A Theatrical Production at a Displaced Persons Camp | Photograph | Wisconsin Historical Society

Photograph

A Theatrical Production at a Displaced Persons Camp

A Theatrical Production at a Displaced Persons Camp | Photograph | Wisconsin Historical Society
Portrait of a man and a woman performing in a theatrical production at a displaced persons camp; Germany.

Saul Sorrin was interviewed as part of the Wisconsin Survivors of the Holocaust Interviews project. Sorrin, born in New York in 1919, applied in 1940 for a position with the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA). He worked with Holocaust survivors as a supply officer for UNRAA team 560 at the Displaced Persons camp Neu Freimann Siedlung in Germany and later, at General Dwight D. Eisenhower's recommendation, Sorrin became the Area Director of the International Refugee Organization based at the Wolfratshausen DP camp in Bad Kissingen.

When asked about this image, Sorrin revealed, "Theater. That was a big diversion. Every camp had a theater group. They weren't very good in the main, but they were there and the costumes were--I don't know where they dredged it all up. But there were theater groups and the people loved it. They enjoyed the expression, they enjoyed just the articulation, [being all] entertained. We had a lot of theater and we had a lot of cultural activity of sorts--newspapers, dances, and the rest. Occasionally we'd get the American artists who would come over, help coach theater groups. I think I told you Stella Adler came over and ran a clinic, or ran a school under JDC auspices for the Jewish actors. The big play was Dybuk.

We had dances, we had theater, there was a lot of good humor about it and about life generally. There were weddings. No, the places were not draped in mourning. That's not a good place to be, of course. The conditions were very bad, people wanted to get the hell out of there. But, no, there was no pall hanging over the place."

Interview by Jean Loeb Lettofsky and David Mandel, March 3, 1980.
DESCRIPTION
Portrait of a man and a woman performing in a theatrical production at a displaced persons camp; Germany. Saul Sorrin was interviewed as part of the Wisconsin Survivors of the Holocaust Interviews project. Sorrin, born in New York in 1919, applied in 1940 for a position with the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA). He worked with Holocaust survivors as a supply officer for UNRAA team 560 at the Displaced Persons camp Neu Freimann Siedlung in Germany and later, at General Dwight D. Eisenhower's recommendation, Sorrin became the Area Director of the International Refugee Organization based at the Wolfratshausen DP camp in Bad Kissingen. When asked about this image, Sorrin revealed, "Theater. That was a big diversion. Every camp had a theater group. They weren't very good in the main, but they were there and the costumes were--I don't know where they dredged it all up. But there were theater groups and the people loved it. They enjoyed the expression, they enjoyed just the articulation, [being all] entertained. We had a lot of theater and we had a lot of cultural activity of sorts--newspapers, dances, and the rest. Occasionally we'd get the American artists who would come over, help coach theater groups. I think I told you Stella Adler came over and ran a clinic, or ran a school under JDC auspices for the Jewish actors. The big play was Dybuk. We had dances, we had theater, there was a lot of good humor about it and about life generally. There were weddings. No, the places were not draped in mourning. That's not a good place to be, of course. The conditions were very bad, people wanted to get the hell out of there. But, no, there was no pall hanging over the place." Interview by Jean Loeb Lettofsky and David Mandel, March 3, 1980.
RECORD DETAILS
Image ID:57501
Creation Date:date unknown
Creator Name:Sorrin, Saul
City:
County:
State:
Collection Name:Wisconsin survivors of the Holocaust. Interviews and photographs, circa 1939-circa 1945, 1974-1975, 1980-1981
Genre:Photograph
Original Format Type:negative, b/w copy
Original Format Number:PH 3187.20.15
Original Dimensions:35mm
SUBJECTS
Actors
Actresses
Performing arts
Costume
Housing
Indoor photography
Men
Refugees
Women
Camps

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Reference Details
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