Bruno Balz

Who was Bruno Balz?

Bruno Balz was a German songwriter and schlager writer.

From the time he wrote the music for the first German sound film until his retirement in the 1960s, Balz was responsible for the lyrics to over a thousand popular hits. Much of his output was in conjunction with the composer Michael Jary; their songs helped make the singer Zarah Leander popular.

Balz was arrested several times for homosexuality. In 1936 he spent several months in prison, and was released under an agreement that mandated that his name was no longer to appear in public. To maintain the appearance of propriety he entered a "mariage blanc" with a woman named Selma. He was rearrested in 1941 by the Gestapo and was tortured in the Gestapo headquarters in Prinz-Albrecht-Straße. He was saved from imprisonment in a concentration camp by the intervention of Jary, who persuaded officials that he could produce songs that would aid the war effort. Within a day of his release, he had written two of his greatest successes, "Davon geht die Welt nicht unter" and "Ich weiß, es wird einmal ein Wunder gescheh'n". His film songs for Leander, a star of UFA musicals which were later criticised as having helped public and armed forces morale during the war, became anthems for homosexuals imprisoned in concentration camps.