Swing Kids

The Swing Kids (German: Swingjugend) were a group of jazz and Swing lovers in the Germany of the 1930s, mainly in Hamburg (St. Pauli) and Berlin. They were composed of 14 to 18-year old boys and girls in high school, most of them middle or high-class students, but some apprentice workers as well. They sought the British and American way of life, defining themselves in Swing music, and opposing the National-Socialist ideology, especially the Hitlerjugend.

Swing Clubs

When bigger gatherings were banned, the Swing youth moved to more informal settings, and Swing clubs emerged in all the major cities of the Reich. Participants were mainly from the upper middle class, as Swing culture required the participants to have access to the music, which was not played on German radio, so that extensive collections of phonograph recordings were essential. Similarly, to understand the lyrics of the predominantly American songs, it was necessary to have at least a rudimentary understanding of English. Relative wealth also fostered a distinctive style among the Swing youth, which was in some ways comparable to the zoot suit style popular in the United States at the time (see: Zoot Suit Riots). Boys usually wore long jackets, often checkered, shoes with crepe soles (for dancing), and flashy scarves. They almost always carried an umbrella, and added a dress shirt button with a semi-precious stone. Girls generally wore their hair long and loose and added excessive makeup. Their dandyish dress style riled the Nazis by drawing heavily on Hispanic Pachucos.

Related Topics:
Radio - Phonograph - English - Zoot suit - Zoot Suit Riots - Pachucos

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