Date of Award

2017

Degree Name

Music

College

College of Arts and Media

Type of Degree

M.A.

Document Type

Thesis

First Advisor

Vicki Stroeher

Second Advisor

David Castleberry

Third Advisor

Jean Eglinton

Abstract

Concentration camps during the Holocaust were populated by various groups of people imprisoned for reasons that were not always associated with religious beliefs. This diversity led to a natural segregation among these groups of prisoners, dependent upon the prisoner’s nationality, the camp’s classification, and its date of establishment. Because of overwhelming feelings of isolation in the majority of the prisoners, it was common to turn to music and music making as means of creating solidarity between the prisoners for survival of their day-to-day experiences. Some works became popular to such an extent through their performances by both prisoners and SS guards that they can be called “camp anthems,” and these served to unite the “community.” This thesis analyzes camp anthems from Börgermoor, Sachsenhausen, and Theresienstadt in terms of focalization, or point of view, as expressed through the text and its musical underpinning, uncovering various unifying thematic tropes.

Subject(s)

Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Songs and music.

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