Willy Rosen

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Willy Rosen (right) with Kurt Schwabach

Willy Julius Rosen (* July 18, 1894 in Magdeburg as Wilhelm Julius Rosenbaum ; † October 28, 1944 (according to other information: September 30, 1944) in Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp ) was a German cabaret artist, composer and lyricist. He was one of the most famous entertainers in Germany in the 1920s.

Life

Willy Rosen was born to Amelie Rosenbaum, née Mercker, and the businessman Arthur Rosenbaum and was of Jewish descent. He attended the König-Wilhelm-Gymnasium in Magdeburg and learned to play the piano. He then took up an apprenticeship at the Berlin clothing company, Kleiden , which he successfully completed.

In 1915 he was drafted for military service in the infantry on the Eastern Front in Russia , where he suffered a serious wound. He already wrote small texts and songs for a front theater. During the war he founded the Rosen Chapel .

Weimar Republic

He then returned to Berlin and in 1919 initially found a job with his old employer. In the evenings he was already playing in cafes. A first activity in cabaret took place in the same year in the Berlin cabaret Schwarzer Kater . Other venues were the cabaret Die Spinne , Rakete and the cabaret of comedians founded in 1924 . His sponsors included the music publisher Will Meisel as well as Harry Waldau , Paul O'Montis and Peter Sachse . From 1924 he wrote his own musical comedies. His frequent appearances and his piano accompaniment of silent films in large cinemas led to an increasing popularity. His piano accompaniments, with many performances a day, even in children's performances, were particularly popular. The trademark was the phrase used before each performance: “Text and music by me” , which soon became a popular phrase . Willy Rosen combined catchy melodies with funny lyrics and soon appeared in large German houses. Tours have taken him through Germany, but also to Switzerland , the Netherlands , Denmark , Czechoslovakia and Belgium . He appeared on the radio and composed and wrote texts for the upcoming sound film. There he was also seen in a few supporting roles. He released over 50 records.

In 1927, at the invitation of the Mayor of Magdeburg, Hermann Beims, he performed with great success on the occasion of the German Theater Exhibition in his hometown. He twice won the golden violin in the German Schlager Competition .

In September 1931 he officially adopted his previous stage name Rosen as his last name.

National Socialism

With the transfer of power to the National Socialists , Rosen was banned from performing in Germany. He initially made a few guest appearances abroad, but returned to Berlin again and again until 1936. After stays in Switzerland, Austria and Czechoslovakia, he emigrated to the Netherlands in 1937 and settled in Scheveningen . There he founded the exile cabaret Theater der Prominenten with other Berlin emigrants . The ensemble included Siegfried Arno , Trude Berliner , Rita Georg , Max Ehrlich , Hortense Raky , Willy Stettner, Szöke Szakall and Erich Ziegler.

After the German occupation of the Netherlands , the theater was banned in 1942. His friend Kurt Robitschek organized solidarity concerts for roses in New York and raised money for a crossing of Rosen to the USA . However, the escape from Europe was no longer successful. Rosen was imprisoned in the Westerbork transit camp , where he took part in the theater evenings organized by Max Ehrlich. From there he came to Theresienstadt in the "Magdeburg barracks". From there he was deported to Auschwitz. Here he was murdered in a gas chamber on October 28, 1944 .

Posthumous honors

The playwright Verona Forster wrote a play about the life of Rosen. In 2006 his hometown Magdeburg named a street in his honor as Willy-Rosen-Straße .

On April 15, 2018, the Italian composer Francesco Lotoro conducted a concert in Jerusalem with works by Jewish composers that were written in concentration camps. The concert took place on the occasion of Yom HaAtzma'ut and the 70th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel and included a. Works by Max Ehrlich and Willy Rosen.

Works

Rosen released more than 50 records during his lifetime. Some of his pieces were later also released on CD.

  • Willy Rosen - lyrics and music by me , 23 pieces
  • Willy Rosen - If I can't go on with the text ... 1925–1935 , 24 pieces

He played supporting roles in the films:

Film compositions (selection)

literature

  • Verona Forster: "Although you never know what will happen next." An important find: handwriting by Willy Rosen . In: Zwischenwelt. Journal of the Culture of Exile and Resistance . Vol. 24, No. 4, Vienna: March 2008, ISSN  1606-4321 , pp. 26–31.
  • Volker Kühn:  Rosen, Willy. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 22, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-428-11203-2 , p. 54 f. ( Digitized version ).
  • Kay Less : Between the stage and the barracks. Lexicon of persecuted theater, film and music artists from 1933 to 1945 . With a foreword by Paul Spiegel . Metropol, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-938690-10-9 , p. 294.
  • Kay Less: 'In life, more is taken from you than given ...'. Lexicon of filmmakers who emigrated from Germany and Austria between 1933 and 1945. A general overview. P. 429 f., ACABUS-Verlag, Hamburg 2011, ISBN 978-3-86282-049-8

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Volker Kühn:  Rosen, Willy. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 22, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-428-11203-2 , p. 54 f. ( Digitized version ).
  2. ↑ Westerbork, program leaflet at aufrichtigs.com
  3. ↑ Lost music of Nazis' prisoners to be heard at concert in Jerusalem , The Guardian , March 1, 2018
  4. ↑ Video recording of the "Notes of Hope" concert, Jerusalem, April 15, 2018 , with English subtitles, video on YouTube (accessed April 16, 2018)
personal data
SURNAME Roses, Willy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rosenbaum, Wilhelm Julius (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German cabaret artist, composer and lyricist
DATE OF BIRTH July 18, 1894
PLACE OF BIRTH Magdeburg
DATE OF DEATH October 28, 1944
Place of death Auschwitz