When I was in Russia last October I met a woman named Alexandra in the Komsomol archive. Last year, I wrote about how she was researching “Komsomol capitalism” for an article she was writing for Der Spiegel.
One of the things I didn’t mention was her claim that her father, who turns out to be Lev Besymenski, had been one of the Russian officers to search Hitler’s bunker. Like many Russians, he took souvenirs back with him. But Besymenski didn’t simply grab cutlery and other trinkets. He took something closer to his passion: music. More specifically, 100 shellac specimens from Hitler’s private record collection.
Alexandra claimed that one summer she stumbled upon a collection in their dacha’s attic. The collection consisted of classical and opera music by Russian and Jewish composers. I remember who she expressed disgust at the at Hitler’s hypocrisy at being a fan of those he considered subhuman. I didn’t know what to think of this story at the time (In addition to the Hitler record story, she also said that she was friends with Condoleezza Rice among other things). Frankly, I didn’t know whether to believe her or not. To be polite and for the sake of interesting conversation, I went with it and told her that these records were probably quite valuable. She seemed surprised that anyone would have any interest in these artifacts.
It turns out that Alexandra was telling the truth. Lev Besymenski died in June and Alexandra made the collection available to Der Spiegel for perusal. Here is what they found:
Hitler’s second passion, after architecture, was music. He went to the opera house almost daily during his time in Vienna to listen to the music of Beethoven, Wagner, Liszt or Brahms. But to him, only German music counted. Yet Besymenski’s collection astonishingly contains works by composers the Nazis considered “subhumans,” including Russian composers such as Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Alexander Borodin and Sergei Rachmaninov. For example, the item with the inventory number “Führerhauptquartier 840″ contains a recording by the Electrola company labeled “Bass in Russian with Orchestra and Chorus” — a recording of the aria “The Death of Boris Godunov” by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky, sung by Russian bass Feodor Chaliapin.
Another album contains nothing but works by Tchaikovsky with solo performances by star violinist Bronislav Huberman, a Polish Jew. “I feel this is a sheer mockery of the millions of Slavs and Jews who had to die because of the racial ideology of the Nazis,” a stirred-up Alexandra Besymenskaya remarks today.
It just goes to show that you never know who’ll you’ll meet, let along hear, in a Russian archive.
I had read this article some days ago – very interesting that you actually happened to meet this woman.
I remember having a discussion with my university history professor about whether Hitler actually believed much of the anti-Jew ideology of the Nazi party. His contention was that much of the it was simply a way for the state to plunder Jewish affluence in Europe in order to fuel his war efforts.
“His contention was that much of the it was simply a way for the state to plunder Jewish affluence in Europe in order to fuel his war efforts.”
I am highly dubious. The Nazis built death camps and carried out Babi Yar as a devious Machiavellian ruse? The Vernichtungslaeger (death camps) damaged the war effort, not help it. They were expensive.
Does it really matter? How could one possibly know (don’t ask the Sunday Times). Once the anti-semitism genie (which is always present) is out of the bottle….
Only Mussolini by comparision was successful in keeping a lid on it, even refusing to send jews from italian occupied territories to the death camps, though this changed when Italy fell of course….
Awww, come on Aleks. So many of our best debates here are over things that absolutely aren’t important in life and can’t be proven one way or the other!
Did you really think we were making a larger difference in life or the world by discussing such relatively obscure topics?
Anyway, to debate the intentions of one of history’s mad-men is just an attempt to pull back the veil a little, catch a glimpse of madness. Perhaps having an answer to cling to in our own mind provides some quiet individual comfort at night as we lay in beds, imagining that such attrocities couldn’t happen here.
Or better yet, maybe this is just a way of pissing away time when we don’t want to work or finish that report that is due to the client on Friday.
Holy — wait a second Sean! You met Mike Averko’s sockpuppet in the archives?!?!?
Aleks, my impression of Il Duce is that he was basically a low-level thug with some messianic delusions who got into things way over his head. One could write a good Shakespeare-style tragedy about Mussolini I think, sort of like Macbeth.
It really is a shame that a low life in Chris Doss (“Chrisius Maximus” who is Peter Lavelle’s friend) has the gall to bring up the issue of sock puppets, given his own admitted prognosticating in such manner.
One that’s far different from yours truly.
Must… restrain… urge… to… laugh… at… monkey…
He says that while looking in the mirror and talking about himself.
He says that while looking in the mirror and referring to himself.
Poor thing.
Sorry for the double.
I have looked for but could not find, a list of the recordings.All I could find were names for examples.Could anyone be at least somewhat more informative, please?
I am, also, most interested in Russia’s and Putin’s reactions to Kosovo declaring its independence.Do you have any recommendations, or will you write a report, please?
Thank you.