Brundibár
August 2026
Brundibár and the Girls of Room 28 - these are two stories inseparably intertwined. Brundibár, the children’s opera by Hans Krása and Adolf Hoffmeister, composed in Prague in 1938 and performed over 50 times by the young Jewish inmates of the Theresienstadt ghetto, has become a memorial to the children murdered in the Holocaust.
Brundibár and the authentic Theresienstadt diary by Helga Pollak written in Room 28 are in the focus of our current project:
The Power of Humanity. A Legacy from Theresienstadt:
The Girls of Room 28. Online-Exhibition | International Learning Platform | Media Archive (audio, film, documents)
Focus of the first Phase: Theresienstadt Diary by Helga Pollak and Brundibár and the girls of Room 28. This means: We are now beginning to catalog the corresponding audio and video recordings and prepare them for the ONLINE exhibition and for use in the Room 28 educational project.
Brundibár-Project completed- 2023-2025
Our Brundibár. Reading and Gift Project for children in the sign of solidarity is over. We have produced a Ukrainian and a Hebrew edition of the childtren's book: Brundibar. How Aninka und Pepíček defeated the organ grinder.
The project was inspired by the opera director Mstislav Pentkovsky, Riga/Latvia. When he held the first German edition in his hands in September 2023, his spontaneous reaction was: "I think it would be wonderful if there was a Ukrainian edition to give to Ukrainian children as a sign of solidarity." That was the initial impuls for the author Hannelore Brenner to initiate a Ukrainian edition. Under the most terrible impression of October 7, 2023, the Hebrew edition followed. An accompanying text in the Hebrew edition (in Hebrew and in German) sheds light on our motives.
The remaining books will be given as gifts if occasion arises. If you are interestes, please get in touch. E-Mail: info@room28.net
Books can be also ordered over Editon Room 28. An English and a Czech edition follow in September 2026.
Thanks for Support
Our sincere Thanks go to the Federal Foreign Office of Germany for supporting the production of the Ukrainian and Hebrew editions and for the greeting words from Ambassador Christian Heldt, Special Envoy for Relations with Jewish Organizations, Anti-Semitism Issues, International Affairs of the Sinti and Roma, Holocaust Remembrance.
PDF-Dokument [973.7 KB]
Patronage Vladimir Jurowski
We are delighted that Vladimir Jurowski, General Music Director of the Bavarian State Opera, has taken on the patronage of our project. On April 26, 2026, Vladimir Jurowski played on the piano when two musical Brundibár readings - in German and Ukrainian - took place at the Pasinger Kulturfabrik in Munich. Vladimir Jurowski also directed the music.
For information on the Munich events:
Druckversion 