Charlie and his Orchestra Charlie and his Orchestra ( also referred to as the " Templin band " and " Bruno and His Swinging Tigers " ) were a Nazi - sponsored German propaganda swing band . Jazz music styles were seen by Nazi authorities as rebellious but ironically , propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels conceived of using the style in shortwave radio broadcasts aimed at the United States and ( particularly ) the United Kingdom . British listeners heard the band every Wednesday and Saturday at about 9 pm . The importance of the band in the propaganda war was underscored by a BBC survey released after World War II , which indicated that that 26 . 5 percent of all British listeners had at some point heard programmes from Germany . The Propaganda Ministry also distributed their music on 78 rpm records to POW camps and occupied countries . History . During the 1930s there was a great demand in Germany for jazz music , especially swing ( which included elements of the big band sound ) . However , such African and American influences were viewed as counter to goals of German racial purity ; by 1935 they were outlawed , and the Nazis informally labeled it as " Negermusik " . An underground jazz scene , however , persisted in Berlin . Here bandleader Lutz Templin and drummer Fritz Brocksieper brought together key swing figures of the late 1930s , including singer Karl Schwedler ( " Charlie " ) , clarinetist Kurt Abraham and trombone player Willy Berking . They escaped notice by pasting pro - German lyrics over sheet music and using instruments like harpsichords for boogie - woogie rhythms . Goebbels recognized that both art and propaganda were meant to bring about a spiritual mobilization in its audience , and was well aware of the popularity of swing and big band music in Allied countries . He gave permission to bring Berlin ' s best jazz musicians into the music - propaganda program , and in 1940 Charlie and his Orchestra was born . As an official " Reichsministerium " band , the group made over 90 recordings between March 1941 and February 1943 . Arrangements were by Templin , Willy Berking and Franz Mück , with lyrics written by the " Propagandaministerium " . Schwedler was permitted to travel to neutral and occupied countries to collect jazz and dance music , which helped the band and propaganda ministry to produce more recordings . Outside their " official " duties , many members of the band supplemented their income by playing in underground venues . By 1943 , bombardment by Allied planes took a toll on German broadcast operations ; the studio , employees and musicians were moved to southern Germany to perform on the " Reichssender Stuttgart " radio station . Even when the city finally came under attack the band played jazz hits live on international shortwave radio , as German domestic stations played the " cuckoo " air - raid warning . After the war the musicians reorganized under Fritz Brocksieper with the band name " Brocksieper Freddie " , but were still recognized as " Goebbels ' band " . They played at US Armed Forces clubs in Stuttgart and Ludwigsburg . Conductor Lutz Templin became one of the founders of the ARD broadcast network . Schwedler ( in varying accounts ) either emigrated to the US in 1960 , or became a businessman who retired at Tegernsee . Style . The purposes of the band were to encourage pro - Nazi sympathies , draw attention to World War II Allied losses , convince listeners that Great Britain was a pawn for American ( and Jewish ) interests and convey German dictator Adolf Hitler ' s messages in an entertaining form . The songs stressed how badly the war was going for the target audience , and how it would be only a matter of time until they would be defeated . American swing and popular British songs were initially performed true to the originals until the second or third stanza , when pro - German lyrics and monologues would be introduced . For example , in the Walter Donaldson hit " You ' re Driving Me Crazy " Schwedler croons about the confusion of new love ; in the third stanza , he continues : " Here is Winston Churchill ' s latest tear - jerker : Yes , the Germans are driving me crazy / I thought I had brains / But they shot down my planes . . . " . Later , the entire lyric would be modified ( clearly based on the original ) . The band also recorded ( unaltered ) cover version s of popular songs . Cornelius Ryan ' s nonfiction book about D - Day , " The Longest Day " , includes a snippet from Schwedler ' s cover of Louis Armstrong ' s 1930s hit " I Double Dare You " : Anecdotal accounts indicate that British Prime Minister Winston Churchill enjoyed the broadcasts . Many of the members of Charlie and his Orchestra went on to successful careers in music after the war , and Charlie himself reportedly emigrated to the United States .