Kristallnacht @70: In Promotion of Tolerance
Sunday, November 9, 2008, 7:00 pmUniversity of Denver, Sturm Hall
By Marc Shulgold, Rocky Mountain News
Published November 9, 2008 at 3 p.m.
Nov. 9, 1938. A horrifying, unforgettable day the Germans called Kristallnacht - Night of Crystal. But the world would remember with a more damning description.
Night of Broken Glass.
It was an orgy of destruction by Nazi soldiers and sympathizers aimed at Jewish citizens, their businesses and synagogues that stretched into the following day - a coordinated attack ordered by Joseph Goebbels and triggered by the murder of a German official by a young Polish Jew named Herschel Grynszpan. After those two November days, "it was not safe to be a Jew in Europe," observed Barbara Hamilton-Primus.
The violist and artistic director of the Colorado Chamber Players maintains a powerful connection to Kristallnacht through direct family ties.
"My grandparents owned Bruder Wilmersdoerfer, a dry goods store in Bayreuth that was smashed," she explained. "My mom left Germany soon after. My grandfather and one sibling escaped. The others, and their families, all died in concentration camps."
To honor their memory, and other victims of this opening salvo in Germany's campaign to exterminate Europe's Jews, Hamilton-Primus and the CCP will play music composed before, during and after the war.
The concerts, "Kristallnacht@70: In Promotion of Tolerance," take place tonight on the University of Denver campus and later this month in the Boulder Public Library.
In assembling the program, Hamilton-Primus approached the Holocaust Awareness Institute at DU's Center for Judaic Studies.
"They put together a DVD of tales from survivors that we'll be projecting on a screen as people arrive," she said. In addition, in-person memories will be shared by two locally based survivors, Osi Sladek and Lisa Jahpa.
The music begins with a string quartet by Mendelssohn, who died nearly a century before the rise of the Nazis. "They banned Mendelssohn (a member of a prominent Jewish family)," Hamilton-Primus noted. "Starting with his music will, I think, help people tap into their emotions."
The Mendelssohn will be followed by Cantillations, for clarinet and viola by the Colorado Springs-based composer Ofer Ben-Amots, and three songs by Hans Krasa, a Czech who died in Auschwitz.
Completing the program is Sparks of Glory by the contemporary composer Paul Schoenfield. That piece utilizes a text drawn from the writings of a World War II Polish journalist named Moshe Prager. The libretto captures observations by Prager on the struggles and moments of courage of Holocaust victims. The music travels from Hassidic melodies to klezmer and jazz. Baritone Patrick Mason will serve as narrator.
The program, Hamilton-Primus noted, will mourn the past as it embraces a sense of hope for the future. In a similar fashion, the enduring sadness of her family's fate was tempered years ago during a trip to Bayreuth, where the violist visited the street of her grandfather's shop.
"I went up to the very spot and there, on the wall, the letters of the name of his store were still visible. It's the same thing with the music written by those who perished: It survives. And what better way to prove that it does by performing it?"
***************
The costs of Kristallnacht
In Germany, Austria:
* Killed: 91
* Sent to concentration camps: 30,000 (including 8,000 Austrians)
* Jewish businesses and homes destroyed: 7,500
* Synagogues burned or destroyed: Figures from various sources range from 267 to 1,350.
* The fine: German Jews were ordered to pay one billion German marks for cleanup and repairs.
This program was repeated at the Boulder Public Library twice in November 2008.
Published November 9, 2008 at 3 p.m.
Nov. 9, 1938. A horrifying, unforgettable day the Germans called Kristallnacht - Night of Crystal. But the world would remember with a more damning description.
Night of Broken Glass.
It was an orgy of destruction by Nazi soldiers and sympathizers aimed at Jewish citizens, their businesses and synagogues that stretched into the following day - a coordinated attack ordered by Joseph Goebbels and triggered by the murder of a German official by a young Polish Jew named Herschel Grynszpan. After those two November days, "it was not safe to be a Jew in Europe," observed Barbara Hamilton-Primus.
The violist and artistic director of the Colorado Chamber Players maintains a powerful connection to Kristallnacht through direct family ties.
"My grandparents owned Bruder Wilmersdoerfer, a dry goods store in Bayreuth that was smashed," she explained. "My mom left Germany soon after. My grandfather and one sibling escaped. The others, and their families, all died in concentration camps."
To honor their memory, and other victims of this opening salvo in Germany's campaign to exterminate Europe's Jews, Hamilton-Primus and the CCP will play music composed before, during and after the war.
The concerts, "Kristallnacht@70: In Promotion of Tolerance," take place tonight on the University of Denver campus and later this month in the Boulder Public Library.
In assembling the program, Hamilton-Primus approached the Holocaust Awareness Institute at DU's Center for Judaic Studies.
"They put together a DVD of tales from survivors that we'll be projecting on a screen as people arrive," she said. In addition, in-person memories will be shared by two locally based survivors, Osi Sladek and Lisa Jahpa.
The music begins with a string quartet by Mendelssohn, who died nearly a century before the rise of the Nazis. "They banned Mendelssohn (a member of a prominent Jewish family)," Hamilton-Primus noted. "Starting with his music will, I think, help people tap into their emotions."
The Mendelssohn will be followed by Cantillations, for clarinet and viola by the Colorado Springs-based composer Ofer Ben-Amots, and three songs by Hans Krasa, a Czech who died in Auschwitz.
Completing the program is Sparks of Glory by the contemporary composer Paul Schoenfield. That piece utilizes a text drawn from the writings of a World War II Polish journalist named Moshe Prager. The libretto captures observations by Prager on the struggles and moments of courage of Holocaust victims. The music travels from Hassidic melodies to klezmer and jazz. Baritone Patrick Mason will serve as narrator.
The program, Hamilton-Primus noted, will mourn the past as it embraces a sense of hope for the future. In a similar fashion, the enduring sadness of her family's fate was tempered years ago during a trip to Bayreuth, where the violist visited the street of her grandfather's shop.
"I went up to the very spot and there, on the wall, the letters of the name of his store were still visible. It's the same thing with the music written by those who perished: It survives. And what better way to prove that it does by performing it?"
***************
The costs of Kristallnacht
In Germany, Austria:
* Killed: 91
* Sent to concentration camps: 30,000 (including 8,000 Austrians)
* Jewish businesses and homes destroyed: 7,500
* Synagogues burned or destroyed: Figures from various sources range from 267 to 1,350.
* The fine: German Jews were ordered to pay one billion German marks for cleanup and repairs.
This program was repeated at the Boulder Public Library twice in November 2008.
Musicians Playing This Event
- Andrew Cooperstock, Piano
- Barbara Hamilton-Primus, Artistic Director & Viola
- Katharine Knight, Previous Artist, Cellist
- Patrick Mason, Previous Artist, Baritone
- Paul Primus, Violinist
- Daniel Silver, Clarinetist
- David Waldman, Violinist
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