Brundibar

This morning I went to see my twelve year old granddaughter perform in the operetta, Brundibar. I went to see her dance and sing. I went to applaud for this talented young girl that I love. I was not prepared to watch a show that tore my heart out. Brundibar is the powerful story about children of the Holocaust. It is a story of horror and fear. It is also the story of hope , survival and triumph. This morning's show was divided into two parts. During the first half the children read poems written by children who had lived in Terezin, a concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. The set was the dark walls of the camp. The young performers looked gaunt and hungry. Poem after heart-wrenching poem was recited. At the conclusion of the first half the audience set in stunned silence. Applause seemed inappropriate after what we had just heard.

Fear

Today the ghetto knows a different fear,
Close in its grip, Death wields an icy scythe.
An evil sickness spreads a terror in its wake,
The victims of its shadow weep and writhe.
Today a father's heartbeat tells his fright
And mothers bend their heads into their hands.
Now children choke and die with typhus here,
A bitter tax is taken from their bands.
My heart still beats inside my breast
While friends depart for other worlds.
Perhaps it's better – who can say? –
Than watching this, to die today?
No, no, my God, we want to live!
Not watch our numbers melt away.
We want to have a better world,
We want to work – we must not die!

Eva Picková, 12 years old

The second half of the performance was the operetta Brundibar. It is the story of children who overcome the evil organ-grinder, Brundibar. They win a victory over this evil man who is obviously Hitler. The show was performed fifty-five time in Terezin. At the conclusion of today's performance the girl who had played the role of the cat went into the audience and returned with an older lady who joined in the concluding victory song. This woman with sparkling eyes and a great smile sang the song in Czech. As a young girl she had been in all fifty-five performances of Brundibar. Of the 15,000 children under the age of thirteen to go to Terezin, she is one the 100 who survived. When this woman happily joined today's young performers I cried. This woman has survived horror with a vivacious spirit of hope.

After the show I purchased a book she had written about her life. She signed it for me. Her inscription reads, “Remember me and my friends”
Remembering is important.

I am glad I could meet and hear Ela Weissberger.