»Het Onderwater Cabaret« by Curt Bloch
Over a period of more than nineteen months, between August 1943 and April 1945, Curt Bloch, a German Jew who had gone into hiding in the Netherlands in 1942, created a unique work of creative resistance: a magazine called Het Onderwater-Cabaret (The Underwater Cabaret).
Week after week, Bloch crafted little booklets with artfully designed covers, 95 of them in all. Across 483 poems written in Dutch and German, he addressed developments in the Second World War, the circumstances of his life in hiding, the fate of his family, and the crimes of the Nazis and their collaborators. With biting irony and sardonic wit, he set straight the deceptions of Nazi propaganda.
The Jewish Museum Berlin is dedicating an exhibition to this unique work in 2024. Extensive material and information will be presented on the dedicated project page.
Stage play »On the Piano of My Fantasy«
Part of the exhibition is the recording of a stage programme with settings and recitations of Curt Bloch's poems, which will also be performed live once at the Jewish Museum.
All the booklets can also be viewed online on the website Curt-Bloch.com. There are also a number of audio recordings of Curt Bloch's poems in German and Dutch, performed by various persons, as well as other video material.
This website received the Grimme Online Award 2024.
Credits
Exibition
Curators: Ulrike Kuschel und Aubrey Pomerance
from February 9th until June 23rd 2024 at the Jewish Museum Berlin
Stage play
with Marina Frenk, Richard Gonlag and Mathias Schäfer
Concept, Direction and Composition: Marina Frenk
Camera: Dalia Castel, Alex Badham
Light, Sound: Daniel Adsinskiy, Mark Volkov
to see as a recording at the exibition
and live at April 11th 2024 • 7 pm • Jewish Museum Berlin
Projects
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Wasserwege
Light route between the Elbe and Weser rivers • Project of »Das Letzte Kleinod« 2025
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Jacqueline
School days in the GDR • Project of »Das Letzte Kleinod« 2025
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Meteor
First German Atlantic expedition • Project of »Das Letzte Kleinod« 2025
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Reibholz
Inland shipping • Project of »Das Letzte Kleinod« 2025
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Hotel Einheit
Hotels in the GDR • Project of »Das Letzte Kleinod« in 2024
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Haus Luxemburg
Glass industry in Stützerbach • Project of »Das Letzte Kleinod« 2024
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Hotel Lunik
the former hotel in Eisenhüttenstadt • Project of »Das Letzte Kleinod« 2024
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No Finer Way
the legendary SS United States • Project of »Das Letzte Kleinod« 2023
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Istanbul
A Sezen Aksu song recital • Project of »Theater28« 2022/23
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Sandbank
Children's health cure on Spiekeroog • Project of »Das Letzte Kleinod« 2022
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Passenger Processing
the Columbusbahnhof Bremerhaven • Project of »Das Letzte Kleinod« 2021
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Nr. 10
A film by Alex van Warmerdam 2021
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How to cry
Theatre performance by »&sistig« 2021
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Heimat & Fremde
the poet Hermann Allmers • Project of »Das Letzte Kleinod« 2021
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Häuser-Fluchten
Site-specific theatre by »spreeagenten« 2020
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Audio Drama Enthymesis
An Audio drama based on Arno Schmidt.
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Souvenir 1870
Theatre in the train • Project of »Das Letzte Kleinod« in 2019
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»wa/m/s-g« version 2
Performance for two actors
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Photoshoot III
with Jaap de Jonge in Wünsdorf near Zossen
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WILHELM*INA
Theatre in the train • Project of »Das Letzte Kleinod« in 2018
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Photoshoot II
with Jaap de Jonge in the tank barracks Bernau
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»wa/m/s-g«
Performance for two actors
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Performing Arts Festival
ProtokollB • Three theatre nights at PAF 2017
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Digital Digestion
Protokoll B • Installation & Performance
Festival 48-h-Neukölln 2016 -
Met Film School
My collaboration with the Met Film School Berlin
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Photoshoot
with Jaap de Jonge in the villa Neue Hakeburg
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Am Boden
A theatre play based on Maxim Gorki • Graduation at the theatre school Die Etage
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Enthymesis
Theatre Monologue in celebration of Arno Schmidt's 100th birthday