In this week’s episode, Sam and Alex look at Arthur Miller’s adaptation of Fania Fénelon’s memoir of her time in the women’s orchestra of Auschwitz.

The pair talk about the history of the orchestras at Auschwitz, including the relative ‘privilege’ of the musicians; the life and experiences of Fénelon, a French singer and pianist; the moral challenges facing the orchestra members; the representation of women’s experiences; and the complex, overarching theme of perpetrators as ‘humans’ rather than ‘monsters.’

To skip updates and recommendations and go straight into the episode, listen from 15.15.

Hosts: Samantha Mitschke & Alexandra Gellner

Executive Producer: Samantha Mitschke

Producer / Editor: Alexandra Gellner

Music: “Image” by Infraction Music

Contact: https://holocaustonstage.com/contact/

Episode Sources

Tim Auld, “How Arthur Miller struck a discord with the Women's Orchestra of Auschwitz” in The Guardian, 6 March 2015.

Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, On Auschwitz (25): Orchestras at Auschwitz.

BBC Media Centre, The Last Musician of Auschwitz.

Fania Fénelon (1977) The Musicians of Auschwitz. Michael Joseph Ltd.

Kathryn Hughes, “The Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz by Anne Sebba review – playing for their lives” in The Guardian, 21 March 2025.

Arthur Miller (1990) Playing for Time. Nick Hern Books.

Music and the Holocaust / ORT.org: Fania Fénelon / Anita Lasker-Wallfish / Alma Rosé

Time Note, Maria Mandel.

To request a full list of resources, please use the contact form.

Content warning: this episode contains references to disordered eating.

In this week’s episode, Alex and Dr Sam talk to Professor Lisa Peschel - whose interviews with Czech survivors of Terezin/Theresienstadt led to the discovery of numerous scripts, previously thought lost, of the performances staged inside the ghetto. This led to the publication in German, Czech and English of Performing Captivity, Performing Escape, a collection of 12 of these scripts.

The trio discuss elements including the historical background of Terezin/Theresienstadt; the cultural life in the ghetto; Lisa’s interviews; her experiences of working with the plays, including reactions from students; and the potential highlights and challenges for educators. Lisa gives a reading of the book’s epilogue, the satirical yet poignant New Year’s Eve in the Oederan Slave-Labor Camp. Overall, the discussion considers how the plays allow students and teachers to gain an insight into the lives and experiences of the people who created and performed them.

Some sound issues were experienced during recording - thank you for bearing with us!

Hosts: Samantha Mitschke & Alexandra Gellner

Guest: Lisa Peschel

Executive Producer: Samantha Mitschke

Producer / Editor: Alexandra Gellner

Music: “⁠Image⁠” by ⁠Infraction Music⁠

Contact: ⁠https://holocaustonstage.com/contact/⁠

Plays

Lisa Peschel (ed.) (2014) ⁠Performing Captivity, Performing Escape: Cabarets and Plays from the Terezín/Theresienstadt Ghetto⁠. Seagull Books.

Other sources

Visit the ⁠Performing the Jewish Archive⁠ website to explore a vast range of material, including a video recording of The Smoke of Home.

To learn more about Lisa and her work, please visit the ⁠University of York website⁠.

To request a full list of resources for this episode, please use this form.

In this week’s episode, Dr Sam and guest co-host John Summers-Campbell explore the most naturalistic of Brecht’s works: a series of 24 episodic scenes that illustrate what life was like for ordinary Germans under the Nazis in the build-up to the Second World War.

Sam and John discuss aspects such as the (under)representation of different groups; which of the scenes they think are the most powerful, and why; John’s experiences of directing the play, including a tap-dancing schoolgirl, a maid in drag and a fainting Nazi; how Fear and Misery… inspired a 1980s sci-fi series; and how the play is, once again, hauntingly timely.

Hosts: Samantha Mitschke & John Summers-Campbell

Executive Producer: Samantha Mitschke

Producer / Editor: Alexandra Gellner

Music: “⁠Image⁠” by ⁠Infraction Music⁠

Contact: ⁠https://holocaustonstage.com/contact/⁠

Books & Articles

The Poetry Foundation, “Bertolt Brecht”: ⁠https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/bertolt-brecht⁠

Plays

Bertolt Brecht; John Willett (trans.) (2006) ⁠Fear and Misery of the Third Reich⁠. Methuen Drama.

Unfortunately Leopoldstadt is no longer available on National Theatre at Home (we checked), but you can watch the National Theatre trailer ⁠here⁠ and find copies of the text ⁠here⁠.

To request a full list of sources for this episode, please use this form.