11. Franz Schütz in the context of National Socialist cultural policy

[Detailed catalog text in german]

[Biographical catalog text on F. Schütz in german]

One of the central figures of the mdw* in the National Socialist era was Franz Schütz (1892–1962): Schütz was director of the house from September 1938 until the end of the war in 1945 The respected organ virtuoso joined the National Socialist movement early on and was also briefly arrested in 1936 during the time in which the Nazi party was banned. However, his involvement as an “illegal” bore fruit during the National Socialist takeover of power: while in March 1938, the musicologist Alfred Orel (1889-1967) was still entrusted with the management of the mdw*, a few months later, he had to vacate his position and make way for Schütz. In addition, Schütz was entrusted with the management of the Society of Friends of Music in Vienna, thus presiding over two of Vienna’s most important cultural institutions.

His autonomy within the university was largely contingent on the support of the Nazi party and the NS administration – a complex and occasionally not entirely friction-free network of relationships. Occasional conflicts, however, were primarily rooted in Schütz’s elitist-conservative understanding of art, which repeatedly clashed with the views of the NS regime’s cultural policymakers in Vienna. This revolved mainly around the position of contemporary music in Vienna’s cultural policy agenda. The Reich Governor and District Leader Baldur von Schirach (1907–1974), as well as his General Cultural Advisor Walter Thomas (1908–1970), urged Schütz in his capacity as head of the Society of Music Friends in Vienna to pay greater attention to contemporary music, as the two letters of 11 February 1942 and 4 May 1942 illustrate in vivid terms. In doing so, they resorted to both financial pressure and moral arguments. And occasionally, as was the case in May 1942, they added to their letters subtle and clear reminders: “I trust my words will resonate with you.”.” Whenever Schütz came into conflict with the regime, it was not due to an oppositional attitude but, above all, to his elitist-conservative conception of art.