Herbert Janssen - Posthumous Charge of Nazism

Posthumous Charge of Nazism

One source which gives no references or documentation (the author of which is now deceased, rendering the source unverifiable), has claimed that in 1937 Janssen became a member of the Nazi party. However, a year later he had to flee Germany as a political refugee, going initially to Buenos Aires. His escape was facilitated by Toscanini.

This sole accusation of Nazism is evidentially contradicted by Janssen's presence on the famous 1944 Toscanini broadcast of Fidelio. Learning of the danger to him from the Nazis for speaking against Hitler, Janssen fled Germany as a political refugee, with the help of Toscanini, who was known for his outspoken opposition to fascism. If Janssen had had any association with the Nazis, he would not have received Toscanini's assistance, nor would he have appeared on Toscanini's broadcast of Fidelio.

Janssen's opposition to the Nazi party is confirmed by Toscanini biographer, sound engineer Richard Caniell and Janssen's student, American Jewish soprano Ilona Simon-Muller. Simon-Muller tells this story as related to her by Janssen, who had been invited to dine with Hitler following a performance at Baryreuth. According to Simon-Muller, Janssen said "I will sing for the man, but I will not eat with him." Simon-Muller further reports: "That was enough to mark him as an enemy of the Nazis. A warrant for his arrest became known, and it was Toscanini who came to get him one evening following another performance at Bayreuth, telling him he was going to be arrested, and that he had to leave that night with him for Buenos Aires. He left with the clothes on his back. Erna, his wife, was called in to the Gestapo headquarters, where she saved her own life, by saying, when asked about Herbert's whereabouts, 'I don't know and I don't care. I hope when you find him that you kill him'. She walked out and Toscanini took her to Buenos Aires where she joined her husband."

Tangible evidence of Janssen's innocence in regards to the charges of Nazi party membership can be seen in Toscanini's famous 1944 broadcast recording of Beethoven's opera Fidelio. Janssen was selected by the anti-fascist Toscanini to sing the role of Pizarro in his famous broadcast recording of Fidelio. Toscanini was openly and famously opposed to Nazism and would not have used Janssen in his recording of Beethoven's opera about political freedom had he (Janssen) had any Nazi affiliation. Toscanini's opposition to fascism has been well-documented. So impassioned an anti-Nazi was Toscanini, that he refused to conduct at Bayreuth and Salzburg, emphasizing Janssen's innocence of any Nazi charges. His student, Simon-Muller remembers a prominent photo of Toscanini hanging in Janssen's New York apartment.

Further evidence that Janssen was not a Nazi can be found in anti-Nazi Friedelind Wagner's memoirs, Heritage of Fire (1945, Harper, New York). In this book, Richard Wagner's granddaughter describes Janssen as a "brave artist" who, rather than share a meal with Hitler had left town for the day, thereby ending up in Hitler's black books because "the Führer didn't like to be snubbed" (p. 101)

From 1939 Janssen lived in New York City, where he accepted a contract to sing at the Metropolitan Opera, remaining at the Met until the end of his stage career in 1951. He never returned to Germany. He stayed on in New York during his retirement and was a sought-after singing teacher until his death in 1965.