Act II Scene VII: Salónica to Auschwitz
from The Forgotten Kingdom

(Virtual Arts-In-Education Offering)

About the piece

The Ladino words to this poem were written by David Haim in Auschwitz. Mr. Haim’s account speaks to the nightmarish seven-day journey from his home in Salónica to the Nazi camp. This was a journey forced on many: In the early 20th century, Salónica’s Jewish population was more than half of the city’s total. After the war, only some 4% of the city’s Jewish population would survive. In all, Greece had one of the highest Jewish mortality rates during the Holocaust, 87%, second only to Poland’s 91%.

Mr. Haim also composed a melody for his poem, which is included in Susanna Weich-Shahak’s En Buen Siman! but that is not used here.

About this performance

In response to COViD-19’s curtailing of live performance, GME adapted The Forgotten Kingdom to contribute to cultural and educational organizations through a virtual arts-in-education performance and mini-lesson series. This video is part of this format.

Premiered by the US Embassy in Moscow, together with the American Center in Moscow, Forum for Cultural Engagement and BroadBand Collaborative as part of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day virtual performance