Ferdinand Friedrich Hermann Nielebock (17 April 1888 – 16 July 1954),
''Munzinger'' Internationales Biographisches Archiv 35/1954 vom 23., August 1954 known as Herms Niel, was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

of military songs and marches.

Biography

Upon finishing school in 1902, Niel completed his apprenticeship with the

Genthin Genthin () is a town in Jerichower Land district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Geography Genthin is situated east of the Elbe river on the Elbe-Havel Canal, approx. northeast of Magdeburg and west of Brandenburg. The municipal area consists of ...

choirmaster Adolf Büchner. In October 1906, he joined the

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (german: Deutsches Heer), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the l ...

and was admitted as a

trombonist The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

and

oboist An oboist (formerly hautboist) is a musician who plays the oboe or any oboe family instrument, including the oboe d'amore, cor anglais or English horn, bass oboe and piccolo oboe or oboe musette. The following is a list of notable past and pres ...

in the 1st Infantry Regiment of the Guard (''1. Garderegiment zu Fuss'') in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he was

bandmaster A bandmaster is the leader and conductor of a band, usually a concert band, military band, brass band or a marching band. British Armed Forces In the British Army, bandmasters of the Royal Corps of Army Music now hold the rank of staff s ...

of the 423rd German Infantry Regiment. In 1919, he was demobilized and worked as an official in the administration until 1927. That same year, he co-founded in Potsdam the ''Ritterschaftsorchester'' (the Knights' Orchestra), where he was composer and lyricist. After the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

seized power, Niel, in 1933, joined their

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature f ...

as member 2,171,788.Prieberg, Feed K. (2004) ''Handbuch Deutsche Musiker 1933–1945'', CD-Rom-Lexikon, Kiel, p. 4,882 He became a ''

Sturmabteilung The (; SA; literally "Storm Detachment") was the original paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s. Its primary purposes were providing protection for Nazi ral ...

'' troop leader, before receiving a promotion to band leader of the '' Reicharbeitsdienst'' (RAD) training establishment in Potsdam. During the

period of National Socialism Period may refer to: Common uses * Era, a length or span of time * Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...

, he dedicated himself to composing marches and songs, which were popularized by the NSDAP and widely distributed on all fronts of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. At the Nazi party rallies in Nuremberg he was the conductor of all RAD music bands. Niel also invented and designed a

fanfare trumpet A fanfare trumpet, also called a herald trumpet, is a brass instrument similar to but longer than a trumpet, capable of playing specially composed fanfares. Its extra length can also accommodate a small ceremonial banner that can be mounted on it. ...

, known as the ''Herms Niel-Doppelfanfare'', in E and B flat, which was manufactured in 1938 by Ernst Hess Nachf., an

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

factory in

Klingenthal Klingenthal is a town in the Vogtland region, in Saxony, south-eastern Germany. It is situated directly on the border with the Czech Republic opposite the Czech town of Kraslice, 29 km southeast of Plauen, and 33 km northwest of Karlo ...

. During the postwar era, Niel lived in

Lingen Lingen (), officially Lingen (Ems), is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. In 2008, its population was 52,353, and in addition there were about 5,000 people who registered the city as their secondary residence. Lingen, specifically "Lingen (Ems)" is ...

, where he died in 1954.

Works

* "Adlerlied" * "Antje, mein blondes Kind" * "Das Engellandlied" (1939), lyrics:

Hermann Löns Hermann Löns (29 August 1866 – 26 September 1914) was a German journalist and writer. He is most famous as "The Poet of the Heath" for his novels and poems celebrating the people and landscape of the North German moors, particularly the L ...

) * "Die ganze Kompanie" * "Du Schönste von Städtel, schwarzbraunes Mädel" * "Es blitzen die stählernen Schwingen" * " Erika (Auf der Heide blüht ein kleines Blümelein)" (in the 1930s) * "Es geht ums Vaterland" * "Es ist so schön, Soldat zu sein, Rosemarie''" *" Es war ein Edelweiß" * "Edelweißmarsch" * "Fallschirmjägerlied" * "Fliegerkuss" * "Frühmorgens singt die Amsel" * "Gerda – Ursula – Marie" * "Hannelore Marschlied" * "Heut´ sind wir wieder unter uns" * "Heut’ stechen wir ins blaue Meer" * "Heute muß ich scheiden" * "Im Osten pfeift der Wind" * "In der Heimat steh’n auf Posten" * "Jawoll, das stimmt, jawoll" * "Kamerad, wir marschieren gen Westen" * "Liebchen adé (Annemarie-Polka)" (1934) * "Liebling, wenn ich traurig bin…" * "Marie - Mara - Maruschkaka!" * "Matrosenlied" * "Mein Bismarckland" * "Mit Mercedes Benz voran" * "Rosalinde" * "Rosemarie (Rosemarie, ich lieb' dich gar so sehr)" * "Ruck Zuck" * "Stuka über Afrika" * "Unsere Flagge" * "Veronika - Marie" * "Waltraut ist ein schönes Mädchen" * "Wenn die Sonne scheint, Annemarie (Die Landpartie)" * "Tschingta, Tschingta, Bummtara"

References

External links

Brief biography of Herms Niel

Herms Niel in postcards

University of Osnabrück A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

List of songs
at Deutscheslied.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Niel, Herms 1888 births 1954 deaths 20th-century trombonists 20th-century German male musicians German composers German male composers German oboists German trombonists German military musicians German Army personnel of World War I Male oboists Male trombonists March musicians People from Jerichower Land People from the Province of Saxony Prussian Army personnel Sturmabteilung personnel Reich Labour Service members German bandleaders