Musical Offerings, Fall 2016

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Musical Offerings ⦁2016 ⦁Volume 7 ⦁Number 2 55
Musical Offerings, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 55–66.
ISSN 2330-8206 (print); ISSN 2167-3799 (online);
© 2016, Carolyn Ticker, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND
The Effect of Richard Wagner’s
Music and Beliefs on Hitler’s Political Ideology
Carolyn S. Ticker
Cedarville University
egarded as one of the worst periods in history, the Holocaust
brought death and destruction to millions of innocent Jewish
citizens. Since that time, it has not been easy for humanity as a
whole to come to terms with what happened or even to understand what
drove Hitler to commit such atrocious acts. While it is difficult to know
for certain what caused the Holocaust, those whomHitler was influenced
by provide important clues. One man in particular, Richard Wagner, a
German composer, lived before Hitler’s time but held very strong anti-
Semitic political opinions. Wagner had an especially large following,
which included the young Adolf Hitler, a lover of his music and an avid
supporter of him. Wagner’s music was often played on special Nazi
occasions during Hitler’s political regime. 1 Hitler was also closely
connected to Wagner’s family throughout his time in power. Although
Wagner cannot be solely held responsible for Hitler’s actions during
WWII, both Wagner’s political musings and his music display his strong
desire for a pure German race, free from any other ethnicity. Hitler’s
strong support of Wagner’s music and his association with some of
Wagner’s family members reflect his commitment to the ideology of
Wagner, which in turn affected his own opinion; thus, Wagner is
attributed an indirect, but costly, connection with the Holocaust.
Richard Wagner’s fame is rather paradoxical. On one hand, he is
considered the German Romantic musical genius, renowned by many all
over the world. On the other hand, however, he is extremely
controversial; while musicians cannot deny his sheer talent, reconciling
his racism while still appreciating his music is difficult to do. Terry
Teachout, in his article entitled “Hitler’s Accompanist,” points out that
1 Terry Teachout, “Hitler’s Accompanist,” Commentary, January 1, 2008,
R