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Hillel Launches Cabarets to Memorialize Holocaust
December 07, 2004Comments (0) | Add | E-mail this to a friend  Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life will sponsor cabarets on campuses around the world this spring to remember the Holocaust through the music European Jews created and enjoyed before and during World War II. Hillel's "Cabaret at the Edge of the World: Performing in the Shadow of the Holocaust" revives many of the songs written by Jewish artists for performance in the cities, ghettos and concentration camps of Europe. Klezmer artist Hankus Netsky will debut the cabaret at Hillel's Professional Staff Conference, Monday, December 20, 2004 at 9:45 p.m. at the Westin Stamford Hotel, Stamford, Conn.
"Through this program we hope to immerse students in an educational experience that commemorates the Holocaust," explains Hillel President Avraham Infeld. "'Cabaret at the Edge of the World' is not an academic exercise but an activity in which student can explore this historical period and invest their time and creativity to commemorate it properly."
"Cabaret at the Edge of the World" exposes students to a little-known facet of Holocaust history: the music and performances that helped Jews endure and resist Nazi oppression, from Berlin, to Warsaw, to Theresienstadt. Jews such as composer Kurt Weill were among the leaders of the cabaret scene in pre-war Europe. Those who could not escape Europe continued to perform in ghettos and concentration camps. Their music and skits were both a form of escape and a way to oppose persecution.
Campuses will be provided with a 100-page program guide that includes sample scripts, orchestrations and authentic music, as well as pre- and post-performance educational activities. A CD of period music will also be included.
In creating their own cabarets, students are encouraged to incorporate contemporary music that underscores the themes of tolerance and resistance. They will work with other groups and faculty on campus to produce their shows.
The material was prepared by Hillel professionals, including ethnomusicologist Rabbi Jeffrey Summit, executive director of Hillel at Tufts University. Rabbi Summit, who had previously mounted the Warsaw Ghetto Cabaret on his campus, worked with University of Chicago Professor Philip V. Bohlman and renowned klezmer artist Hankus Netsky to collect music that would be appropriate for the cabarets, including material originally presented in Bohlman's two-CD collection, "Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano." Orchestrations have been written by University of Chicago faculty member Ilya Levinson.
"Cabaret at the Edge of the World" was created in cooperation with Hillel's Joseph Meyerhoff Center for Jewish Learning. The program has been made possible by a grant from the Estate of Frank and Claire Darmstaedter through the UJA-Federation of New York.
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