---
product_id: 17879098
title: "Great Conductors of the Third Reich: Art in the Service of Evil"
brand: "leo blechkarl böhm"
price: "4847 som"
currency: KGS
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 9
url: https://www.desertcart.kg/products/17879098-great-conductors-of-the-third-reich-art-in-the-service
store_origin: KG
region: Kyrgyzstan
---

# Great Conductors of the Third Reich: Art in the Service of Evil

**Brand:** leo blechkarl böhm
**Price:** 4847 som
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** Great Conductors of the Third Reich: Art in the Service of Evil by leo blechkarl böhm
- **How much does it cost?** 4847 som with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.kg](https://www.desertcart.kg/products/17879098-great-conductors-of-the-third-reich-art-in-the-service)

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- leo blechkarl böhm enthusiasts

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## Description

Product Description          GREAT CONDUCTORS OF THE THIRD REICH includes stunning newsreel footage showing that BÃ¶hm, FurtwÃ¤ngler, Karajan, Knappertsbusch and Krauss, among others, turned themselves and their art into Nazi propaganda. The Nazis wanted to be perceived as men of culture, so they crowned many of their victories with concerts, which they sometimes filmed. "We are bringing the world the greatest art," was their message.On this DVD a newsreel presents panzers parading down the Champs-ElysÃ©es juxtaposed with Karajan conducting the Prussian Staatskapelle in occupied Paris. Other footage includes FurtwÃ¤ngler conducting in celebration of Hitler's birthday, also Hitler at Bayreuth. When women see Hitler they weep with joy. The performances are glorious, spiritual even--the greatest art in the service of the greatest evil.--Stefan Zucker             Review          "The musical standards are always excellent, and often outstanding. A must-see for anyone interested in this turbulent period." -- David Mellor, reviewing in Gramophone:"There is a visceral impact in seeing Karajan conduct in occupied Paris and FurtwÃ¤ngler conduct before a backdrop of swastikas." -- James R. Oestreich, reviewing in The New York Times:"Here is raw, visceral evidence to bring home the reality of what some musicians did during the war." -- Tim Smith, reviewing in the Sun-Sentinel, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida:"The intensity of the music-making is remarkable." -- Rare Footage Fuels Fiery Debate Over FurtwÃ¤ngler's Sympathies by David Patrick Stearns, USA Today:"The sound reproduction is remarkably clear for the period." -- Barbara Zuck, reviewing in The Columbus Dispatch:

## Images

![Great Conductors of the Third Reich: Art in the Service of Evil - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51dUzXWVCbL.jpg)
![Great Conductors of the Third Reich: Art in the Service of Evil - Image 2](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61qrYTNkuHL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Breaks my heart; beauty does not equal truth or goodness.
  

*by S***R on Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2008*

'Beauty is truth, truth beauty,--that is all  Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.'This DVD will prove that Keats was mistaken.Some of the selections on this DVD are among the most beautiful and exciting performances of some of the greatest music ever written.  Yet this beauty did not produce truth nor did it generate goodness.That the Nazis treasured Beethoven and used the Ninth Symphony, with its history of celebrating freedom of the spirit, as one of their signature pieces, created such anguish in me that it was hard to watch and listen.  And to see one of the most gifted and imaginative conductors of all time, Wilhelm Furtwangler, shaking hands with Josef Goebbels at a concert in honor of Hitler's birthday, made me want to cry.Yet it is important that music lovers watch this DVD.  It is of the greatest importance that we never confuse beauty with truth, or beauty with goodness, or talent with morality, or intelligence with wisdom.  These performances, especially the Beethoven, show that beauty can be used in the service of evil, talent can be hijacked by the most vile murderers, intelligence and culture perverted by the wicked.All my life I have had a problem with Wagner.  He was the single most horrible person to produce sublime beauty whom I know.  What does one do with this?One friend of mine refused to buy Karajan recordings until after he died.  I spent decades immersed in opera before I was willing to see my first performance of The Ring (which actually swept me away, to my great ambivalent dismay).Some of these conductors were active and enthusiastic participants in the Nazi regime.  Others convinced themselves that they were serving "art" and not the regime, but saw themselves contributing to the propaganda of the Nazis nevertheless.The question of the relationship between beauty and goodness is hard to resolve.  I guess I'm going to have to struggle with it for the rest of my life.  Perhaps others will start a thread on this that will shed some light on the perplexing problem this DVD generates.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    An important historical mirror:  pictures and sounds from the past
  

*by M***N on Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2010*

Many of the other reviewers have been a bit harsh in claiming this is nothing but a collection of old documentary films.  Some claim that it is not a documentary at all.  It is actually an invaluable record that provides information on items of historical interest.  It offers us the opportunity to see:the enthusiastic and gesticulative conducting technique of the great Wilhelm Furtwaenglerthe quality of German video and sound recording at a time when such techniques were still in their infancy, or at least their childhoodThe Nazi government's belief that art and culture should be brought to the people--even in the workplaceAn example of this is the film of Goebbels in the AEG factory, watching Furtwaengler conduct, surrounded by an audience of recuperating combat soldiers and men and women factory workers, sitting on or alongside boilers and large engines to watch the concert.  Workers listen in thoughtful attention--or is it just that the Nazis put together the film to put across this image?  The crux is that they thought it good to show government bringing art to the masses.Of course there is the ubiquitous film of Hitler arriving at Bayreuth, greeted warmly by Winifred Wagner.  We might even notice that the pressing crowds of deliriously enthusiastic young people, dazzled by a Hitler promising reform, change, and hope, are not all that different from today's enthralled throngs hoping for a glimpse of a current charismatic leader.  That's another reason this is a valuable recording of pictures and sounds from the past.

### ⭐ 1.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Misleading - NOT a documentary - just clips!
  

*by B***R on Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2009*

Although I was told (in the fine print) that this was documentary footage of conductors of the Third Reich, I had naively assumed - from the gaudy words "Art in the Service of Evil" - there would be some narration, some explanation, some background of what compelled great musicians to stay in the Nazi world and serve it with their music, etc.  However, there was none of that.  Except for one brief newsreel segment, this DVD was nothing but a pasted together compilation of conductors in the Third Reich playing music.  That's it - they just played music - no explanation, no background, no voiceover, no subtitles, nothing.  Literally, you simply watched newsreel footage of a conductor waving his baton in front of an orchestra and playing the music.  Well, that told me nothing at all.  (By the way, what WAS it with the Third Reich's obsession with 'Der Meistersinger'?  That was played over and over again on this DVD as if there was nothing else available.)This DVD is useless, a waste of money.  If you want a true documentary of musicians in the Third Reich, don't waste your money on this - instead, buy "The Reichsorchester".  THAT is a superb DVD of the Berlin Philharmonic during the Third Reich with interviews of musicians, newsreels, reading of diaries, reminiscences, facts, etc., that gives you an honest and thorough understanding of what it was like.  But this DVD is a waste of money!

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*Product available on Desertcart Kyrgyzstan*
*Store origin: KG*
*Last updated: 2026-01-22*