Aviamarch: The Soviet Air Force Song

Cleared for Take-Off!

The Tupolev 22-M "Backfire" has entered the runway, all the checklists are completed, and this beat starts playing on the background as the airplane goes full throttle through the runway… The “March of Aviators” (also known as "Aviamarch") as accompanied Soviet and Russian pilots since the last century and it is not rare at all to hear it in military parades such as the Victory Day parade as Russian fighters cross the sky. This song also has an interesting story behind, which is related even with Nazi Germany, North Macedonia, and the German Democratic Republic.

The melody of this song was composed by Yuli Khait in 1920 and the lyrics were written by Pavel German. It is not clear if German wrote the lyrics at the same time, or he wrote the lyrics after and fitting them with the melody. This is due to the fact that the song was published in 1923, but the composer stated that he composed the song in 1920. During this time, it was known as the “Song of the Red Air Fleet”.

However, this musical work did not stay within the borders of the Soviet Union. The melody got the attention of German communists during those years. Somewhere between 1923 and 1929, a song called “Rote Flieger” was published with German lyrics by Helmut Schinkel, using Khait’s melody. The lyrics of this song are highly influenced by the original lyrics written by Pavel German.

Years later, with the NSDAP on the power of the German Government, a new song called “Das Berliner Jungarbeiterlied” was released. This song had obviously nothing to do with communist ideas or praising the Soviet aviators. Instead, the song was used by the Sturmabteilung (SA) and the lyrics were in line with the NS ideology. The existence of this song led to controversy during the following years, as some people believed that the original Soviet song was based on the German song. While the date of the publication of this song is unknown, it is known that on August 7^th of 1933 the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR declared “Aviamarch” as the official song of the Soviet Air Force. Of course, the existence of the German “SA” song was not known back in the USSR.

On 1937, the author of “Rote Flieger”, Helmut Schinkel, who was living in the Soviet Union in order to escape the Nazis, was arrested and sent to a forced labour camp, where he died one year after the German surrender. Nevertheless, the melody composed by Khail did not only inspire Schinkel to create a new song, but also inspired Yugoslav partisans during the German occupation of the country. The song was named “Во борба, македонски народе” (The struggle of the Macedonian People).

The Three Authors

Years after the end of World War II, in 1951, Yuli Khait was arrested as Soviet authorities discovered that the song that he composed was sung by the Germans. All his works were banned, and his name was even removed from the musical sheets of several compositions. Khait spent five years on prison and was released for “lack of evidence” to prove the charges against him. Perhaps Soviet authorities believed that Khait had played some role in the transformation of the original song into the SA song. Again, as in previous articles, we must not forget that the death of Joseph Stalin brought a De-Stalinization process which led to rehabilitate several artists and politicians which were imprisoned during Stalin’s regime.

After his rehabilitation, his works were restored and the “Aviamarch” continued to be a fundamental part of the spirit of the Soviet Union Air Force. Even years before his death, the song “Rote Flieger” was brought back by East German pioneers, which also constituted a rehabilitation for Helmut Schinkel.

Further reading (on Russian language) on the history of the Soviet Air Force song can be done on the articles published by Valentin Antonov. Click here to go to his website!

So, what do you think about this? A simple song can have a mysterious and interesting story behind it…

Here is a vocal version of the original song:

If you wish to take a look at the lyrics of Aviamarch and the other two songs, click here!

Anyways, we are cleared for take-off. So, off we go into the wild blue yonder…

 

REFERENCES:
Antonov, V. (2006). Two marches. Obtenido de Vilavi: http://www.vilavi.ru/pes/aviamarsh/avi1.shtml
Antonov, V. (2008). Around Aviamarsh. Obtenido de Vilavi: http://www.vilavi.ru/pes/aviamarsh/around1.shtml
Bulgakov, R. (2006). German Aviamarch. Obtenido de MAI Exler: http://mai.exler.ru/mailogo/aviamarch/german.html
MAI. (2005). Aviamarch. Obtenido de MAI Exler: http://mai.exler.ru/mailogo/aviamarch/