New Perspectives on Hanns Eisler and the Spanish Civil War

Abstract As part of the official celebrations in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) for the twentieth anniversary of the start of the Spanish Civil War’s, the Austrian composer Hanns Eisler was awarded the Hans Beimler Medal “in recognition of outstanding merits” during his time in wartime Spain. Much like this narrative, most Eisler scholars have often portrayed the composer’s 1937 visit to Spain as a heroic act and a logical decision for him as a committed antifascist musician. This chapter offers a more nuanced examination of Eisler’s involvement in the conflict. Drawing largely on unpublished materials held in European and US archives, I detail his artistic activities in wartime Spain, the international reception of his songs in support of Spanish antifascism, as well as his adverse reaction near the end of his life to idealized depictions of the Spanish war within early GDR propaganda.