David Rothstein writes: >Albeit Wagner became somewhat of a Nazi symbol >but he lived years before the Nazis. Bryan Magee's new book on WAGNER AND PHILOSOPHY is of interest here. He has a section (pp. 361-368) devoted to the relation between the Third Reich and Wagner, and he documents the decline in performances of Wagner's works during this period. There is no question that Hitler was an enthusiastic Wagnerite, but this was a personal peculiarity that Nazidom put up with, and honored only when necessary. As Magee says, "The only important Nazi who loved Wagner was Hitler. There was no special relation between Wagner and the Third Reich" (p. 366). Nick [log in to unmask]