Bruno Balz (6 October 1902, in

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

– 14 March 1988, in

Bad Wiessee Bad Wiessee (Central Bavarian: ''Bad Wiessä'') is a municipality in the district of Miesbach in Upper Bavaria in Germany. Since 1922, it has been a spa town and located on the western shore of the Tegernsee Lake. It had a population of around ...

) was a German

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

and schlager

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, pla ...

. From the time he wrote the music for the first German sound film until his retirement in the 1960s, Balz was responsible for the lyrics to over a thousand popular hits. Much of his output was in conjunction with the composer Michael Jary; their songs helped make the singer

Zarah Leander Zarah Leander (; 15 March 1907 – 23 June 1981) was a Swedish singer and actress whose greatest success was in Germany between 1936 and 1943, when she was contracted to work for the state-owned Universum Film AG (UFA). Although no exact record ...

popular. Balz was arrested several times for

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...

ity. In 1936 he spent several months in prison, and was released under an agreement that mandated that his name was no longer to appear in public. To maintain the appearance of propriety he entered a "

lavender marriage A lavender marriage is a male–female mixed-orientation marriage, undertaken as a marriage of convenience to conceal the socially stigmatised sexual orientation of one or both partners. The term dates from the early 20th century and is used al ...

" with a woman named Selma. He was rearrested in 1941 by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one or ...

and was kept in the Gestapo headquarters in Prinz-Albrecht-Straße. He was released from imprisonment by the intervention of Jary, who persuaded officials that he could produce songs that would aid the war effort. Within a day of his release, they had written two of their greatest successes, "Davon geht die Welt nicht unter" ("This Will Not End the World") and "Ich weiß, es wird einmal ein Wunder gescheh'n" ("I Know Some Day a Miracle Will Happen"). His film songs for Leander, a star of

UFA Ufa ( ba, Өфө , Öfö; russian: Уфа́, r=Ufá, p=ʊˈfa) is the largest city and capital of Bashkortostan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Belaya and Ufa rivers, in the centre-north of Bashkortostan, on hills forming the ...

musicals which were later criticised as having helped public and armed forces morale during the war, became anthems for homosexuals imprisoned in concentration camps. The fall of the Nazi regime did not spell an end to the persecution of Balz, as

Paragraph 175 Paragraph 175 (known formally a§175 StGB also known as Section 175 in English language, English) was a provision of the Strafgesetzbuch, German Criminal Code from 15 May 1871 to 10 March 1994. It Criminalization of homosexuality, made homosex ...

, the law against homosexuality, continued in force. Thus his name is considerably less well-known than if he had been properly credited for his lyrics. Balz's companion was painter and actor Jürgen Draeger, who was enjoined by a clause in Balz's will from talking about their relations for ten years following Balz's death. The Bruno Balz Theatre in

is named for him.

Selected filmography

* ''

It's You I Have Loved ''It's You I Have Loved'' (german: Dich hab ich geliebt) is a 1929 German drama film directed by Rudolf Walther-Fein and starring Mady Christians, Walter Jankuhn, and Hans Stüwe. It is considered the first full sound film to be made in Germany ...

'' (1929) * '' Journey to Happiness'' (1948) * '' Cuba Cabana'' (1952)

Songtexts

*''Das kann doch einen Seemann nicht erschüttern'' (melody: Michael Jary, in: '' Paradies der Junggesellen'') *''Wir wollen niemals auseinandergehn''" (melody:Michael Jary) *''Das machen nur die Beine von Dolores'' (melody:Michael Jary) *''Kann denn Liebe Sünde sein?'' ( Lothar Brühne, in: '' Der Blaufuchs'') *''Roter Mohn'' (Michael Jary, in: '' Schwarzfahrt ins Glück'') *''Der Wind hat mir ein Lied erzählt'' (Lothar Brühne, in: '' La Habanera'') *''Davon geht die Welt nicht unter'' (Michael Jary, in: Die große Liebe) *''Ich weiß, es wird einmal ein Wunder gescheh'n'' (Michael Jary, in: Die große Liebe) *''Ich sende dir Rosen'' (''

Red Roses for a Blue Lady "Red Roses for a Blue Lady" is a 1948 popular song by Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett (alias Roy Brodsky). It has been recorded by a number of performers. Actor-singer John Laurenz (1909–1958) was the first to record the song for Mercury Reco ...

) * ''Turandot, bezaubernde Turandot'' (music by Franz Doelle, in '' Princess Turandot'' (1935),''Turandot, bezaubernde Turandot''
recorded by Herbert Ernst Groh in 1935. Youtube. Accessed 13 November 2016. directed by Gunther Stapenhorst)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Balz, Bruno 1902 births 1988 deaths Musicians from Berlin German male songwriters Schlager musicians LGBT musicians from Germany