History of Sorts

On June 23, 1944, a delegation comprising two representatives from the International Red Cross and one from the Danish Red Cross conducted an inspection of Theresienstadt, accompanied by SS First Lieutenant Karl Rahm, the camp commandant, and one of his deputies.

During the visit, the delegations were treated to an opera by Jewish composer Hans Krása. The children’s opera Brundibár was originally composed by Krása with a libretto by Adolf Hoffmeister in 1938 for a government competition, which was later canceled due to political developments.

In mid-1941, a production directed by Rafael Schächter and several of his friends served as a 50th birthday present for the director of the Hagibor orphanage. The production was performed only twice in Prague, both times in secret, as Jewish people were banned from participating in cultural events.

By the winter of 1942, Krása and set designer František Zelenka had been deported to Theresienstadt. By the summer of 1943, nearly all the children from the original chorus, along with the orphanage staff, had also been transported there.

TThis gave composer Hans Krása the opportunity to reconstruct the opera’s full score from memory and the partial piano arrangement he had kept. The piece was adapted to suit the instruments available in the camp: guitar, clarinet, flute, accordion, piano, percussion, four violins, a double bass, and a cello. Stage designer František Zelenka, formerly a stage manager at the Czech National Theatre, once again designed the set.

In the spring of 1944, the Theresienstadt ghetto was preparing for an inspection by the International Red Cross, which aimed to evaluate its role as a “model” ghetto allegedly “given to the Jews” by Hitler. Brundibár was selected to be performed for the visiting committee. The production was moved to a large gymnasium outside the ghetto, and Zelenka was provided with materials to upgrade both the set and costumes—a “beautification” effort that had to be executed overnight. The final scenes of Brundibár were later filmed on June 23, 1944, for the Nazi propaganda film Theresienstadt (commonly known as The Führer Gives the Jews a City).

The opera follows two children, Aninka and Pepíček, whose mother is gravely ill and requires milk to recover. Lacking money, the children decide to sing in the market after watching the organ-grinder Brundibár earn a living there. However, the cruel Brundibár drowns out their voices and drives them away. That night, animals on a poster miraculously come to life to help the despairing children, enabling them to out-sing Brundibár the following day. Although the children collect the money they need, Brundibár steals their earnings. The children pursue him, retrieve their money, and triumph in the end.

Shortly after filming concluded, almost everyone involved in the Theresienstadt production was transported to Auschwitz. Most were gassed upon arrival, including the child performers and the composer, Hans Krása.

What makes all of this worse is that the whole charade was believed by the Red Cross.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brundib%C3%A1r

https://holocaustmusic.ort.org/places/theresienstadt/brundibar

https://english.radio.cz/brundibar-child-opera-premiered-terezin-ghetto-75-years-ago-8150371