It was a lot of fun!
The recap video of our Swing Exchange weekend in August 2024 is here. Check out the impressions of this event in a short video.
Thank you to all the participants from all over Europe. It was very nice to network, dance together, learn and commemorate the young swing dancers who were persecuted by the Nazi regime.
Swing was and is a symbol of freedom and individuality. We look forward to our next events in Prague in November!
25.08.2024, 3:30 pm
United Evangelical Community Bremen-Neustadt, Krankenstraße 11
The swinging Agnamana Duo from Bremen will be playing at the Swing Exchange weekend tea dance on Sunday. It consists of saxophonist Gilles Biedozi and his son Mael on drums. They will be accompanied by Claudius Tölke on double bass.
Admission: free
The transnational project takes a comparative look at the Nazi persecution practices of the northwest German swing youth, the Czech potapki and the swing and jazz music scene in occupied Poland and develops multi-perspective, interdisciplinary and participatory mediation formats.
19:00: History Talk
A history talk with Czech swing dancers Zuzana Hypsova and Zdeněk Pilecky will take place before the concert at 7 pm. Zdeněk Pilecky danced in the 1993 feature film “Swing Kids” and later founded the swing and tap dance studio ZIG-ZAG in Prague. Zuzana Hypsova works as a therapist with Holocaust survivors. They talk about how they use Lindy Hop in their therapeutic work. The interview is in English.
20:00 Concert/Social Dance
The concert starts at 20:00 with Social Dance. Django Heinrich Reinhardt belongs to one of the most famous jazz families in Europe. As part of our Swing Exchange weekend, he will be playing with parts of his swing orchestra and musicians from the Bremen University of the Arts in the St. Pauli parish in Bremen’s Neustadt district.
Admission: free
Hi, we are the German team behind the project: “NS Injustice ‘Degenerate Music'”.
We would like to introduce ourselves in the following article.
We are based at the Bremer Bündnis für deutsch-tschechische Zusammenarbeit e.V. and work in Bremen.
Hi, my name is Natalie Reinsch and I am the director of the project “Nazi Injustice ‘Degenerate Music'”. I am a historian and curator with a focus on the history of the 20th century. As I am passionate about swing dancing, I was aware of the persecution of swing youth by the Nazi regime, having seen the movie “Swing Kids”. I conceived the project to develop new educational programs about the history of National Socialism and the resistance to it. Dealing with the history of Lindy Hop and the persecution of swing dancers during National Socialism opens up the possibility of dealing with various topics such as racism, anti-Semitism and antiziganism, but also with resistance and the scope of the individual in a totalitarian state.
Moin. I am Philipp Mangels, a cultural historian specializing in East Central Europe and part of the team of the Bremen Alliance for German-Czech Cooperation. During my studies, I was already heavily involved with subcultures and youth cultures and I see many links to this topic in the swing youth. What I find particularly fascinating is the self-determination of young people, who don’t let adults or regimes tell them how to live their lives. In our project, I am particularly looking forward to the educational work with young people who still have clear ideas about their own lifestyle today. I don’t just want to teach about history, I also want to learn a lot from the young people.
Hello, my name is Ramona. Together with Melika, I’m responsible for the project’s social media. I studied public history and media studies with a focus on cultures of remembrance as well as media communication and coming to terms with National Socialism.
I have been dancing since my childhood, mainly hip hop, which is why I find the persecution of swing dancers all the more unimaginable and their commitment courageous and self-determined.
I am looking forward to this project because I love meeting different people and learning with and through them. I am also excited to share the story(s) of swing youth with you.
Hi, I’m Melika Yildiz, a student at the University of Bremen.
I’m studying political science and religious studies and I’m interested in the history of Jewish life because I have Jewish roots. I have been working in the PR department of the ŠTETL FEST, an international Jewish festival in Brno, for three years. I am also a member (as a Czech) of the Bremen Alliance for German-Czech Cooperation.
The topic of the project “NS-Injustice degenerated music” is extremely interesting for me, as it provides a different perspective on the Nazi era. That’s why I’m very happy to be part of the team. Together with Ramona, I am responsible for the project’s social networks.
The transnational project takes a comparative look at the Nazi persecution practices of the northwest German swing youth, the Czech potapki and the swing and jazz music scene in occupied Poland and develops multi-perspective, interdisciplinary and participatory mediation formats.
Kick-off of the “How to make spring” festival with the presentation of our project.
At the beginning there was an exciting panel discussion with Birgit Köhler, Petr Koura and Andrzej Rumianowski about the Czech “Potápky”, the Bremen “Swing Kids”, the appearance of swing youths in general and the persecution of jazz musicians in Poland.
Then Eléna and Christin showed the basic rhythms of Lindy Hop.
The two literally made the participants “bounce”.
Finally, “the best swing band” in the Czech Republic (Jakub Šafr & Swing Trio Avalon) played together with Sophia Lamoš.
The dancing continued well into the night.
Thank you to everyone who attended and to the entire team for this wonderful evening!
To open the festival and launch the project “Nazi Injustice ‘Degenerate Music’. Persecuted swing dancers and jazz musicians in north-west Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland” by the BBfd-tZ, the project partners from Prague, Warsaw and Gdansk will discuss the different methods of persecution used by the Nazi regime with Bremen historian Birgit Tillmann. They also present the activities planned at the four locations until December 2025 in order to anchor this hitherto little-known Nazi injustice in the public consciousness of the three countries as well as transnationally.
The Czech swing band Jakub Šafr & Swing Trio Avalon will play afterwards. The concert takes place as a social dance in cooperation with the Bremen dance club Swing Man Tau.
Welcome: Michael Maj, designated Czech Honorary Consul in Bremen
Sat., 06.04.2024
Discussion, concert and dance
United Evangelical Church Bremen-Neustadt (Große Krankenstraße 11, 28199 Bremen)
7:00 p.m.
Free admission
Guests: Birgit Köhler, Petr Koura, Andrzej Rumianowski, Justyna Gorgoń
Moderation: Natalie Reinsch
The project is funded by the Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future (EVZ) and the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) as part of the educational agenda on Nazi injustice.
Jakub Šafr & Swing Trio Avalon
Piano: Jakub Šafr
Clarinet: Martin Voříšek
Drums: Jan Kubeš
Vocals: Petra Chlebníčková
Bremer Bündnis für deutsch-tschechische Zusammenarbeit e.V.
© Bremer Bündnis e.V. | 2024-2025 | Alle Rechte vorbehalten.
