no, no, no, i give you my word. i was never a member of the nazi party. never. i am in the percussion section. i play the timpani.
anyway, they would never have allowed it. my brother was married to a jewess, may she rest in peace. and goebbels said.  . please take this down carefully, because it's most important, fraulein?
straube? are you by any chance related to colonel joachim straube?
he was.  he was a great hero.
goebbels, yes, josef goebbels said, 'there's not a single filthy jew left in germany on whose behalf dr. furtwngler has not intervened.' no, no one could have been less of a nazi than dr. furtwngler.
he was forced to do that. but he refused to give the nazi salute in front of hitler. he kept his baton in his hand, you can't salute with a baton in your hand.
no, we. we played on the evening before the rally.
yes, dr. furtwngler was absolutely clear about this: politics and art must be kept separate.
well, it's hard to explain. i can only tell you from my own experience. soon after i joined the orchestra, we were rehearsing the third symphony of beethoven, the eroica. there are several rather difficult passages for the timpani. one particular crescendo. during the break, i asked how he wanted it played. he was studying his score. he didn't look up. he said, 'just watch me.' so, of course, i did. i never stopped watching him. the moment came. and suddenly, he turned to me and our eyes were locked. there was something in his look that.  that simply demanded the crescendo. i shall never forget his look. it was a moment of.  of magic.
yes.
i don't know what you mean, major.