) was a Czech

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

musician and arranger, active in the first half of the 20th century. He was an organizer of jazz performances and an important participant in the musical life of the

Theresienstadt concentration camp Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination c ...

. Weiss was murdered in the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

Biography

Early years

Weiss was born into a middle-class German-speaking Prague family of

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

origin. He became interested in jazz at an early age, and soon began to participate in the jazz life of Prague. He started to play violin, but later switched to trumpet. As a student of the ''Prague English Grammar School'' he became a member of the school orchestra called ''Swing Rhythm'', where he played first trumpet. Playing in the orchestra he met a significant exponent of Czech jazz, Karel Vlach. Among the members of the orchestra were Germans, Czechs and Jews; the bandleader was Czech pianist Milan Halla. The situation changed in 1939, with the rise of

Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...

. Some of the German musicians left the ensemble, because they did not want to play with Jews. In 1939, Weiss moved to the newly founded ''Karel Ludvík Orchestra''. He played first trumpet, but his performing with the band was more and more problematic because of

racial laws Anti-Jewish laws have been a common occurrence throughout the history of antisemitism and Jewish history. Examples of such laws include special Jewish quotas, Jewish taxes and Jewish "disabilities". During the 1930s and early 1940s, some law ...

. He was finally forced to leave the orchestra. However, he anonymously participated in the recording of gramophone records. As a member of the ''Karel Ludvík Orchestra'', Weiss became a bandleader and helped to organize rehearsals, but above all, he arranged the major part of the repertory of the ensemble. The Jewish jazz musicians used to practice 1940–1941 in the Jewish Orphanage.

Theresienstadt

On the 4 December 1941 Fritz Weiss was sent, as part of the second Aufbaukommando, to the

. He was on transport J that took 1000 people from Prague to Theresienstadt. He took part in musical events held in the camp, and he even continued his collaboration with orchestras outside of the camp. With the help of Czech police officers he managed to obtain music paper and scores needed for arranging jazz compositions. He later secretly sent his arrangements out of the camp. He collaborated mainly with Arnošt Kavka, the singer of the ''Karel Vlach Orchestra''. In Theresienstadt, Weiss founded his own quintet, active up to August 1944. In 1943 he also became an artistic leader and arranger of the Theresienstadt Dixieland ensemble called Ghetto Swingers. Both bands collaborated in various performances and the number of musicians increased, especially following the arrival of Danish and Dutch Jewish jazz players. Weiss, together with Berlin pianist Martin Roman, composed and arranged more than thirty new compositions for the ensembles. The most popular composition was the jazz arrangement of the children's opera Brundibár, originally composed by Hans Krása. In June 1944, during the visit of the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

to the camp, the '' Ghetto Swingers'' were forced to participate in the propaganda performance organized by

Kurt Gerron Kurt Gerron (born Kurt Gerson; 11 May 1897 – 30 October 1944) was a German Jewish actor and film director. He had a very successful career in cabaret and film before World War II, but was then forbidden to work and was sent to Theresienstadt ...

, coerced by the Germans to deceive the outside world. The ensemble also appeared in the propaganda movie '' The Fuhrer Gives a City to the Jews'', made during this event. In September 1944, Fritz Weiss's father was sent in the transport to the Auschwitz extermination camp. His son joined him and stayed with him during the selection. Both father and son were murdered in the gas chambers of Auschwitz. Fritz Weiss was murdered in Auschwitz on 28 September 1944, the day of his 25th birthday.Sources differ a bit about details of his death - Kuna and Vogel quote 4 September, while Dorůžka corrects their claim with information from the '' Jewish Museum in Prague''.

Recordings

*
In Defiance of Fate. Compositions arranged by Fritz Weiss for the Emil Ludvík Orchestra. Unique recordings from 1940–41.
' Jewish Museum in Prague, 2003. D ŽMP006.

Notes

References

* *E. Vogel; B. Marek: ''Za Bedřichem Weissem''. (republished in the album notes of the ''In Defiance of Fate'' CD without further details) *

External links

Fritz Weiss and a series of miraculous wartime jazz recordings (Czech Radio)Jazzman Fritz Weiss navzdory osudu (Holocaust.cz)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weiss, Fritz 1919 births 1944 deaths Czech people who died in Auschwitz concentration camp Czech Jews who died in the Holocaust Musicians from Prague Theresienstadt Ghetto prisoners Czech jazz bandleaders Czech jazz clarinetists Czechoslovak civilians killed in World War II People killed by gas chamber by Nazi Germany Jewish jazz musicians Ghetto Swingers members