The German Dance and Entertainment Orchestra (german: Deutsches Tanz- und Unterhaltungsorchester; DTU) was a musical ensemble formed in 1942 by musicians

Franz Grothe Franz Grothe (17 September 1908 – 12 September 1982) was a German composer, mainly for the cinema. His musicals were outstanding successes. He was required to be a member of the Nazi party (No. 2.580.427).Ernst Klee: ''Das Kulturlexikon zum Dritt ...

and Georg Haentzschel on the initiative of Nazi propaganda minister

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...

. It was an attempt to create an acceptable alternative to

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

, which was a popular genre among Germans but was considered a form of

degenerate music Degenerate music (german: Entartete Musik, link=no, ) was a label applied in the 1930s by the government of Nazi Germany to certain forms of music that it considered harmful or decadent. The Nazi government's concerns about degenerate music were a ...

by the Nazis due to its racial associations. The self-styled "rhythmic dance music" produced by the German Dance and Entertainment Orchestra was intended especially to satisfy the musical desires of military personnel, thus preventing them from listening to British radio broadcasts which also contained anti-Nazi propaganda material. Walter Dobschinski worked with the ensemble.

References

{{authority control German orchestras German jazz ensembles Nazi culture Disbanded orchestras Musical groups established in 1942 Musical groups disestablished in the 1940s 1942 establishments in Germany 1940s disestablishments in Germany