The news
Die Nachrichtener , sometimes also known as Die Vier Nachrichtener , was a Munich cabaret ensemble from the early 1930s consisting of Helmut Käutner , Bobby Todd and Kurd E. Heyne . Initially Werner Kleine also belonged to the group. He was followed by Norbert Schultze as composer under the pseudonym " Frank Norbert ". This code name was retained for all subsequent composers.
In 1935 "Die Nachrichtener", which had first become known as student cabaret, was banned by Joseph Goebbels .
origin of the name
"Message" is an old term for the executioner (who executes the death sentence after the actual judge who pronounces the death sentence). The cabaret artists saw in the exposure of ridiculousness a form of execution. One alluded to the name of the already highly successful cabaret group Die Elf Scharfrichter, which was then located in their area .
Career
As early as 1928, the cast of the Nachrichtener, for example Yes Goddam, Allright, brought joint revue and cabaret attempts on the stage of the Old Simpl , although initially not in the regular program. The formation was first entrusted with the carnival play of the University of Munich , traditionally written and performed by students . Die Sonderbar and Die Erbrecher were among the early performances as student cabaret at this time. The general breakthrough in news came in 1932 with Goethe is mistaken! . Invitations to renowned theaters, guest performances outside of Munich, enthusiastic reviews - including by the influential Berlin theater critic Alfred Kerr - as well as a joint cameo appearance as singing sailors in the sound film Kreuzer Emden (incidentally, this was the first contact with the later film director Käutner Film) were the consequences of the resounding success of the operetta parody. After the record company Telefunken had offered the cabaret artists an exclusive contract, a number of mostly musical recordings followed. After another Germany-wide success with the numbered cabaret Der Esel ist los - posters for the performances were sometimes placed under posters with the portrait of Adolf Hitler - the newsmen were able to set up their own touring theater in 1933. Another piece, the crime parody Die Nervensäge , followed in 1934. There was also radio work until October 1, 1935, when the group was finally disbanded by the National Socialists as "corrosive and destructive". Before that, Todd had already pro forma resigned from the group as a “non-Aryans” at the instigation of the Nazis, while the remaining official members of the NS stage cooperative had joined.
Post fame
In 1938/39 a news program that had not been performed after the ban, Der Apfel ist ab , was cut for performance by the comedians' cabaret . Even Goebbels is said to have been “enthusiastic” about this performance. In 1948 the comedy was made into a film by Käutner himself. A new program written by Kurt E. Heyne, “This is how we live”, ran at the Leipziger Schauspielhaus in 1937 as the “Nachrichtener-Revue”, but without mentioning his name. In 1965 Telefunken released Gib her den Speer, Penelope, a long-playing record on which Kurd E. Heyne tells the story of the news. Original news recordings from the 1930s were used for this, which were assembled with a radio broadcast with Heyne from 1955. Most recently, a CD with recordings from 1932 to 1935 (2000, Bear Family) was released.
Programs (selection)
Large form
- Goethe is wrong here , 1932
- The donkey is on the loose , 1933
- The pain in the ass , 1934
- The apple is from , 1935 (no longer listed itself)
Music parodies
- A German male choir (early recording of a single number, 1931)
- From Schlagermacher's workshop (recordings 1932)
- From the kitsch museum for mood music (recordings 1933)
literature
- Kurd Erich Heyne: Give me the spear, Penelope! Memories of the news reports, Hamburg 1965. ( DNB 577783602 )
Web links
- Works by and about Die Nachrichtener in the catalog of the German National Library
Individual evidence
- ↑ Helmut Käutner: Short biography ( Memento from October 11, 2008 in the Internet Archive )