Room 28 Brundibár-Project

In the Sign of

Solidarity with Ukraine

Update: 12 April 2024

Book-Gifts for Ukrainian Children

ArtEck Janusz Korczak Bildungsstätte e.V. and Room 28 e.V. are working together on a project to bring some joy to Ukrainian children and show our solidarity with Ukraine. The basis of the project is a new children's book that tells the story on which the children's opera Brundibár is based for children aged four and over.

БРУНДІБАР. Як Анінка й Пепічек шарманщика перемогли

Brundibár. How Aninka and Pepíček defeated the organ grinder

We are preparing readings with music and singing for Ukrainian children who will get a free copy of the Ukrainian edition as a gift. Our Foreign Ministry has supported the production of these boooks.

To give our events a nice setting, we are looking for music-loving children and young people aged 12 and over from our Ukrainian Communty who are interested in rehearsing two or three songs from Brundibár in Ukrainian in advance of the readings so that we can sing them with the young guests at our readings. A rehearsal under an Ukrainian music teacher and the first event itself will take place at the Janusz Korczak Educational Center in the Nikolai Quarter. Further events are planned.

The event is the start of a pilot project that we like to realize in Berlin, Munich and wherever we find allies.

Contact: If you are interested please write or call Room 28:

Annett Blüher and Hannelore Brenner 

E-Mail: brundibar@room28.net | telephone 030-691 83 95

For further information about the concept see the Newsletter of 30 March 2024. The following informs about the motives of the project.

The project is inspired by the opera-director Mstislav Pentkovsky, Riga who is a close ally and plays a specuial role in our project. Here are the ideas that motivated him and inspired us.

From the Epilogue of the Ukrainian children's book

"For the Jewish children of the Theresienstadt ghetto, the opera helped to find happiness in the worst of times and gave hope that good will defeat evil. Brundibár is the villain of the opera. Brundibár - that's Czech for bumblebee or, figuratively speaking, a curmudgeon, a grumbler. Many children in Theresienstadt saw Hitler in him. And they defeated this Brundibár on stage. This gave them strength and hope. Hope for the end of the war. Hope for victory over Hitler.

Today we are reliving the horrors of war. The Second World War and the Holocaust are not distant memories. Again, thousands of children are experiencing the horror of terror and war. Therefore, when I learned about the children's book in spring of 2022, my first thought was that it would be great if we could support Ukrainian children and give them this book as a gift. Brundibár demonstrates the importance of solidarity and reminds us that solidarity is a source of our strength.

Moreover: Brundibár is a precious, timeless work of art, an opera with great creative power. Hans Krása's music is ravishing, the messages are supremely important - messages of humanity, messages about the importance of solidarity and unity against the common enemy. Just as 80 years ago, Brundibár inspires us today with the belief that good will triumph over evil and that life will return to normal."

The organization of the events is carried out by Hannelore Brenner (author of the book and board member of Room 28), Annett Blüher (member of Room 28 and teacher) and Susanne Gargerle, first violinist at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich and member of Room 28.

For artistic participation we are building up a team of participants (actors/singers and teachers) who would like to take part. From our side Andreas Jocksch, member of the ensemble Zwockhaus reads from the book and sings the songs of the policeman and Brundibár.

Anyone interested to find out more - please call or write an E-Mail to hannelore.brenner@room28.net

Remembering 24 February 2022-2024

Special Campaign

In the sign of solidarity with Ukraine. We are giving Ukrainian children in Germany on 24 February and the following days a copy of the Ukrainian edition of the children's book: Брундібар. Як Анінка й Пепічек шарманщика перемогли

Brundibár. How Aninka and Pepíček defeated the organ grinder

Parents of Ukrainian children or anyone interested in our book & Brundibár-project please send an E-Mail with your address to: edition@room28.de | We will send the book by post. We can only give away a limited number of 30 -50

books to people in Germany.