Initially, the population of Sachsenhausen was comprised predominantly of German citizens, but after the outbreak of the Second World War, tens of thousands of people were deported to the camp from occupied territories, including political opponents of National Socialism or of the collaborating governments, foreign forced labourers and Allied prisoners of war. In 1944, about 90% of the internees were foreigners, the largest groups being citizens of the Soviet Union and Poland. Sanitary conditions in the camp were primitive from the start, but worsened with the outbreak of war. In the final months before the end of the war the death rate increased at an incredible rate. Many prisoners would die in Sachsenhausen due to exhaustion, starvation, exposure, abuse, and lack of medical care. The camp administration expanded to include more than 40 subcamps mainly concentrated around armaments industries in the greater Berlin area in northern Germany. The evacuation of Sachsenhausen concentration camp began in the early hours of 21 April 1945. More than 30,000 remaining internees were marched off in groups towards the north-west. Thousands of internees died on these death marches.
The musical notation of “Dicke Luft!” was beautifully handwritten on an artful card, the front page of which presented an ornate, kitschy family crest, with the initials P. G., ordered by Paul Gefreiter (the author of the drawing had been a W. Siminski). Kulisiewicz recalled Gefreiter’s jubilant response to his melody, observing that the man must have been musical. Originally, the work was simply a dance melody, and only later were words added. Similarly, only later would Kulisiewicz learn of the song’s purpose, and the reason why Gefreiter had placed his commission. The homosexual prisoners used it to dance to a degraded so-called “Warme-Bruder-Fox” (Warm brothers’ foxtrot), rhythmically embracing one another with abdomens touching, then repelling, then repeating the steps again. Kulisiewicz testified that homosexuality had grown in practice in the Prominents’ blocks, especially among the “greens”(green triangles) and “blacks” (black triangles). In wider practice at Sachsenhasen, there was a fear being involved in so-called homosexual “dances,” which were vulgarly referred to as “buzerantbal.” Nevertheless, such balls occurred as an act of spiritual resistance and sexual expression, despite the severe penalties they would face if discovered.
On New Year's Eve, 1943, Kulisiewicz himself performed “Dicke Luft!” for the first time. In preparation, he added words to the melody, transforming the the song’s narrative into a cartoonish vignette about two dubious characters: a rabid, gluttonous Kommandant Woof-Woof and the insolent Little Kitty, nicknamed “Kic” (Kicio Bimbus—devil-may-care tomcat), who shrugged everything off.
Legacy
Kulisiewicz composed a total of 54 songs during his imprisonment in Sachsenhausen. He was liberated from a death march from Sachsenhausen on 2nd May 1945. After his liberation, he began to dictate hundreds of pages of both his own compositions, as well as those he had heard around him, to his nurse in a Polish infirmary. During the post-war, he married, had children and took a job as Prague correspondent for a Warsaw newspaper. But, life in Sachsenhausen was never far from his thoughts and he began to communicate with other survivors, collecting original materials and compiling an extensive library of literature concerning artistic expression in Nazi concentration camps. Before his death in 1982, he toured Europe performing at anti-fascist rallies, and to countries as remote as the Soviet Union and the US. He also released albums in Poland, Germany, Italy, France and the United States. His life became dedicated to recording and preserving the cultural, social and musical life of the Holocaust, and of those persecuted under Nazi rule. Kulisiewicz's near-finished 3,000-page typescript of song texts, musical notation and extensive annotations is held in the archives of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington; 500 songs that represent the musical activity of 36 different camps are included in the collection.
“Dicke Luft!” is just one example of how music allowed prisoners of concentration camps to retain some joy and normality in the most horrific, violent and extreme circumstances. As Kulisiewicz concluded, the camp atmosphere deterred any thoughts of affectionate moments between prisoners, and there was plenty of vileness to go around. He considered that this is perhaps why certain prisoners groups, such as registered “homosexuals” did not object to the entire camp calling them by some sort of “fairy-tale” children’s nickname which, under normal circumstances, would have rightfully been intolerable. The story of the song’s composition not only testifies to prisoner hierarchies and social structures in the camp, but also the need for intimacy and caring human interaction.
In the face of brutal homophobia, then, this piece can be considered as a “protest” song of resistance for the LGBT community in Sachsenhausen who, despite constant harassment and elimination of their basic human rights, managed to maintain their sexuality through the form of dance and romantic engagement. Furthermore, Kulisiewicz’s “Dicke Luft!” can also help to commemorate those prisoners who lost their lives as a result of their sexual orientation, either at the hands of the Nazis or through suicide.
As part of LGBTQ+ history month, World ORT Music and the Holocaust remembers these individuals, and seeks to contribute to keeping their memory alive.
By Hannah Wilson
This article is based on the research of Bret Werb and Barbara Milewiski into the collection of Aleksander Kulisiewicz
Sources:
Cuerda-Galindo E, Lo´pez-Muñoz F, Krischel M, Ley A (2017) “Study of deaths by suicide of homosexual prisoners in Nazi Sachsenhausen concentration camp”, PLoS ONE, 12(4): e0176007
“Dicke Luft!” Sachsenhausen, 1943 Lyrics and music: Aleksander Kulisiewicz, Bret Werb and Barbara Milewiski, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Aleksander Kulisiewicz collection, 1939-1986, Accession Number: 1992.A.0034.1 | RG Number: RG-55, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, LGBT History Month: www.hmd.org.uk/resource/lgbt-history-month/
