The ''Encyclopedia of Jews in Music'' (''Lexikon der Juden in der Musik'') was a

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

-sponsored encyclopedia first published in Germany in 1940, which listed people involved in the music industry who were defined under Nazi racial laws as 'Jewish' or 'half-Jewish'. It was edited by

Herbert Gerigk Herbert Gerigk (2 March 1905, Mannheim – 20 June 1996, Dortmund) was a German musicologist, notable for his co-authoring of the Nazi '' Lexicon of Jews in Music''. After graduation in 1928, Herbert Gerigk published in 1932 a thesis on Giuseppe V ...

and Theophil Stengel and published in Berlin in 1940 by Bernhard Hahnefeld, with official support from the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

's " Institute for Study of the Jewish Question". The book's subtitle declared that it was produced "on behalf of the national leadership of the Nazi Party for official reasons, partly officially certified documents". The encyclopedia appeared in the context of Nazi policies which repressed

Jews 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 ...

involved in music and forbade the performance of works by Jewish composers. A similar encyclopedia by Hans Brückner, entitled ''Musical ABC of Jews'', had previously been published in 1935. The encyclopedia's coverage was very broad, covering musicians, musicologists, librettists, conductors, music publishers and other people linked to music who were considered "Jewish" or "

Half-Jew The term half-Jew () is a derogatory term for people with a non-Jewish and a Jewish parent. The overwhelming majority of the so-called half-Jews were legally classified as " first-degree Jewish hybrids" during the era of Nazi Germany. Occasionally ...

ish", as well as listing forbidden "Jewish" works. It was kept up to date via informers and the staff of the "Sonderstab Musik" of the

Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg The Reichsleiter Rosenberg Taskforce ( or ''ERR'') was a Nazi Party organization dedicated to appropriating cultural property during the Second World War. It was led by the chief ideologue of the Nazi Party, Alfred Rosenberg, from within the NSD ...

. According to the Eva Weissweiler's 1999 book, the encyclopedia appeared in five editions - the first had 380 columns, the third (1941) 394 columns, (1943) and the final edition (12th to 14th thousand printed copies) had 404 columns of listings. It was one of the proscribed books in the

Soviet occupation zone The Soviet occupation zone in Germany ( or , ; ) was an area of Germany that was occupied by the Soviet Union as a communist area, established as a result of the Potsdam Agreement on 2 August 1945. On 7 October 1949 the German Democratic Republ ...

Bibliography

* Eva Weissweiler: ''Ausgemerzt! Das Lexikon der Juden in der Musik und seine mörderischen Folgen''. Dittrich, Köln 1999, (Includes a facsimile of the complete original edition). * Fred K. Prieberg: ''Handbuch Deutsche Musiker 1933–1945''. CD-ROM-Lexikon, Kiel 2004. *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Encyclopedia Of Jews In Music Nazi books Jewish Nazi German history Music of Germany 1940 non-fiction books Jewish musicians Jewish classical composers 20th-century encyclopedias Book censorship in the Soviet Union