From Dreams to Nightmares: The Nazi Suppression of Mendelssohn’s Incidental Music to <i>A Midsummer Night’s Dream</i>

Abstract This article examines the impact of Nazi race ideology on cultural programming, with a focus on the suppression of Felix Mendelssohn’s incidental music for Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. By analyzing the final publicly staged performances of Mendelssohn’s music and the emergence of replacement scores, this study reveals the inconsistencies in the application of racial policies during the Third Reich. It also highlights the challenges faced by individuals in the cultural sector, such as theater director Egon Schmid, who continued to pair Mendelssohn’s music with Shakespeare’s play as late as 1935, despite his fascination with Nazi doctrine and his ambitions for advancing within the Nazi bureaucracy. In contrast, composer Edmund Nick, who created the first replacement score for Mendelssohn’s music, is shown to navigate immense political and ideological pressures that jeopardized his artistic standing and his family’s survival. Drawing on extensive archival research, the author illuminates the intricate web of politics and cultural programming to provide a deeper understanding of the challenges and contradictions faced by artists striving to navigate the shifting tides of Nazi ideology.