Berlin, May 1939 (Image Youtube)
From March 1932 until September 1937, Henry Hall was leader of the BBC Dance Orchestra which made him one of the major stars of British radio. Under his baton the BBC Dance Orchestra broadcast daily, making him the most celebrated Dance Band leader in the country. In March 1937, after five years at the BBC, his contract came up for renewal and he decided not to renew it. His resignation was accepted and September 25th was agreed as the end date.
After leaving the BBC, Henry Hall's band toured the Music Halls of Britain and Europe, and in February 1939 he was invited by the Hitler regime to perform at The Scala, Berlin.
The Scala, Berlin in 1936 (Image, Wikimedia Commons)
Hall accepted the invitation, which was for a four week engagement, and was heavily criticised by Jewish groups and the British press.
This engagement was only a couple of months after Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) which took place on 9-10 November 1938. To accept the booking, Henry Hall had to comply with the laws of Nazi Germany. Jewish musicians were forbidden to perform publicly and popular music written by Jews was prohibited. There would be no Jews in the audience as Jews were forbidden to attend public concerts.
British newspapers were quick to pick up on his compliance: ‘Henry Hall Booked For Germany, Won’t Play Tunes By Jews’ revealed one newspaper. ‘Henry Hall’s Aryan Programme’ read the headline in another. However, the right-wing press supported him, 'Jew Lovers Attack Henry Hall' read the headline in 'Action,' newspaper of the British Union of Fascists.
As a consequence of accepting the Berlin engagement he was accused of being an Anti-Semite and experienced a form of boycott.
The basis of these allegations was a news item in the "News-Chronicle," in which it was suggested that Henry's band had been specifically Aryanised for the Berlin visit. This was a lie as Henry merely took his existing band, which happened to be one of the few popular bands at the time without Jewish performers.
Shortly after the publication of the News-Chronicle story, Mr. Hall received a letter from an interfering busybody named, Miss Monica Whately, of the London County Council, who described herself as Chairman of the League for the Boycott of Aggressor Nations. This stupid letter was concluded by the following paragraph, which is obviously a thinly-veiled threat:
"In your own interest, I would point out that no one today can flout world opinion without risking repercussions, and on behalf of my League I would therefore beg you to reconsider your decision"In his reply Henry Hall pointed out that he had made no changes in the personnel of his band, and as far as a further charge of refusing to play music by Jewish composers during his German visit was concerned, he stated that he had followed the accepted theatrical custom of submitting his programmes in advance for the approval of the theatrical controllers concerned. He also pointed out that by accepting the engagement he was providing employment for British musicians.
After such eminently reasonable arguments, he received a further letter from Miss Whately, which included the following message:
"You speak of being a victim of abuse for your action in securing employment for British musicians in Germany for a month. The crime of which you have been accused is not that of securing employment for British musicians in Germany, but for appearing to condone the atrocities of the Nazi regime, and as an upholder of our own democratic system, I am thankful that the people of this country, realising the value of freedom, are prepared to fight those who are holding out the hand of friendship to those governments who would gladly wrest it from us"Commenting on this subject the music magazine Melody Maker said:
"The real trouble-makers of this earth are those arrogant, self-appointed keepers of the public morals who set themselves up as judge and jury over 'suspects' to whom they are neither prepared to give a fair hearing nor a reasoned judgement."Monica Whately was a former British suffragette and a member of the Labour party. She was elected to the London County Council in 1937, representing Limehouse. She was a typical left-wing/do-gooder— after the war, she campaigned against apartheid in South Africa and against the British government's brutal repression of the Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya in the 1950s.
Despite the negative publicity and the immense pressure heaped upon him, Henry Hall, to his credit, refused to back down and on the 1st February 1939, the band performed their first concert at The Scala, Berlin. Tunes performed included St Louis Blues and The Lambeth Walk. Hall reported they had a rapturous welcome from the audience and the German press. They played to capacity every night with three matinées every week. The BBC, who still had some credibility left in the 1930s, transmitted the concert live from Berlin on 4th February.
When he returned to England Hall wrote in the press about the thrill he experienced in seeing a torch-lit parade of Hitler's Stormtroopers. "It was a tremendous sight," he wrote, "made all the more impressive by the fervour of the fanatical civilians for whose benefit it was staged."
Beautiful Berlin in May 1939, two months after Henry Hall played at the Scala
The song is called "Das Brombeerlied Es wollt ein Mädl früh aufstehn"
During the Second World War, Hall played for the British troops, and gave concerts and shows in factories all over Britain.
Many of these concerts came in the form of "Guest Night" broadcasts. From June to November, 1943, "Guest Night" was replaced by "Henry Hall's Rhythm Entertainment" intended to provide radio entertainment for troops overseas.
After the war his BBC work again blossomed as he hosted Henry Hall's Guest Night on the radio and later on television.
He died in Eastbourne, Sussex, in October 1989.
Below: Henry Hall and the BBC Dance Orchestra - Just an Echo in the Valley, 1932, vocalist Dan Donovan
Further reading:
Henry Hall's Gestapo Nights
Henry Hall
Action, April 29, 1939
