he Dutch group Frommermann is named after Harry Frommermann, who in 1927 founded the Comedian Harmonists. This German ensemble, comprised of five singers and a pianist, was in the late twenties and early thirties of the last century a huge sensation. The Comedian Harmonists were namely renowned for their broad variety of vocal styles and the fine sense of comedy with which they performed close harmony music. Within a short period they became international celebrities with concerts in Europe and the United States. In 1935 the Comedian Harmonists were forced by the Nazis to disband, silencing this ensemble for eternity. Around Christmas 2004, at the request of the Grachtenfestival in Amsterdam, Marcel Reijans selected a group of fellow singers and a pianist who shared his love for the music of the Comedian Harmonists. With this group of men, each busy with national and international careers, he made Broken Silence, a tribute to the Comedian Harmonists. With this theater program Frommermann broke the silence that was imposed on the Comedian Harmonists and their music gained a voice again in the Netherlands. The three concerts in the 2005 Grachtenfestival were a great success. The numerous positive reactions from the public and press lead immediately to an invitation to perform at the annual Koninginneconcert (Queens Concert) at the Noordeinde Palace in The Hague. This concert, which was attended by Her Majesty Queen Beatrix, the royal family and many esteemed guests, was also received with much acclaim. The NPS (Netherlands Public Broadcasting Service) made a documentary and registration of the concert, which was broadcasted nationwide on Koninginnedag (Queens Day) 2006

The Holland-America Line (HAL) was originally a shipping company that maintained an ocean route between the Netherlands and the United States. Before the days of air travel, the Rotterdam-New York journey played an important role for emigrants from Europe to America. During the 1930s, thousands of Europeans departed on one of the HAL ships, traveling from the Wilhelmina dock in Rotterdam to the United States, in search of a better life or a safe refuge. Many left their native countries forever in order to escape the growing threat of the nazi regime. This was also the case for Erich Collin, Roman Cycowski, and Harry Frommermann, all of whom sang in the famous Comedian Harmonists, and all three of whom were Jewish. They fled from Germany after the Nazis had disbanded their ensemble; ultimately they emigrated to the USA. America was not just the land of the free; it was a world power in the music business. European musicians had already been drawing inspiration from American examples for many years; the Comedian Harmonists, first set up in Berlin by Harry Frommermann in emulation of the American Revelers, were no exception.