E72: Swing Kids and Edelweiss Pirates

Working Class History

Society & Culture, Education, History

5.0 • 813 Ratings

🗓️ 3 April 2023

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Podcast episode about anti-fascist youth cultural movements in Nazi Germany before and during World War II. In particular we look at the German Edelweiss Pirates and Swing Kids, and in our patreon bonus episode we also speak about the French Zazous and the Austrian Schlurfs.
Our podcast is brought to you by our patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early access to podcast episodes, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistory
Despite years of indoctrination, young people in fascist Europe in the 1930s and 40s resisted the authoritarianism and conformism of Nazi rule. We hear from former Edelweiss Pirate Walter Mayer, and speak with historian Nick Heath about these little-known movements.

E72.1: Zazous and Schlurfs, bonus episode – available exclusively for our patreon supporters
Anti-fascist books and merchandise – Posters, clothing and merchandise using artwork by or inspired by the Edelweiss Pirates and other 1930s anti-fascists in Germany.

See sources, more information and a transcript on the webpage for this episode here: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/72-edelweiss-pirates-swing-kids/.
Acknowledgements

Thanks to our patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands and Jamison D. Saltsman.
Episode graphic, mural of a group of Edelweiss Pirates in Cologne, courtesy wwwuppertal Flickr, CC by 2.0.
Edited by Louise Barry
The theme music was Functionizin’, by Fats Waller, courtesy of the Swiss Foundation and Wikimedia Commons.
Also featured was Richard Wagner’s Gerechter Gott, performed by Ernestine Schumann-Heink also courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Transcript

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0:00.0	In Nazi Germany before and during World War II, groups of young people defied years of indoctrination
0:07.0	and rebelled against their ultra-hierarchical society. They rejected the militarism, conformism, culture, work ethic and boredom of fascism.
0:16.0	Risking arrest, torture, concentration camps and even death.
0:23.7	These young people met in underground clubs and in the countryside.
0:27.6	They listened to jazz, danced, hiked and fought Nazis in the streets.
0:49.8	This is working class history. Before we get started, just a reminder that our podcast is brought to you by our Patreon supporters.
0:55.1	Our supporters fund our work and in return get exclusive early access to podcast episodes without ads,
1:01.0	bonus episodes, free and discounted merch and other content. For example, our Patreon supporters can listen to an exclusive bonus episode now about similar anti-Nazi youth movements in France and
1:06.3	Austria. Join us and find out more at patreon.com slash working class history.
1:11.6	Link in the show notes.
1:13.7	We're about to get into the history of anti-Nazi German youth movements,
1:17.3	but first off, we wanted to flag up with you another history podcast we like,
1:21.3	because there's so many podcasts out there,
1:23.4	and we're always up for finding new good ones, especially about history.
1:28.9	We recently found a podcast which is new to us called Shite Talk, an Irish history podcast. It's hosted by two Irish
1:34.3	comedians, Jason Brennan and Kevin Larnie, taking an irreverent look at Irish history through time.
1:41.4	The first episode we found was their episode about the 1913 Dublin Lockout, which is one of the most important labour disputes in Irish history, if not the most important.
1:51.0	And it's one that we've wanted to make an episode about, but now maybe we don't have to, as you can just listen to this.
1:57.0	With historian Donald Fallon, it tells the story of the dispute of tram workers
2:01.6	organised in the Irish Transport and General Workers Union, ITGWU, led by the socialist Jim Larkin.
2:09.0	It's actually one of their special episodes, as it's a recording of a public talk about the
2:13.1	dispute put on in the historic Emmett Hall in Dublin, which was owned by Larkin. We learn about
	...

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