Wolfgang Willrich - Des Edlen Ewiges Reich – Part I

 From the booklet with paintings by Wolfgang Willrich – “Des Edlen Ewiges Reich”.

 

 

Third Reich Post Stamp Collection – Winterhilfswerk (Winter Relief) 1940

 Famous German Cities

 

Danzig

 

Thorn

 

Kaub (at Rhine)
 

Posen

 

Heidelberg

 

Trier

 

Prague

 

Bremen

 

Münster

The Reich in Photos – Deutsches Turn- und Sportfest in Breslau, 1938

The Deutsches Turn- und Sportfest (German Gym and Sports Celebration) was the last big sports event organized by the Nationalsozialistischer Reichsbund für Leibesübungen, the Sports governing body of the Third Reich. It took place in Breslau (now Wroclaw) the most important city of Silesia, now in Poland. The venue was staged in July 1938 at the city’s Hermann Göring Stadium

 

This highly nationalistic sports event was officially commemorating the 125th anniversary of the historical German Wars of Liberation against Napoleon and the first award of the Iron Cross in the city of Breslau itself in 1813. It was staged as a grand patriotic, expansionist occasion, illustrating the clamour for a Greater Germany to the public. This event gathered German athletes brought from many different parts of the world, like Argentina, South West Africa, Italy, the US and South Africa. It also became a gathering of representatives of German ethnic minorities, mainly from Eastern Europe (Siebenbürgen, Banat) who staged processions dressed in their colourful folkloric costumes.

 

Not only sports competitions and athletes’ parades took place, but also numerous military, civil, and folklorical-costume processions in the mains streets of the city of Breslau.

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas in the Third Reich - 1933-1944

 

Rare footage of Christmas celebrations in the Third Reich - 1933-1944!

The Yuletide and New Year’s Eve Celebrations in the SS

Source: The SS Family - Procedures for Conducting Family Celebrations by Fritz Weitzel

 

The Yuletide Celebration

 

We celebrate Yuletide in the evening, not in the morning. Yuletide is the feast of the new-born light and the renewing life. Therefore, it is the feast of the commemoration of the birth of the child, of thanks to the mother, of good wishes for the growth of the whole Folk. The reason for our giving presents at Yuletide is to show respect to other members of our Folk for the part they play in its continued existence.

 

In Germany Yuletide is therefore a feast for the closer and wider family, which tends to exclude outsiders but for which a long-lost son or one living far away is always welcome to return.

 

The presents, which are only valuable if the giver has himself worked on them, are secretly put under the Tree by the father. When everything is ready the family gathers in the adjoining room for the evening meal. The table should be festive and laid with care. This is the start of the Yuletide celebration.

 

The meal is substantial and the main course should consist of carp, goose, boar, or hare. These animals have traditionally been eaten at the Yuletide meal and should never be replaced by other food.

 

The meal should begin with a short speech by the father and end with a reference to the coming delights.

 

Not only the presents but the whole celebration should be full of surprises for all the members of the family. The father lights the candle in the Jul Earthenware Candlestick, from which the tree candles get their light. On the Tree should be 13 (12 months plus the 13th renewing) or 27 (3 lunar weeks each with 9 days) candles. He leaves three candles, which are close together, unlit. He now calls the wife, the children, and any other family members into the room using a little bell. As they admire the Tree the father lights the last three candles and says:

 

This light should burn for our ancestors who are with us tonight. This light should burn for my dead comrades from the War, and this light should burn for our millions of German brothers all over the world, who all celebrate Yuletide with us tonight.

 

After this all should sing the song O Yuletide Tree, How Green Are Your Branches, without which the Yuletide Celebration is unthinkable, and open their presents. The evening should be quiet and sincere. At the appointed time the whole family will listen to the Yuletide address of the Deputy of our Leader and will feel through it a bond reaching out from the close family to encompass the whole Folk of German brothers. During the evening the family photographs should be shown, old family stories told, and thoughts about the success of research into the family history exchanged.

 

 

New Year’s Eve and The Earthenware Candlestick

 

Yuletide Eve is followed by the Twelve Sacred Days. Those days were important feast days for our ancestors and nobody worked during this time. Wotan and his Army of the Dead were said to ride through the air, and Frigga, or Lady Holle, leads the Army of The Unborn above the heads of the Folk.

 

We should light the candles on the Tree as often as possible during these days. During the night of New Year’s Eve the celebrations reach another pinnacle. The happenings of Yuletide are repeated, and again we say goodbye to the old and look hopefully to the future.

 

The last evening of the year is a very jolly time. The children have bought small fireworks and have their own fun. Mother fetches the spoon for the casting of the lead. This spoon should only ever be used for this purpose. The lead is melted on the spoon and cast into a bowl of cold water. The resulting figures and shapes foretell the future. Greeting cards are sent to distant relatives, the punch fills the house with its aroma, and the evening meal should be as grand as the one at Yuletide.

 

At midnight, when the candles on the Yuletide Tree are burnt down, the SS Man will put the Jul Earthenware Candlestick on the table. This Candlestick with its year candle has been lit at every family celebration during the last year. Therefore, its candle has burned down. It should therefore receive a new light tonight. Just as our ancestors never let the sacred hearth cooking fire extinguish, so our SS Jul Earthenware Candlestick must always have a light. So, the candlestick becomes a symbol of the never dying sunlight. Everyone becomes very thoughtful when finally the old year candle burns down and the new one is put in its place.

 

The Julleuchter – Jul Earthenware Candlestick

 

Presented by Reich Leader of the SS Himmler, the Jul Earthenware Candlestick is the essential symbol used by the SS family throughout the year to mark celebrations and commemorations.

The Responsibilities of Party Members

 

The NSDAP is a movement initiated by the Führer and aimed at the renewal and preservation of the German nation and its living space, according to the principles of the National Socialist view of the world.

National Socialism realizes:

its legal claim for the sole leadership of the German nation from 14 years of fighting of the Führer and his followers, from the mission of the entire German nation and from the great achievements National Socialism has brought about in all fields of life since the day it came to power.

its power to complete this mission from the sacrifices of those who died for the Movement and those who fell in the German wars for freedom.

it creates its faith in the German people from German history and the achievements of people of German blood in the past and present and from the eternal Germany.

it is the Führer’s will that the best Germans shall be National Socialists and the best National Socialists become party members. Therefore, the NSDAP is the ultimate political and racial elite of the entire German nation. Admittance to the NSDAP does not include a legal claim to remain a permanent member.

Party members are bound to the following duties:

The National Socialist observes the commands and demands of the Führer in blind trust and obedience.

You represent the party, act accordingly.

You can only become and remain a party member if you meet the requirements and if you are willing to unconditionally follow and with all your heart represent the National Socialist Weltanschauung in private and public life, in steadfast loyalty to the Führer.

The party program demands your utmost devotion to the Movement. As a party member it is an honor for you to incessantly serve the national community and to fight for the National Socialist Weltanschauung, regardless of all your personal career goals and if necessary, sacrifice your life. Make sure you understand that you are more than what you seem to be.

The behavior of a National Socialist is self-confident but never arrogant. Daily performance only qualifies you to wear the party’s emblem with pride. The party member practices strict self-discipline and dispenses with luxury. The party member meets his superiors in an upright and disciplined manner

Your health belongs to the German nation. The party member is modest and cares for his health. The physical, intellectual and mental energy of a man are diminished through the use of enervating drugs and enjoyments. The results are decline of character and damage to health.

As a party member you carry the flag and lead the way for others. Aggressive courage and faithful confidence displayed in a party member’s behavior and actions produce an electrifying example that encourages others along. Happy optimism is more convincing than furious argumentation. In moments of great difficulties and frustration it is courage, confidence and persistence that are necessary to win through.

Loyal comradeship belongs to the National Socialists and comradeship is among the oldest virtues in political armies. Comradeship proves its worth in everyday life and business life as well as in a fighting community and not only in saloons. Therefore, we are responsible to set the reluctant companion back on the right track, if necessary even by the use of force. Personal differences are settled between the men themselves or with the aid of their leader; presenting a united party is our most important role and must be the mission of everyone.

A healthy, large family is the greatest good. The party member chooses his wife early in life considering the principles of National Socialist racial selection.

Many children are the party member’s greatest contribution. Be an ideal for the whole nation. The life of a National Socialist is simple and modest. The party member is careful in his judgment and he detests lies. Loquacity is beneath a man’s worth, extravagance and carelessness damage the party’s image.

Let your thinking and acting be clean. The party member fights obscenity. Without being asked to do so, he stands up for a woman’s honor always and everywhere.

National Socialism serves eternal laws. This requires acceptance of the eternal laws to unselfishly serve the community and the welfare of the German nation and to live according to the eternal laws of our blood as they are expressed in the National Socialist Weltanschauung. This is where the party member seeks and finds the purpose of his existence ultimately expressed.

For a National Socialist, living means fighting. The party member fights inexorably against all enemies of the Reich and against all theories that endanger the living community of our National Socialist people. Our entire life is a fight for the German nation, for the Führer! We belong to him and his National Socialist Weltanschauung is our highest command in this world.

 

Long live Germany! Long live the Führer! 

Johann Strauss II - Die Fledermaus (The Bat)

 

Conductor: Herbert Von Karajan

Philharmonic Orchestra & Chorus

Recorded in 1955, at London

New Mastering in 2020 by AB for CMRR

 

Rosalinde : Elisabeth Schwarzkopf

Eisenstein : Nicolai Gedda

Falke : Erich Kunze

Adele : Rita Streich

 

Act 1

 

Täubchen, Das entflattert Ist (07:48)

Ha-Ha-Ha! Da Schreibt Meine Schwester Ida (09:02)

Ich muß Mir Für Heute Abend Ausgang Erschwindeln! (11:24)

Ach, Ich Darf nicht Hin Zu Dir! (12:06)

Wie Glücklich Die alte Tante Ist.. (13:04)

Nein, Mit Solchen Advokaten (14:57)

Beruh'Ge Endlich Diese Wut (16:14)

Rekurrieren, Appellieren (17:48)

Also, Noch Verschärft Die Strafe (18:50)

Komm Mit Mir Zum Souper (20:30)

Ja, Was Ist Denn Los_ Ihr Tanzt Und Singt (23:41)

So muß allein Ich Bleiben (25:12)

Er Weint Und Tanzt Zugleich (29:12)

Trinke, Liebchen, Trinke Schnell (29:51)

Mein Herr, Was Dachten Sie Von Mir (35:23)

Nein, Nein, Ich Zweifle Gar nicht Mehr (37:59)

 

Act 2

 

Ein Souper Heut' Uns Winkt (41:02)

Amüsement! Amüsement! (42:25)

Ich lade Gern Mir Gaste Ein (44:57)

Das Sind Allerdings.. (47:47)

Ach, Meine Herren Und Damen, Hier Gibt Es Einen Spa! (48:34)

Mein Herr Marquis, Ein Mann wie Sie.. (49:32)

Na, Herr Marquis.. (52:47)

Wie Fliehen Schnell Die Stunden Fort (53:54)

Es Ist Also Wirklich Wahr.. (54:17)

Dieser Anstand, so Manierlich (55:43)

Haha, Liber Marquis.. (1:00:45)

Klange Der Heimat - Csárdás (1:01:25)

Ausgezeichnet, Bravo! (1:06:04)

Im Feuerstrom Der Reben (1:07:48)

Herr Chevalier, Ich Gruße Sie.. (1:09:57)

Genug, Damit, Genug!.. (1:15:01)

Entreakt (1:19:17)

Hallo, Also Das Ist Ein Fideles Gefängnis (1:20:14)

Hahaha, Da Bin Ich Wieder In Meinem Palais (1:23:04)

Ah, Der Herr Direktor Ist Schon (1:27:08)

Spiel' Ich Die Unschuld Vom Lande (1:29:56)

Bravo, Ganz Entzückend! (1:34:45)

Ich Stehe voll Zagen (1:38:48)

Da Sie Alles Wissen Nun (1:44:54)

Du Wagst Es Mir. (1:46:24)

O Fledermaus! O Fledermaus! (1:47:06)