Theatre of Despair
The Story of the Theatre Group Westerbork
“One can vanquish a people, but
never its spirit.”
-Stefan Zweig
The Camp History
Camp Westerbork, in the Dutch province of Drente, was actually
constructed by the Dutch authorities to house German Jews who were
escaping into Dutch lands. The idea was to provide a shelter for the
refugees while keeping them from disrupting the towns and villages of the
province.
 In May of 1940 when the Nazis invaded the Netherlands, the camp and its
residents were easy prey. It was officially turned in to a temporary
internment and transit camp for Jews, political prisoners, Gypsies, and all
other ‘enemies of the Aryan Race.’
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Continued Camp History
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Camp Westerbork was not a ‘death camp.’ In fact, Westerbork was
set up to appear quite humane. It featured a school for orphans, a
first-aid center, a hairdresser, and a restaurant of sorts. It was
designed to subdue its prisoners by featuring just enough normalcy
to give them hope and calm. It was so convincingly benign that the
SS used it as propaganda to fool the International Red Cross. Some
of the footage of these films on the so-called ‘resettlement of the
Jews’ remains today, often used by anti-Semitics who claim the
Holocaust never happened.
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However, there was a great deal of cruelty
in the calm…
…before we get into that, let me introduce
MAX EHRLICH
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Comedian, actor, director
and author, Max Erlich was a
Jew at the top of his career
in 1933. He had been
involved in over 40 film
projects and was widely
known and loved across
Europe. He was famous for
his quick wit and accurate
impressions. He published a
book called “From Adalbert
to Zilzer” in which he wrote
many humerous stories and
anecdotes about his
colleagues.
The End Begins
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1933-National Socialists bring a halt to Jews in the arts.
Ehrlich leaves for Vienna, where he is soon banished again to cries
of “Jews get out of Vienna” while he is on stage.
Moves around Holland and Switzerland for a while before returning
to Germany in 1935.
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Jewish entertainers have been allowed to resume performance within the
framework of the Jewish Cultural Union provided that they perform for
exclusively Jewish audiences.
Ehrlich named Director of Bund’s Light Theatre Department.
Finally heartsick at what had become of his craft, he leaves
Germany definitively in 1939. His fans send him off with a full
house and cries of affection and encouragement.
Ehrlich returns to Holland and joins the Theatre of Celebrities where
he remains even during the Nazi Occupation
Max Arrested
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1943-along with many of his
colleagues, Ehrlich is arrested
and imprisoned in Westerbork
concentration camp.
Theatre Group Westerbork is Born
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There was already a small orchestra in place at the
camp—a legacy of pre-Nazi Westerbork.
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Building on this idea, Ehrlich and his fellow imprisoned
entertainers formed Theatre Group Westerbork—a
Cabaret troupe that staged six major productions inside
of the concentration camp walls during the year and a
half that it existed.
More about the Company
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Famous Personalities in the Company
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Max Ehrlich
Willy Rosen
Erich Ziegler
Camila Spira
Kurt Geron
Esther Philipse
Jetty Cantor
Johnny Jones
...the list continues
The Shows
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Six Full Length Shows in 18 months
 Bunter
Abend (A Colorful Evening)
 Humor und Melodie (Humor and Melody)
 Bravo! Da capo!
 Bunter Abend 2
 Bunter Abend 3
 Total Veruckt (Totally Backwards)
Bunter Abend
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The First Bunter Abend premiered in July
1943 and was billed with 10 scenes
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Josef Baar Chats and Rhymes
Camilla Spira in her Repertoire
Max Erlich in ‘Theatre Visit’
Willy Rosen “Words and Music by Me”
Chaja Goldstein in her Repertoire
Checkmate with Max Erlich, Camilla Spira, Josef Baar
The Man Without a Name with Max Erlich and Josef Baar
Willy Rosen and Erich Ziegler – 2 at pianos
Camilla Spira and Songs
On the Race Track with Max Erlich and Josef Baar
The Newly Rebuilt Stage
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After their first performance, the group got permission to
increase the number of people in the company. Many of
the new additions were technical support crew members.
The Troupe filled as many positions as possible. Since
the SS seemed taken with the Troupe, everyone realized
that membership was a way to stay out of the trains
transporting prisoners to the extermination camps in the
east.
The Troupe prepared to stage a full scale professional
performance on their newly rebuilt stage. Incidentally,
the lumber used for the remodeling project was
from a nearby Jewish temple that the Nazi’s had
demolished.
Humor und Melodie
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The second cabaret Production boasted 18
scenes complete with sets and costumes
and a full orchestra.
 Yellow
stars were still worn, even on the costumes,
to act as a grim reminder.
When a Little Package Arrives
This number was performed by Camilla
Spira and the Dance Troupe.
 Louis de Wijze was one of two survivors of
the Theatregroup Westerbork. He was a
set designer. He recalls this bittersweet
song from the show Humor und Melodie
called ‘When a Little Package Arrives.’
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Lines Translated
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When a little parcel arrives, big and small are happy
When a little parcel arrives the sun shines, despite the
rain
A well tied-up little package, totally free of charge
One cannot be quick enough to undo its knot
When a little parcel arrives, whoever is ill no longer feels
sick
And you write a little card to say ‘Thank You’
Of course, it’s a pity the butter is missing in the parcel
And you accept, for lack of choice, a little jar of
marmelade
The most important, however, is that you’re often sent
A soft roll of toilet paper
Critics Say…
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Contemporary Observers claim
that the “Best Cabaret in Europe”
is inside the walls of Westerbork.
…There’s Always a Catch
The SS, aside from being entertained by
these performances, used them as a
control device to numb the prisoners.
 Trains to the death camps of the east left
every Tuesday morning. The
performances were ordered to be done
Tuesday evenings.
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Strife Among Prisoners
Troupe Members were given special
considerations causing jealousy and animosity
 Not all inmates enjoyed the Cabaret
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“The show was a mixture of antiquated sketches and
mild ridicule of the conditions and circumstances
prevailing at the camp. Not a single sharp word, not
a single harsh word, but a little gentle irony in the
passing, avoiding the main issues. A compromise…all
of us here are sitting up to our necks in dirt and yet
we go on chirping…Light music beside an open
grave.” --Phillip Mechanicus, in his diary
Other Opinions
The majority seemed to be in favor of any
distraction at all.
 As Jean Clair writes in his biography of
Zoran Music (Dachau, 1944)
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 “He
who kept within himself a trace of the
cultivated world could hope to resist death.”
Thus,
Theatre of Despair
Choosing who would live or die by who
would be in the troupe
 Compromising your art for survival
 Entertaining your murderers
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OTHER CAMPS
Arts was a means of escape and survival in
every camp of the occupation. Some photos,
diaries, drawings, and paintings survive from this
time period and are displayed in various
museams.
 Music was also widely used in the camps. Many
songs survive and even a children’s opera,
Brundibar, or ‘The Bumblebee,’ written in Prague
in 1941 and performed over50 times at
Theresienstadt.
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Hand Drawn Music Programs
The End…ends.
Summer 1944 –in the last transport to
leave Westerbork, Max Ehrlich is number
151 on the passenger list (Anne Frank is
number 309)
 Witnesses say that when his train arrived
at Auschwitz, Ehrlich was recognized by a
Nazi and brought before a group of SS.
He was forced to tell jokes at gunpoint.
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Max Ehrlich is Killed
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Gassed at Auschwitz in 1944
Of the over 50 members of Theatre Group
Westerbork, only 2 survived the war.
Westerbork Liberated
Late in 1944, Allies Liberated Westerbork.
 Of the over 103,000 prisoners of the
camp, only 900 remain. The rest were
executed at Auschwitz.
 None of the buildings stand anymore.
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Memorials
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No train will leave
from Westerbork
ever again
A section of the memorial…On the ‘Roll Call’
grounds, Jews and Gypsies and other victims are
each represented by a clay brick.
These stand as silent witnesses to the tragedy.
Things to Ponder…
Max Ehrlich was such an amazing artist
before the war, is it wrong to remember
him most for Westerbork?
 Consider the legacy of art born through
strife. How lasting is it? What impacts
does it have on the contemporary world?
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“A culture is as great as its dreams,
and its dreams are dreamed by
artists.”
--Tom Cruise, Inside the Actor’s Studio