Günter Discher

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Günter Discher (* 20th March 1925 in Hamburg-Eimsbüttel , † 9 September 2012 in Hamburg ) was a swing -lover and plates - collectors , and was called "the oldest jazz - DJ Germany's called."

Life

When he heard the first swing records by great artists from the USA (e.g. Duke Ellington , Artie Shaw , Louis Armstrong ) in his youth , he was enthusiastic and the records met with great interest from him and his friends.

But the National Socialist " Reich Chamber of Culture " soon outlawed Swing as "un-German" and "degenerate". After the beginning of the war, the music was even considered "enemy music". Contrary to popular allegations, it was not prohibited by Reich law, but the members of the Swing Youth were observed and persecuted by the Gestapo .

The swing records therefore disappeared from the shelves of record stores. But Günter Discher got hold of the collector's items, which are rare today: The way led through a friend who was a soldier stationed in Denmark. There was a comparatively paradisiacal range there. The soldier sent the coveted discs to Germany. The parcels were labeled with "Army Post" and were able to get across the border without customs opening them. Günter Discher supplied clubs and friends in Hamburg - St. Pauli . Even then, his collection amounted to around 400 shellac records .

In 1942 he was denounced to the Gestapo and arrested. He was sent to the Moringen youth concentration camp until the end of the war because he caused "considerable unrest in the population through his corrosive and state-damaging activities". As a result of his imprisonment, he suffered chronic health problems and had to undergo several operations.

Günter Discher last lived in Hamburg and was known as a leading swing expert. With around 10,000 CDs and 25,000 LPs, he owned a very large swing record archive.

He had his own CD edition on the Ceraton label . For the "Günter Discher Edition" many well-known, but also unknown and rare pieces from his large collection have been sound restored and published. In subsequent interviews with contemporary witnesses, he tells about the special features of different artists. In lectures by contemporary witnesses in memorials and (music) universities, he also reported about his love for swing music and the time.

In addition, Discher was considered the oldest DJ in Germany. During his performances, he played very different swing and jazz music that should appeal to the entire audience. With the second great swing DJ in Germany's Swingin 'Swanee , he also appeared in doubles all over Germany.

In 2006 he set up his own podcast on his website called “Hotkoffer” , in which he presented the swing of the 30s and 40s. According to his own statements, Günter Discher was also the oldest podcaster in Germany.

In 2000 he was honored by the Senate of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg with the Biermann-Ratjen Medal for his artistic services to the city of Hamburg. He died sleeping at night at the age of 87 after playing as a DJ music in a retirement home the previous evening.

Quotes

  • “Because this music had a rhythm. Our earlier operettas and so on, which we just tossed down, didn't have this tight rhythm, and that's how we got to swing music. Of course we weren't jazz fans and we weren't great professionals, but the music was kind of exciting. That interested us. "
  • “And so we turned away and said, that's not our lifestyle - besides, swing music was freedom - unlimited freedom. The improvisation of the musicians already shows the freedom of American jazz music, while German radio only played dripping marching music, as I said. "
  • “You can dance! But I ask you not to destroy the furniture! "

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Obituary on www.taz.de
  2. ^ Mourning Günter Discher; NDR, September 10, 2012
  3. ↑ a b bos / dapd: Concentration camp prisoner and swing expert Günter Discher is dead. In: Spiegel Online . September 12, 2012, accessed May 2, 2020 .
  4. ↑ a b c d Dietrich Schlegel: One of the last "swing boys". On the death of Günter Discher jazz newspaper 2012/05
  5. ↑ Michael H. Kater Daring Game. Jazz under National Socialism . Cologne 1995, p. 376f.
  6. ↑ a b Alexander Ebert: To the death of Günter Discher: A life for the swing. In: taz.de . September 11, 2012, accessed May 2, 2020 .
  7. ↑ a b Chris Corlett: The "Swing Kids". With jazz against Hitler . Hessischer Rundfunk, November 23, 2004.
personal data
SURNAME Discher, Günter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German DJ of Germany and activist of the swing youth
DATE OF BIRTH March 20, 1925
PLACE OF BIRTH Hamburg-Eimsbüttel
DATE OF DEATH September 9, 2012
Place of death Hamburg-Eimsbüttel