Is Swing Kids true to life story?

Is Swing Kids true to life story?

Swing Kids is a fictional story rooted in actual events that took place in Nazi Germany in the late 1930s. The term “Swing Kids” refers to German young people who loved American swing music and disdained the HJ (Hitler Jugend).

Why was swing banned?

First and foremost, the German leaders believed that swing music was degenerate and not worthy of the elite civilization promoted by the Nazi party. Second, because swing music originated and was popular in the United States, it was banned in Germany by the Nazi party, as were all things American.

What is the message of Swing Kids?

“Swing Kids” addresses an issue that is very relevant to our society today. The oppression portrayed in this film was not exclusive to Germany. The discrimination, ostracism and segregation in Germany earlier this century are still alive and well.

What year does Swing Kids take place?

1939
“Swing Kids” involves a very small footnote to a very large historical event. In Nazi Germany in 1939, we learn, while Hitler was rounding up Jews and launching World War II, a small group of kids wore their hair long and danced to the swing music of such banned musicians as Benny Goodman and Count Basie.

Why does Arvid commit suicide?

Arvid, who is working at a jazz club, refuses to play a German song, lashing out at the club’s patrons for being blind to the Nazi agenda. After he is badly beaten by Nazis, leaving him struggling to play the guitar, Arvid realizes there is nothing for him in Germany and dies by suicide.

Who was the leader of the Swing Kids?

The crackdown soon followed: clubs were raided and participants were hauled off to camps. In January 1943, Günter Discher, as one of the ringleaders of the Swing Kids, was deported to the youth concentration camp of Moringen.

Why was jazz music banned in Germany?

The Nazi regime pursued and banned the broadcasting of jazz on German radio, partly because of its African roots and because many of the active jazz musicians were of Jewish origin; and partly due to the music’s certain themes of individuality and freedom.

Why does Peter join the HJ?

Peter is forced to join the HJ after he’s arrested trying to steal a radio as an act of retribution against the abusive block captain and as a gift for Arvid after a bad fight. Thomas joins in solidarity, promising that they can pretend to be Nazis by day and continue living it up as swing kids by night.

What language are they trying to learn in swing kids?

The secret language would refer back to the lyrics of swing music making it so that only the swing kids were the only ones who could understand. Swing kids used the whistle as a means of saying “It don’t mean a thing” (Carter).

What did Peter’s father do in swing kids?

Peter’s father was a violinist and professor at the university. He spoke out against the expulsion of the Jewish professors and the entire Nazi movement. Because of this, one night, in the middle of dinner, he was taken away by the Gestapo.

What happens to Arvid in Swing Kids?

Arvid realizes that there is no future for him in Germany, and no hope of escape. He goes home and commits suicide in the bathtub, slitting his wrists with a broken record. In HJ school, the boys are encouraged to spy on their friends and families.

What language are they trying to learn in Swing Kids?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xct4Mld7Dh0