The Enemy’s Culture
The Enemy’s Culture

Summary/Abstract: This article is concerned with the admiration of the Nazis for ancient Greek culture and with the admiration of the Greeks for German music as manifested during the occupation of Greece by the Nazis. Greek musicians collaborated with officials of the occupying forces in order to found the first Greek state symphony orchestra and Greek state opera ever. The fact shows how slow Greece has been in establishing the nexus of organisations necessary for the promotion and the education of music. The article observes the reactions that three important musicians of the first half of the 20th century had to this situation. Dimitri Mitropoulos chose to pursue a career in the United States, being certain that Athens would be his “total ruin”. Nikos Skalkottas was involuntarily secluded in Athens. By contrast, Manolis Kalomiris chose to work for the development of music organizations in Greece; as one of the musicians contributing to establishment of the legal basis for the foundation of the State Orchestra and the State Opera, he was accused, at the end of the war, of having collaborated with the enemy. After having prepared an apology, he was finally exonerated, through the mediation of friends.

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