By April of 1933, Germany's National Socialists had expelled more than
8,000 Jewish musicians, actors, and other artists from German orchestras,
opera companies, and theatre groups. Jews were later forbidden from
attending "Aryan" theatres. In the summer of 1933, the Jüdische Kulturbund,
or Jewish Culture Association, was created. The Kulturbund was a
heart-rending paradox. Proposed by Jewish performers as a response to their
exclusion from German cultural life, the organization was appropriated by
Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's propaganda minister, as a ploy for foreign
consumption (“You see, we really aren’t treating the Jews so badly after
all”). Nevertheless the Jüdische Kulturbund became a spiritual refuge to
some of the finest musicians and music in Europe, a beacon of artistic light
in the gathering European gloom of the 1930s.
The Inextinguishable Symphony Project offers a compelling
testament of an important and little-known part of pre-World War II history
about love, music, the human spirit, and survival.
Few know about the Jüdische Kulturbund. In fact little has been written
about the performing arts of the 1930s. Surviving artists and subscribing
members of the Kulturbund immigrated to the United States, to Australia, and
to Uruguay. Others remained in Europe. They changed the cultural landscape
with their art. They survived and inspired millions through their passion
for culture, their heritage, and their love of art and music.
The Inextinguishable Symphony Project, created by Executive
Producer Gail Prensky in collaboration with a talented team of producers and
designers, will present a 90-minute documentary film on PBS as a national
prime-time special as well as extensive companion programs about the
extraordinary history of the Jüdische Kulturbund. The Project is expected to
reach 58-million people in the United States and around the world in major
cities from Los Angeles to Berlin.
The first-hand accounts of the Kulturbund are disappearing rapidly, as Kulturbund survivors are now in their late 80s and 90s. This is our last opportunity to share their stories and preserve this important piece of pre-World War II history. We invite you to support this testament to the redemptive power of music and the triumphant nature of the human spirit with communities across North America and around the globe.
The Frankfurt Kulturbund
Support and Sponsorship Opportunities
We are seeking support and sponsorships from individuals, foundations, and corporations. Please help our independent effort by making a tax-deductible contribution. For more information about becoming a contributor or a sponsor of the Documentary Film and/or the Companion Programs please contact info@tisproject.com.
Kurt Singer conducting the Kulturbund
(photo credit:
Bildarchiv Abraham Pisarek)
NEW: Online Educational Resources document
HONORARY BOARD
Stuart Eizenstat
Partner, Covington & Burling
Henry Raymont Journalist
Patricia Schroeder President and CEO Association for American
Publishers, Inc.
ADVISORY BOARD
Philip V. Bohlman
Professor of Music and Jewish Studies
University of Chicago
Alice Kelly
Producer, ZDF German Television
William Gilcher
Media Director, Goethe-Institut Inter Nationes
Hana Umlauf Lane
Editor, The Inextinguishable Symphony
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
David Marwell
Director, Museum of Jewish Heritage
Sylvia Rogge-Gau
Historian, German-Jewish cultural history
Ned Rorem
Pulitzer Prize-winning composer
Daniel Asa Rose
Arts & Culture Editor, The Forward
Ori Soltes
Professorial Lecturer in Theology and Fine Arts Georgetown University
Jerome Shestack
Council member at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Phillip Silver
Associate Professor of Music
Research and Performance in the field of Entartete Musik University of Maine
Leonard Slatkin
Music Director, National Symphony Orchestra
Bret Werb
Music Specialist
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Eugenia Zukerman
Flutist and Corrrespondent
CBS News' Sunday Morning
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