Arts & International Affairs: Vol. 3, No. 2, Summer/Autumn 2018 | Page 19

ARTS & INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
however, South Vietnam could not afford a large propaganda orchestra anymore. In addition,
the escalating civil war strongly curtailed the organization of cultural events in
Saigon (Wendland 1964). Consequently, the West German Embassy decided to relocate
Söllner to the music conservatory of the city of Huế on the North Vietnamese border
where he was supposed to work as a music educator. In Huế, Söllner was involved in the
larger West German strategy of sending humanitarian aid to South Vietnam. Three German
physicians were already working in Huế as part of this West German humanitarian
support (Wendland 1964).
As Söllner was relocated to Huế, his diplomatic function changed significantly. While
his work as a conductor of the Saigon Symphony Orchestra had been highly visible, his
educative mission in Huế was largely invisible to the general public. Consequently, when
Söllner’s work in South Vietnam shifted toward music education rather than conducting
prestigious ensembles, the German Foreign Office became much more reluctant in its
support. This is obvious in the debates between Söllner, the West German Foreign Office,
and the embassy in Saigon regarding Söllner’s remuneration. The Foreign Office’s
response to Söllner’s relocation was a drastic reduction in his salary, despite the fact that
the war was escalating in 1963 and that the social order was unstable, especially after the
assassination of Diệm on November 2, 1963. The Foreign Office argued that in contrast
to the high salaries of well-known West German conductors, music educators generally
only received a compensation of 300–500 Euro. The Foreign Office was unwilling to
make an exception for Söllner (Auswärtiges Amt Bonn 1964). Upon Wendland’s intervention,
however, the Foreign Office decided to reduce Söllner’s salary by 25% rather
than by 75% (Botschaft der BRD Saigon 1966).
Although Söllner repeatedly informed the Foreign Office and the Embassy in Saigon
that his financial situation was worsening between 1963 and 1968�and despite the Embassy’s
estimation that the costs of living in Huế were three times higher than in Saigon
(Ludwig 1966)�the Foreign Office refused to raise Söllner’s salary after he had started
to work as a music educator in Huế. What is more, Söllner continued to rely on a series
of short-term contracts that had to be renegotiated annually. Between 1964 and 1967,
Söllner repeatedly asked the Foreign Office for a salary increase. The conflict between
Söllner and the Foreign Office escalated after the Tet Offensive in 1968. After surviving
the first battle of Huế, Söllner remained in the city for 24 days before fleeing to Đà Nẵng
(Pabel 1968). On March 7, he arrived in Saigon on the West German hospital ship Helgoland.
Since the conservatory was shut down during the Tet Offensive and Söllner had
to flee the city of Huế, the Foreign Office determined that Söllner had not been able to
do his job during this time period (Auswärtiges Amt Bonn 1968). Consequently, the
Foreign Office withheld Söllner’s salary after January 1968. Upon an intervention by the
ambassador to South Vietnam, the Foreign Office finally decided to pay Söllner a regular
salary for February and a reduced salary for March, April, and May. Payments were however
discontinued after May 1968 (Pabel 1968).
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