The Cabaret That Never Fell Silent – Songs of Resistance, Hope and Cabaret

A concert in the series 'Into the Light', in English and Hebrew. Ensemble NIHZ and guests. Senne Van Alst: vocals and recorder flutes. Bob Rotwelt: vocals and guitar. Orna Beina: percussion. Levi Rotwelt: vocals and percussion. Artem Nizhnik: accordion. Gergő Pazmándy: clarinet and saxophone. The music of Dutch-Jewish composers and artists who chose to keep creating and singing during the Holocaust. The Into the Light project, in partnership with the Dutch Embassy, hosts the NIHZ ensemble and friends in a program that combines songs, cabarets and works created in Amsterdam, at the Westerbork transit camp, at Bergen-Belsen and in labor camps, by creators whose lives were shaped under the shadow of the Nazi occupation and the persecutions. At the heart of the evening stands the figure of Rob (Robert Emanuel) Heilbut (1909–1945), a Jewish composer, pianist and cabaret artist from Amsterdam. In the 1930s he was part of the city's vibrant cultural life, and even after the Nazi occupation he continued to create. Between 1942 and 1945 he wrote 36 songs in Amsterdam's Jewish quarter, at the Westerbork camp and at Bergen-Belsen. His songs reflect the reality of life during the period of persecution, but alongside the pain and loss, humor, irony and humanity are also revealed in them. Heilbut died one day before the train to which he had been assigned for deportation to Germany was liberated by the Soviet army. His works were not performed for more than eighty years, until they were rediscovered and brought to the stage following research by the NIHZ ensemble that lasted over a decade. Alongside Heilbut's works, songs by Johnny & Jones, one of the most popular bands in the Netherlands in the 1930s, will be performed. The duo appeared across Europe and gained great popularity, including through radio broadcasts. After the Nazi occupation, the band members continued to create and perform music even during their imprisonment at the Westerbork camp. Their songs combine a cabaret spirit, popular music and humor, and offer a rare glimpse into the world of Dutch-Jewish artists during the war. Their fate was like that of many creators of that era, and they did not survive the final months of the war. The program also includes works based on the songs of Fida Wolf, written during his time in labor camps following the mass arrests carried out in Rotterdam in November 1944. In his writing, Wolf documented his personal experiences and the reality of life under forced labor. Wolf survived the war, and his writings were later published in the Netherlands. Another central figure in the program is Leo Fuld, one of the best-known Dutch-Jewish singers of the twentieth century. During World War II he was connected to the broadcasting activity of the Dutch underground, and after the war he became one of the voices most identified with Yiddish song. Among the songs identified with him is 'Wo Ahin Soll Ich Geyn', to which, after the war, a Warsaw Ghetto survivor added a verse dedicated to the State of Israel. His story illustrates the passage from destruction to the renewed revival of Jewish culture after the war. Through the works of Heilbut, Johnny & Jones, Fida Wolf, Leo Fuld and other creators, the program presents a broad picture of Jewish musical life in the Netherlands during the Holocaust. The artists worked in different styles — cabaret, popular songs, composed song and Jewish music — but they all shared the desire to keep creating even in a time when their very existence was in danger. The program is the product of comprehensive research spanning more than ten years. NIHZ ensemble members Bob Rotwelt and Senne Van Alst conducted research in archives, museums and private collections in the Netherlands, Germany, Israel, the United States and Australia. As part of their work, they met with Holocaust survivors and their family members, collected source materials and reconstructed works believed to have been lost. The research on Rob Heilbut led to the publication of a book in three languages and the production of a three-CD collection, and brought renewed exposure to a body of work that had been unknown to the public for decades. Heilbut's story also has a special connection to Israel, where family members descended from his brother live today. For the NIHZ ensemble, performing these works is not only a musical act but also a way to give back a voice to creators and performers whose life stories and works had almost vanished from public memory.