ABSTRACT

The Third Reich’s policy of cultural imperialism introduced in the territories of occupied Poland varied its goals and guidelines according to the evolving needs of the Ministry of Propaganda. Yet the methods of implementation of these policies and their ideological background were somewhat different to other parts of Europe occupied by the Germans. In the former Polish territories annexed to the Reich, such as the Wartheland, cultural imperialism equated to total Germanisation and Nazification, combined with the absolute exclusion and destruction of Polish culture. However, inside the General Government, such policies, especially towards music, were defined by two main contradictory approaches. One of them resulted from the need of using Polish musicians for the imperialistic rituals of Governor Hans Frank’s dominion, whereas the other was characterised by the aggressive control of the local population and the limiting of its access to culture and especially anything connected to national identity. This chapter focuses on Nazi policies towards music in Poznań and Łódź, the two major cities of the Wartheland, as well as in Kraków, the newly established capital of the General Government, where these tendencies were most visible.