The 25th episode of the podcast ‘Schallwelten’ consciously avoids cheering and self-celebration. Instead, it turns its gaze toward a topic that is difficult to endure, yet remains indispensable: violence. In history, literature, music, and politics, violence acts not only destructively, but also structurally. It shapes political systems, artistic expressions, and ethical debates right into our present day.
Violence in History and Politics: The Resistenza as a European Horizon of Experience
Historical context between occupation and civil war
Between 1943 and 1945, Italy became the scene of one of Europe's largest resistance movements. The Resistenza was directed against the fascist Repubblica sociale italiana and the German occupation. About half a million people actively participated. Violence was ubiquitous, serving as a means of oppression, but also as a tool of resistance.
The massacres in Italian villages demonstrate a brutality that shows terrifying parallels to modern-day war crimes. Violence functioned as a demonstration of power and as a language of intimidation. For historians and educational institutions, the Resistenza is therefore a central point of reference for understanding political violence in the 20th century.
In addition, it must be emphasized that the Resistenza was by no means homogeneous. Communist, liberal, Catholic, and monarchist groups pursued different political goals. This internal tension led to violence even within the resistance and illustrates how complex moral judgments about historical acts of violence must be.
Aftermath and processing
Following the war came trials, truth commissions, and societal debates. However, legal processing did not automatically mean reconciliation. Many traumas persisted. It is precisely here that it becomes clear why history is not just the transmission of facts, but requires ethical reflection.
In addition, memory politics in Italy remained contested for a long time. Street names, monuments, and school curricula still reflect conflicting narratives to this day. The engagement with the Resistenza is thus also a case study in how violence is remembered or repressed by society.
An in-depth look at this period can also be found in the interactive timeline: Music and Politics in the 20th Century – from 1918 to the present, which links historical events with cultural developments.
Violence in Literature and Politics: Dante Alighieri and the Moral Order of Hell
Violence as a conscious departure from ethics
In ‘Divine Comedy’ violence is not a mere physical act. It is the expression of a fundamental ethical transgression. Dante clearly categorizes violent offenders within his architecture of hell, thereby giving violence a spatial and moral structure.
The famous images, bodies in boiling blood, tormented souls, endless repetitions, still resonate today. They depict violence as a state that contaminates space itself. For literary scholars and educators, this opens up an approach to jointly discuss political violence and individual responsibility.
Furthermore, it can be stated that Dante's concept of violence is strongly influenced by medieval scholasticism. Violence is not relativized, but embedded in a cosmic system of order. Precisely this rigor makes the text applicable to contemporary ethical debates on guilt, justice, and retribution.
Case study Elio Romano
The figure of Elio Romano exemplifies tyrannical violence. His punishment is not chosen at random, but follows a strict logic of guilt and consequence. Dante connects specific historical figures with universal moral statements.
Furthermore, such figures act as cautionary examples of the unbridled expansion of political power. Dante does not write neutrally, but clearly takes a stance. Literature thus becomes a moral space in which violence is evaluated and not merely described.
Annotated editions of the ‘Divina Commedia’ are particularly well-suited for teaching, as they make historical references and philosophical concepts transparent.
Violence in Music and Politics: Sound as an Experience of the Extreme
Igor Stravinsky: Ritualized Violence in ‘The Rite of Spring’
Stravinsky's ballet confronts the audience with archaic violence. A human sacrifice stands at the center, musically realized through extreme rhythm, polyrhythms, and harmonic friction. The famous tritone, often referred to as the ‘diabolus in musica,’ intensifies the feeling of the menacing.
Theodor W. Adorno accused Stravinsky of estetheticizing violence without suffering from it.
Additionally, it should be noted that the world premiere in 1913 itself led to violent reactions in the audience. Tumults and police interventions show how strongly musical forms can reflect and provoke societal conflicts.
Arnold Schoenberg: Testimony after the Shoah
Arnold Schönberg approaches the subject in a completely different way. ‘A Survivor from Warsaw’ eschews spectacular effects. Instead, bewilderment dominates. The trilingual text structure and the strict musical form make the work a testimony that defies any simple reception.
Here, violence is not illustrated, but remembered. For music education, this work is central to addressing music and human rights in the 20th century.
Particularly striking is the role of the choir, which does not comfort, but accuses. Music becomes here a medium of collective memory and moral obligation toward the victims of historical violence.
Alban Berg: Structural Violence in ‘Wozzeck’
Berg's opera portrays state violence as a system. The protagonist is worn down by military and societal structures. The formal rigor of the composition—passacaglia, fugue, rondo—reflects the inevitability of this violence.
The contemporary relevance of ‘Wozzeck’ lies in the fact that it understands violence not as an exception, but as the result of political order.
Broadly speaking, Berg thereby anticipates modern discourses on structural and institutional violence, as they were later systematically developed by sociology and political science.
Violence in Film and Politics: Emotional Distance and Its Dissolution
Steven Spielberg’s ‘Saving Private Ryan’ is considered a milestone in realistic depictions of war. The Normandy landings confront the audience with physical overwhelm. Many viewers report defensive reactions.
However, the crucial factor is the emotional distance of the characters. It is only when this distance breaks down that violence can be experienced as psychological trauma. For media educators, the film offers an important approach to analyzing violence in audiovisual media.
In addition, Spielberg deliberately uses documentary-style techniques. Shaky camera work and desaturated colors create intimacy without glorifying violence. It is precisely this balance that makes the film educationally valuable.
Social perspectives: violence, availability and modernity
The sociologist Hartmut Rosa describes modern societies as being characterized by a striving for availability. People are functionalized, resources optimized. In this process, new forms of structural violence emerge.
Current conflicts show how relevant this analysis is. Dealing with violence is therefore not a historical exercise, but a political and ethical necessity.
In addition, it can be said that digital technologies intensify this dynamic. Algorithms, surveillance, and acceleration can deepen alienation. Violence then does not always appear visible, but rather as a creeping loss of autonomy.
Education, Politics, and Responsibility
For educational institutions and cultural actors, this results in a clear mandate. Violence must not be viewed in isolation. It must be understood in its historical, literary, and musical contexts.
Music and education are not a luxury in this process, but tools of political maturity. In the classroom in particular, works of so-called banned music and art in resistance offer an approach that combines emotion and analysis.
Additionally, it must be emphasized that multi-perspective educational approaches promote empathy. Those who contextualize violence culturally learn to question simplistic assignments of blame and to think about responsibility in a differentiated way.
Classification within the scientific discourse
Numerous studies and cultural contributions underline the importance of this interdisciplinary perspective, for instance in Deutschlandfunk Kultur, at BR-Klassik or in the context of music-political analyses of German Music Council. Also international research approaches to the aesthetics of violence, as they are in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy are discussed, offer valuable theoretical foundations.
In addition, journals in cultural studies show that specifically the combination of art and violence research enables new insights. Interdisciplinarity is not considered a trend here, but rather a methodological necessity.
Conclusion: Violence as a moment of insight
The podcast episode ‘Schallwelten’ makes it clear: violence is not a marginal topic in cultural history. It is central to the understanding of politics, ethics, and art. Artistic works cannot dissolve violence, but they can create spaces in which reflection becomes possible.
For conductors, musicians, educators, and culturally engaged citizens, this means taking responsibility. Listening closely, not overlooking anything, especially in times of political polarization. Analyzing violence means understanding society.
Furthermore, it can be said that knowledge here does not remain detached. Whoever deals with violence becomes part of an ethical process themselves. Art demands a stance, thus opening up the opportunity for more conscious action.
Anyone who engages in this debate will not be rewarded with easy answers, but with a deeper understanding of the forces shaping history and the present.
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