In May/April 1933, the former orchestra director Theo Bauer, a lifelong friend of Fritz Busch who had played an essential part in his engagement in Dresden, drew up a memorandum listing the general music director’s striking qualities in phrases such as:
“… a born arch-musician … a pianist dear to God … obsessive devotion to the art work to the point of exhaustion … orchestra trainer of the first order … sense of perfect pitch … spiritedness, inwardness, poetry, finest sense of tone-colour and tonal resources, sure instinct … fascinated audiences and performers … utterly perfect performances … orchestral culture exemplary in Europe thanks to most intensive, high quality work … opera performances with festival character … hopeless diplomat, now heart-winningly amiable, now abruptly quick-tempered, but in the main averse to conflict … great literary interest, good knowledge of history and languages … writes excellent German, gifted speaker … very good-natured, a mild person who often seeks to make good unintentional offences in redoubled affability …“

He listed Busch’s negative traits as follows:
“no organizational talent … profound discontentment among his staff … and the singers“ (about his lengthy absences) … programme and personnel policy not always successful … prone to not keeping his distance …“

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“Not only disadvantages, but clearly provoked”

In the long run and notwithstanding his successes, various tensions could not be overlooked, even within his own working sphere, although they paled into insignificance compared with the politically motivated attacks from without. Some singers, for example, felt themselves dis- advantaged in the way roles were allocated (actually a common problem, not particularly connected with Busch). On returning from his tours, Busch demanded increased availability from his entire personnel for his projects, which sometimes resulted in disproportionate workloads and imbalances in the division of duties and in turn caused dissatisfaction and nervousness.

The conductors Kurt Striegler and Hermann Kutzschbach

Already overloaded generally, the conductors Kutzschbach and Striegler additionally had to take over their boss’s commitments during his absences; when it came to being consulted on artistic af- fairs, they felt ignored or neglected in favour of Busch’s chief répétiteur and closest colleague Erich Engel, whom several singers into the bargain disliked working with. When Busch then applied for the engagement of a celebrated principal conductor from outside (Leo Blech in Berlin was one of his choices) in order to lighten the load of all the conductors, but particularly his own extensive obligations, one of the two conductors, in their own way both very qualified and commendable men, is particularly supposed to have felt not only disadvantaged, but clearly provoked.

As the Dresdner Anzeiger reported on March 8, 1933, “there were huge Nazi rallies” in Dresden on March 7, aimed at “hoisting swastikas on the important public buildings in the capital of Saxony.” At 3 p.m. groups of storm troopers (SA and SS) marched in front of the city hall to cries of “Germany has awoken” from the aforementioned Cuno Meyer and hoisted the flags amid the “roaring jubilation” of the mob.
Dr Külz the mayor dared to protest and received a “long chorus of stormy boos”. After the marchers had done the same at the Georgentor (originally a city gate), the Landtag and the tower of the Ständehaus (in which the Landtag met), and had burnt piles of books and taken possession of public buildings, a kind of pogrom mood must have ruled in the city, even if the press, long since cowed by the Nazi Gleichschaltung, naturally reported nothing of counteractions, brawls and arrests (the report in the Dresdner Anzeiger of March 9 on the death of a storm trooper does however point to severe clashes).

“On March 7, 1933, after returning from a fourteen-day performing tour (Copenhagen-Hamburg), I was to conduct Rigoletto in the Semperoper in Dresden. (Later claims by the press that I had been away on tour for four weeks hence do not reflect the facts.) As usual, I had scheduled a rehearsal with the singers 1 1/2 hours before the performance was to begin, and I arrived punctually.
During that afternoon, the swastika and the black, white and red flag had been hoisted at the town hall and the Landtag, and the storm troopers planned to do the same at the opera in the evening.
For that reason, at about half past six, just before the rehearsal was due to begin, I was asked by storm trooper Hegira to delay the rehearsal by 10 minutes, which I agreed to do. The rehearsal began punctually 10 minutes later, but was interrupted after about 5 minutes by a second storm trooper, who ordered me to come onto the stage. After pointing out that that would delay the rehearsal even more and requesting that he take responsibility should the performance start late, I complied.
In a speech on the stage in the presence of a squadron of about 60 storm troopers and some of the staff, the district art warden of the NSDAP, the actor Alexis Posse, explained that after their election victory he was assuming executive power over the Staatstheater and assigning the post of opera director to the conductor Kutzschbach. After the storm troopers had marched off, I asked Mr Posse what he expected to happen now and received the answer:
“The performance will take place; you will conduct, won’t you?“
I said “of course“, for I was not immediately sure whether Mr Posse’s actions were to be seen as legal or illegal. I went back and began rehearsing. In the meantime, the artistic director had arrived in response to my telephone call and was speaking to the ministerial counsellor Reuter.
After having dismissed the soloists to their dressing rooms at about half past seven, I was privately warned not to conduct. Storm troopers, who were turning out in force to attend the performance, had been overheard at the box office discussing how I would be prevented from conducting and beaten up.
I replied that I had done nothing wrong, had no reason to be afraid of anybody and would therefore conduct. As I mounted the rostrum I was met with loud whistles and cries, mostly from the dress circle, where many storm troopers were seated.
A large part of the audience responded with counterdemonstrations. Apart from the fact that it was impossible to make music, I did not want to be the cause of acts of violence in the auditorium. I left the rostrum and went to the director’s room, where I encountered the conductor Striegler, whom I bade to conduct in my stead. I remained long enough to hear Striegler being received with applause, in which – I was later told – several members of the orchestra also took part, whereas in response to the reception I had got, the orchestra had been visibly surprised and dismayed, but remained absolutely passive.
I set off home; the performance was eventually resumed without any further disturbances.

At noon on March 9, Mr Posse summoned me and asked whether I was willing to go on conducting operas and concerts at the Staatsoper under the altered circumstances, since he personally, like the general public, set store by my continuing my artistic activities.
Because Posse’s competence had not yet been confirmed, I reserved my decision, but did ask Mr Posse to state the reasons for acting against me. Mr Posse thereupon gave me the following reasons:
1. having private intercourse with Jews,
2. employing Jewish and foreign musicians and
3. being away on tour too frequently.

Fritz Busch on March 9, 1933

My wife has told me how you, Strelewitz and the splendid Theo Bauer are working indefatigably to help me and to establish the truth. I have never believed that I would one day have to defend myself against such gross absurdities and distortions … My greetings, dear Mr Tröber, in particular to Mr Strelewitz and to all those who still think well of me.

Reger was right:”There is nothing stupider than one’s contemporaries; pigs and artists are only esteemed after their death!”
For the time being I am still alive, and I will fight aslongasIamalive.

For insiders the motives of most of the signatories to that shameful document are perfectly obvious. The political climate and the events of March 7 have either cowed or encouraged the ladies and gentlemen, depending on their disposition. Had a survey been taken six weeks ago, it is unlikely that anyone would have openly supported Busch’s dismissal. The whole affair, which is disastrous for the Dresden opera, has arisen out of the panic that has taken possession of all concerned.

From a letter drafted by Theo Bauer and Arthur Tröber and intended for Richard Strauss, March 1933