Night of the Amazons

The Night of the Amazons was a Nazi propaganda event that was held annually in Munich in the park at Nympheenburg Palace in thee 1930s. The events were held on 4 days and were the evening highlight of the International Horse Racing Week Munich-Riem.  

This event was an original music drama based on the Bread Riots of the French Revolution, when women marched from Paris to Versailles, stormed the palace, and killed the Swiss Guards. The Night of the Amazons tells of the climactic night in the lives of five of the women who occupied the palace overnight before bringing Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette to Paris to stand trial. 

The event always consisted of two different parts, which differed in content from year to year. Obvious Nazi propaganda event was avoided. Besides international stars, hundreds of horses were put on stage. The first part of the event had a historical theme, which was located in the courtly 18th century environment, thereby branded as decadent. In the second part of the event, the “New Age” and “Master Race”, glorified by the Nazi ideology were presented. Under the pretext of ancient mythology more nudity was staged from year to year. In 1936, Hans Grub, the manager of the Deutsches Theater in Munich directed the event. In 1937, he was replaced by Paul Wolz, who directed it until 1939. The dance performances incorporated choreographic inspiration from the latest UFA GmbH and Hollywood films.  

The Munich State Opera took part in the first Night of the Amazons in 1936. However since classical ballet was said to have not enough Germanness and national pride and to be affected from foreign influence, a wide variety of dance schools with expressive dance were used from 1937 onwards. Following the Nazi ideology, the dancers symbolized the “voluntary and vibrant integration into the large community structure with the so-called New Dance.” Young girls of the NS girls’ organisation Faith and Beauty Society were used for mass scenes, too.