Fritz Löhner-Beda
Biography
The librettist of one of the most successful operettas ever written, who was arrested within weeks of the Anschluss and wrote the words of the Buchenwaldlied in the camp.
World fame in 1928
Born at Wildenschwert in Bohemia on 24 June 1883, Löhner-Beda wrote the libretto for Franz Lehár's "Das Land des Lächelns" in 1928 and with it achieved worldwide fame. He wrote a great many popular song lyrics and film screenplays besides, and held leading positions in Austrian literary and sporting organisations. He was, in short, one of the most performed writers in the German language.
Arrested at once, 1938
German troops entered Austria in March 1938. He was arrested immediately and on 1 April was taken to Dachau with the so-called "Prominententransport" — the transport of prominent prisoners. In September 1938 he was moved to Buchenwald, where he was put to mending socks and later to the garden detail.
The Buchenwaldlied, 1938
The camp's Schutzhaftlagerführer, Arthur Rödl, called on the prisoners to write a song for Buchenwald. Löhner-Beda wrote the words in 1938 and Hermann Leopoldi, another Viennese prisoner, set them; the song runs to three verses. It was commissioned by an SS officer, not smuggled into being against him — and he had, in his camp, two of the most accomplished entertainers in the German language to do it.
Auschwitz-Monowitz, 1942
In October 1942 he was deported from Buchenwald to Auschwitz-Monowitz. At morning roll call he was beaten by an SS man so severely that he died of it on 4 December 1942. He was 59.
Questions visitors ask
- What is Fritz Löhner-Beda's connection to Buchenwald?
- Arrested within weeks of the Anschluss in March 1938, he was taken first to Dachau and then moved to Buchenwald in September 1938, where he was put to mending socks and later to the garden detail.
- What did Fritz Löhner-Beda write?
- The libretto for Franz Lehár's "Das Land des Lächelns" (1928), which brought him world fame, along with many popular song lyrics and film screenplays. In Buchenwald he wrote the words of the Buchenwaldlied in 1938, set to music by fellow prisoner Hermann Leopoldi.
- How did Fritz Löhner-Beda die?
- Deported to Auschwitz-Monowitz in October 1942, he was beaten so severely by an SS man at morning roll call that he died of it on 4 December 1942, at 59.
- Was the Buchenwaldlied written freely or under order?
- Under order. The camp's Schutzhaftlagerführer, Arthur Rödl, called on the prisoners to write a camp song; it was commissioned, not composed in defiance.
Connected Places in Weimar
Buchenwald, 99427 Weimar
He was held here from September 1938 and wrote the words of the Buchenwaldlied in the camp.
Historical Context
Arrested within weeks of the Anschluss and moved to Buchenwald in September 1938.
The regime wanted Weimar for what its name meant, and it built a concentration camp on the hill above the town. Both facts belong to the same twelve years.
Read more about this period →Quick Facts
1883
1942
Austrian
In Weimar's history
In Weimar's history
From July 1937 the SS had prisoners build a camp on the Ettersberg, the wooded hill above the town. 277,800 people from more than fifty countries were held there; 56,000 did not survive.
One of the camp's early prisoners, arriving barely a year after it was built.