Miracles, Wind, and Waldemar

But who was Bruno Balz, the man behind these lyrics? The man who wrote one of the first gay pop songs, penned hundreds of song lyrics for UFA films, and continued to score hits even after 1945, such as “Wir wollen niemals auseinandergeh’n” and “Mama”?

Enno Kraus sings songs that Balz wrote for Zarah Leander and others, with Alba Gentili-Tedeschi at the piano, and Judith Kessler reveals, from her book *Can Love Be a Sin? In the Footsteps of Lyricist Bruno Balz* (2025), what’s true about the stories told about him—how Balz was able to write many of the most famous sappy, but also cheeky and ambiguous pop hits of the 1930s and 1940s, and how the image of a tragic hero emerged—one who, as a homosexual, was allegedly mistreated by the Nazis and forced to write his songs under duress.

An evening of songs, vices, and legends.

+++ Please note: New venue. +++

The WABE is closed for renovations. This event will take place at Schönfließer Straße 7.

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