Music and discourse archaeology: critical studies of GDR 'Rote Lieder' and Afrikaans 'Volk- en Vaderlandsliedere' as based on a model of interacting philosophical sub-theories - Schutte, Charla Helena (University of the Free State, 2014)
Indoctrination through music is a well-known phenomenon which has been used for centuries as a strategy to influence society and instil certain beliefs and attitudes in people. Extensive research over the last few decades confirms music as a propagandist method to promote ideology. In this study, it is my aim to focus on two specific instances of such indoctrination, namely the “rote Lieder” which were sung in the German Democratic Republic, as well as Afrikaans “Volks- en Vaderlandsliedere” as deployed before and during the apartheid era in South Africa. After National Socialism, people were once again exposed to propaganda in the German Democratic Republic. Several mass organisations were formed by the SED (Socialist Unity Party of Germany), including youth organisations such as the Young Pioneers, the Thälmann Pioneers and the Free German Youth, and society was introduced to songs of an ideological nature, encouraging belief in the communist system. These GDR “rote Lieder” were published in songbooks used especially by youth organisations. In this way the GDR government managed to gain support for the communist regime and a successful endeavour was initiated to circulate ideologically-loaded folk songs amongst the GDR citizens. In South Africa an Afrikaner ideology of racial segregation slowly emerged during the first decades of the 20th century, reaching a climax with a political take-over of the National Party in 1948. The songbook of the FAK (Federation of Afrikaans Cultural Associations), published in 1937, quickly gained popularity and promoted patriotism and nationalism among white Afrikaners, finding its way into Afrikaner homes, churches, organisations and schools, thus becoming unanimous with Afrikaner culture. Similar to the GDR, these songs were sung especially by the youth in schools and youth organisations. The governments of both the GDR and South Africa never formally disclosed the implementation of ideologically-driven songs to indoctrinate people, but this does not mean that they did not understand the value and effectiveness of using music and song text to sway large groups of people, and actively used these to convey political ideas. An ideology-critical analysis of a selection of folk songs taken from the GDR and FAK songbooks could therefore uncover underlying ideological structures which may have had a profound but possibly distorted effect on those who sang these songs. Against this background, this thesis investigates the extent to which ideology is present and operative in GDR songs and FAK “Volk- en Vaderlandsliedere” by distorting reality through misrepresenting the conditions of a particular set of social-historical circumstances; expressing the interests of those in power; mobilising meaning so as to establish and perpetuate relationships of domination, and concealing relationships of domination. In order to uncover such ideological content, the theoretical framework for ideology analysis, as presented by John Thompson with his depth-hermeneutical, multi-level critical approach, and sub-theories of Discourse Archaeology as proposed by Johann Visagie, are applied. By combining Visagie's Discourse Archaeology with the discourse of critical musicology, the underlying and sometimes hidden ideological deep structures found in political folk songs revealed deep-seated ideological beliefs concealed within these songs and unmasked hidden relationships of domination. The conclusion reached is that ideological indoctrination is present in both the ‘rote Lieder’ and the ‘Volks- en Vaderlandsliedere” to a substantive degree. This confirms that the sub-theories of Discourse Archaeology are highly-complex ideological-critical tools with which deep-rooted ideological meanings in political folk songs were identified and exposed in this study within two very specific socio-historical environments. Moreover, when utilised in combination, each of the models introduced and applied in this thesis offers its own below-the-surface analysis on different levels and in different fields using their own language to describe structures and systems in a way that is not possible with ‘everyday’ language, thus providing the analyst with an all-encompassing, powerful analytical framework with which to expose the philosophical deep structures of indoctrination through music that might have gone unnoticed in a more traditionally-oriented mode of musical analysis.

Indoktrinasie deur middel van musiek is 'n bekende verskynsel wat eeue lank reeds gebruik word as 'n strategie om die samelewing te beïnvloed en sekere oortuigings by mense in te prent. Uitgebreide navorsing oor die afgelope paar dekades bevestig musiek as 'n propagandametode om ideologie te bevorder. In hierdie studie is dit my doelwit om op twee spesifieke gevalle van sodanige indoktrinasie te fokus, naamlik die “rote Lieder” wat in die Duitse Demokratiese Republike gesing is, asook Afrikaanse “Volks- en Vaderlandsliedere” wat voor en gedurende die apartheidsera in Suid-Afrika aangewend is. Na Nasionaal-Sosialisme is mense weereens in die Duitse Demokratiese Republiek aan propaganda blootgestel. Verskeie massa-organisasies is deur die SED (Sosialistiese Eenheidsparty van Duitsland) gevorm, insluitende jeugorganisasies soos die Jongpioniere, die Thälmann Pioniere asook die Vrye Duitse Jeug, en die samelewing is bekendgestel aan liedjies van 'n ideologiese aard met die doel om vertroue in die kommunistiese stelsel aan te moedig. Hierdie DDR "rote Lieder" is in liedboeke gepubliseer wat veral deur jeugorganisasies gebruik is. Op hierdie manier het die DDR regering daarin geslaag om steun vir die kommunistiese regime te bewerkstellig en 'n suksesvolle poging is geïnisieer om ideologies-gelaaide volksliedere onder die DDR-burgers te sirkuleer. In Suid-Afrika het 'n Afrikaner ideologie van rasse-segregasie geleidelik tydens die eerste dekades van die 20ste eeu na vore gekom, en 'n hoogtepunt is bereik met 'n politieke oorname van die Nasionale Party in 1948. Die liedboek van die FAK (Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurverenigings), gepubliseer in 1937, het vinnig gewild geword en patriotisme en nasionalisme onder wit Afrikaners bevorder. Hierdie liedboek het sy plek gevind in Afrikaner huise, kerke, organisasies en skole, en is gevolglik met Afrikaner kultuur geassosieer. Soortgelyk aan die DDR, is hierdie liedere veral deur die jeug in skole en jeugorganisasies gesing. Die regerings van beide die DDR en Suid-Afrika het nooit die implementering van ideologies-gedrewe liedjies om mense te indoktrineer, formeel bekendgemaak nie, maar dit beteken nie dat hulle nie die waarde en effektiwiteit van die gebruik van musiek en sangteks om groot groepe mense te swaai, nie verstaan het nie. 'n Ideologie-kritiese ontleding van 'n seleksie van volksliedere uit die DDR en FAK liedboeke kan dus onderliggende ideologiese strukture wat 'n groot, maar moontlik ook verwronge effek op die sangers van hierdie liedjies gehad het, ontbloot. Gesien teen hierdie agtergrond, ondersoek hierdie tesis die mate waarin ideologie teenwoordig en aktief is in DDR liedjies en FAK 'Volk -en Vaderlandsliedere' deur die realiteit te verdraai met 'n wanvoorstelling van die kondisies van 'n spesifieke stel van sosiaal-historiese omstandighede; die uitdrukking van die belange van diegene in magposisies; die mobilisering van betekenis om dominante verhoudinge te vestig en te laat voortbestaan, en om dominante verhoudinge te verdoesel. Ten einde sodanige ideologiese inhoude te ontbloot, word die teoretiese raamwerk vir ideologie analise, soos aangebied deur John Thompson met sy diepte-hermeneutiese, multi-vlak kritiese benadering, en die sub- teorieë van Diskoers Argeologie van Johann Visagie, toegepas. Deur die kombinasie van Visagie se Diskoers Argeologie en die diskoers van kritiese musikologie, openbaar die onderliggende, en soms versteekte, ideologiese diepte-strukture in politieke volksliedere diepliggende ideologiese oortuigings binne hierdie liedjies en word verborge dominasie verhoudinge ontmasker. Daar word tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat daar ‘n hoë mate van ideologiese indotrinasie in beide die ‘rote Lieder’ asook die Volks- en Vaderlandsliedere wat in die studie ondersoek is, aanwesig is. Hierdie bevinding bevestig dat die sub-teorieë van Diskoers Argeologie hoogs komplekse ideologie-kritiese gereedskap is waarmee diepgewortelde ideologiese betekenis in politieke volksliedjies geïdentifiseer en blootgestel kan word binne twee baie spesifieke sosio-historiese omgewings. Ten slotte bied elk van die modelle soos bespreek en toegepas in hierdie tesis, in kombinasie met mekaar, ‘n eiesoortige diepte-analise op verskillende vlakke en in verskillende rigtings met behulp van hul eie taalstrukture en stelsels in 'n manier wat nie moontlik is om met' alledaagse' taal te beskryf nie. Sodoende word die ontleder voorsien met 'n alles-omvattende, kragtige analitiese raamwerk waarmee die filosofiese diepte-strukture van indoktrinasie deur middle van musiek – wat dalk in 'n meer tradisioneel-georiënteerde modus van musikale ontleding ongesiens verbygegaan sou word – onthul.
Thesis (Ph.D. (Music))--University of the Free State, 2014
Keywords: Johann Visagie; Apartheid; John Thompson; Political songs; Critical theory; Ideology theory; Music -- Political aspects -- Germany; Music -- Political aspects -- South Africa; Patriotic music -- Germany; Patriotic music -- South Africa; Discourse archaeology