Hobostubs Ashlock
175 posts
Dec 12, 2009
4:32 AM
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what did harp players during the war years of WW2 play during the war.Did they have to just play what they had before the war?Or did Germany sell to the US?Or did we just use another brand besides Hohner?
Last Edited by on Dec 12, 2009 4:33 AM
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tookatooka
852 posts
Dec 12, 2009
6:54 AM
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Not sure about the answer to that Hobo but I was thinking just recently how awful it must have been during the first world war if you had to share a trench with a harp player who wasn't really very good and only knew one tune.
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Gwythion
32 posts
Dec 12, 2009
7:16 AM
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I have an American Ace model from around this time.
It has no mention of the manufacturer's name, only the American Ace logo on both sides, and "Made in Rep. of Ireland". The harp is held together with wire where coverplate screws would be.
Ireland was a neutral country in WWII, but their shipping was severely curtailed by the war. Whether or not luxury articles such as these were exported to earn vital supplies in exchange, I don't know.
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GermanHarpist
796 posts
Dec 12, 2009
7:37 AM
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I think I read somewhere that some german (hohner?) harp manufacturer moved it's business to Switzerland to sell to the allied forces and called it's harps "helvetia" harps.
World war two just came after some years of big profit for harmonica companies. The obvious idea was to establish the harp as a good instrument for soldiers. In germany the harp had to be presented as an 'arian' instrument and in non-fashist countries they had to show that they had nothing to do with the fashists...
That they achieved and the... $$$ ...kept on flowing.
I'm not quite sure if the above is 100% correct, however I'm quite sure that they (hohner) were very opportunistic and not bound by ideology. So I don't think that the war hindered them doing business.
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germanharpist on YT. =;-)
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GEEZER1
11 posts
Dec 12, 2009
9:26 AM
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I saw in the book (which I can't find now) "harps and heavy breathers" or a title like that, they said hohner furnished harps to the German army in ww2.
a
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Hobostubs Ashlock
178 posts
Dec 12, 2009
10:55 AM
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i said WW2 because of the great blues that was from that period,but i guess the same thing can be asked of WW1,And the avaibilty of Hohner harps.
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nacoran
525 posts
Dec 12, 2009
2:15 PM
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I think I remember reading once that some American harmonica manufacturers stepped up. I get the dates mixed up, but I know at one point there was an ALL plastic harmonica. I think maybe Pat Missin's site. There is also a good site, though I can't remember the name of it for the life of me, that has pictures and histories of all sorts of musical instrument companies. It lists where the company was from, the years it operated, has tons of pics, only I can't find it again.
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Hobostubs Ashlock
183 posts
Dec 12, 2009
5:12 PM
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i guess if you wanted a good harp in WW1 or 2 you had to shoot a German that had one.Or die trying damn harp adiction,peace you all and Harp on fellow harpsters worldwide.
Last Edited by on Dec 12, 2009 5:12 PM
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