In this episode of The A to Z of Wartime Song, Lili Redman and Tom Carradine dive into one of the most gloriously irreverent songs of the Second World War – Oliver Wallace’s “Der Fuehrer’s Face,” made famous by Spike Jones and his City Slickers, and immortalised in the Oscar-winning Donald Duck short of the same name. They trace Wallace’s remarkable journey from London-born silent film organist to one of Disney’s most prolific composers, before turning to the irrepressible Spike Jones – a man who replaced C-sharps with gunshots, performed Liszt at breakneck speed, and gave the world the “birdaphone.” Along the way they explore how Disney’s studios were commandeered by the US military, and how a cartoon duck in a Nazi nightmare became one of the most effective pieces of wartime propaganda ever made. There’s also an extended sidequest into the extraordinary personal style of Hermann Göring – a man who wore kimonos with fur-trimmed slippers, changed uniform several times a day, and carried a six-foot spear to diplomatic receptions. If he wasn’t a Nazi, you’d say he was fabulous. Packed with sharp satire, composed chaos and plenty of raspberries, this episode asks: what’s the best way to deal with a bully? Make fun of him, obviously. SPOTIFY PLAYLIST You can listen to ALL of the songs that Tom and Lili talk about in the episode on their Spotify playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1FQDrBphYqYLAuN6Jm01PN?si=b777dc33a703408a REFERENCES London Easter Parade 2026 https://www.facebook.com/events/996153819354742 Der Fuehrer’s Face – Disney Film (1943) https://youtu.be/I7vb89c6pQY?si=gd8ybIfZLUNH5WkK Oliver Wallace https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Oliver_Wallace Snow White Live Action Reference Films (inc. Oliver Wallace) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smqEmTujHP8 People and Places Series – Disney https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLziMmVShwVhY10ekwToAtrWcAoZBYZuBM Spike Jones Clip with Birdaphone https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWF8iRCan7I Spike Jones https://walkoffame.com/spike-jones/ Cocktails for Two – Spike Jones https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0dw2UKRYSA&list=RDA0dw2UKRYSA&start_radio=1 Ghost Riders in the Sky – Spike Jones (1949) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9mT-ibaAQo&list=RDc9mT-ibaAQo&start_radio=1 William Tell Overture – Spike Jones (1948) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxrOo_H_D4c&list=RDFxrOo_H_D4c&start_radio=1 Bring on the Girls (1945) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRCQ9v3KHxA Der Fuehrer’s Face – Disney Film (1943) https://youtu.be/I7vb89c6pQY?si=gd8ybIfZLUNH5WkK Herman Göring’s Uniforms http://themarshalsbaton.com/goring.htm Carinhall, Schorfheide (Herman Göring’s Home) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carinhall Pink Elephants on Parade – Dumbo (1941) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcZUPDMXzJ8 Sheet Music https://www.sheetmusicsinger.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Der-Fuehrers-Face-1942.pdf Knees Up Mother Brown (1940) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdRxWZ5-mvg The Laughing Policeman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI1nPd7hezM&list=RDhI1nPd7hezM&start_radio=1 My Old Man’s a Dustman – Lonnie Donegan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7GeZ3YmONw&list=RDY7GeZ3YmONw&start_radio=1 Der Fuehrer’s Face – Spike Jones and his City Slickers (1942) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWF8iRCan7I Looney Tunes Theme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jTHNBKjMBU Tommy Trinder https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqsjWKM1VeM&list=RDtqsjWKM1VeM&start_radio=1 Lord Haw-Haw https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Haw-Haw Harry Roy (1942) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpC93EBtw7I&t=4s Heil Hitler Ja, Ja, Ja – Ronald Frankau https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6xc7HOYMg4&list=RDK6xc7HOYMg4&start_radio=1 What a Nice Lot of Nazis They Are – Arthur Askey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhJZjLuSgmk&list=RDNhJZjLuSgmk&start_radio=1 Don’t Let’s Be Beastly to the Germans – Noel Coward (1943) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wveW9Tw2JKE&list=RDwveW9Tw2JKE&start_radio=1 CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 00:52 Catch Up 01:40 D = Der Fuehrer’s Face 02:37 Oliver Wallace 09:44 Spike Jones 14:35 Der Fuehrer’s Face – Disney Cartoon 18:41 Hermann Göring: The Most Flamboyant Nazi 21:24 Der Fuehrer’s Face – Disney Cartoon (Part 2) 23:36 Discussing the Sheet Music 24:21 Discussing the Lyrics 27:17 Discussing the Music 29:31 Discussing Versions: Spike Jones and His City Slickers 30:47 Tommy Trinder 31:47 Harry Roy 33:02 Which Is Our Favourite? 33:55 If You Liked That You’ll Like This 37:40 Mentioned in Dispatches 38:36 Teaser for Next Week 39:02 Outro SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS You can follow the podcast on social media: http://instagram.com/warsongspod https://www.facebook.com/warsongspod Find more information about Lili Redman here: https://liliredman.com/https://www.instagram.com/lili__redman/ https://www.facebook.com/ScalaLil Or Tom Carradine here: https://www.tomcarradine.com/https://www.instagram.com/tomcarradine https://www.facebook.com/mrtomcarradine CONTACT THE PODCAST If there’s a wartime song that you think they should discuss, or if you have a personal or family story connected to one, drop them a line at [email protected] to be “Mentioned in Dispatches”. LISTENING LINKS Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7ktQ4nyudmPRLcCNyNxEfv?si=ac9e1babe6834f2b Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-a-to-z-of-wartime-song/id1806037318 If you’ve enjoyed this episode Lili and Tom would be grateful if you’d leave a review and make sure you’ve subscribed and turned on notifications so you’ll never miss an episode.