Tihany's Illusion: The Search for Franz Czeisler

Oranjudio
  • 5.0 (18)
  • DOCUMENTARY

The captivating true story about a man who used his illusions to survive and escape Nazi occupied Europe only to become one of the Greatest Showmen the world had ever seen.

Episodes

  1. Welcome to the Show

    08/04/2025

    Welcome to the Show

    The Czeisler's make their way back to Post War Europe in an attempt to find a way to the America in the early days of the Cold War. However, It might not be as simple as they might think.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    27 min
  2. The Ringmaster

    07/19/2025

    The Ringmaster

    Season 2 Picks up where we left off. Franz finds himself in the newly established State of Israel. But, is this tiny Nation big enough for Franz's big ambitions? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    29 min
  3. Bonus

    07/02/2025

    Bonus

    Catherine and Sarah sit down to talk about experiences creating season 1 and a look forward into season 2 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    18 min
  4. Act One Ends

    09/21/2024

    Act One Ends

    First part finale: Soviet occupation creates new and different dangers for Franz and his family as his state of mind moves from survival to escape.  For more information about this episode, please see the sources below. “Buying Romania’s Jews” - The Washington Post The Ransom of the Jews: The Story of the Extraordinary Secret Bargain Between Romania and Israel    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    27 min
  5. The Yellow Star

    09/07/2024

    The Yellow Star

    As Nazi Germany occupies Hungary and begins deporting Jewish communities, Franz must do everything he can to protect his family. NOTE: Audio will soon be updated to "Buchenwald will be liberated [in] just three months" rather than "one month" to reflect greater accuracy. For more information about this episode, please see the sources below. Yellow Star Houses One House in Budapest, 1944-1945: A Personal History by Professor Árpád von Klimó Yellow Star Houses and Signs - Photographs Yellow Star Houses - “No Jews Live Here” Deportations in Hungary Deportations, Protective Passports, and Underground Movements - Yad Vashem The Security Police (SiPo) - USHMM Budapest - USHMM Budapest Deportations - Yad Vashem Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933-1945, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Fred Wander, The Seventh Wall Liberation of Ohrdruf and Buchenwald - USHMM Evolution of Hungarian World News Intro 1938-1944 (Magyar Világhíradó) “Judenfrei” - The Holocaust Explained “Judenfrei” Map and the Einsatzgruppen - USHMM The Siege of Budapest The Siege of Budapest Map The Siege of Budapest - UCLA Asia Pacific Center  The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) 31 March 1944 - Hungarian Jews Herded by Gestapo - Newspapers.com Buffalo Jewish Review (Buffalo, New York) 23 June 1944 - Hungary Adopts Nazi Anti-Jewish Policy - Newspapers.com Flossenburg https://www.gedenkstaette-flossenbuerg.de/en/history/flossenbuerg Flossenburg Subcamp System - Project Muse Flossenburg - USHMM See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    30 min
  6. Another Body

    08/24/2024

    Another Body

    Following the events of Novi Sad, Franz struggles to find safety for him and his family. As the dangers in Europe continue to grow, the stakes grow with them.  For more information about this episode, please see the sources below. Remembering Cold Days: The 1942 Massacre of Novi Sad and Hungarian Politics and Society, 1942-1989, Arpad von Klimo Hungarian policemen and soldiers standing over murdered Jews in Novi-Sad, Yugoslavia, 23 January 1942 - Yad Vashem Novi Sad in modern-day Serbia - Britannica  The New York Times, 9 Nov. 1936 Novi Sad Massacre Sandor Kepiro  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    34 min
  7. Living On Love

    08/10/2024

    Living On Love

    As Franz's family grows, so do the dangers in Europe. For more information about this episode, please see the sources below. The Wiener Holocaust Library: The Iron Guard Pogrom in Bucharest Synagogue, Romania, January 1941 - Yad Vashem The Bucharest Slaughterhouse  Axis Powers in WW11 - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Hungarian Expansion - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Hungarian policemen and soldiers standing over murdered Jews in Novi-Sad, Yugoslavia, 23 January 1942 - Yad Vashem Novi Sad in modern-day Serbia - Britannica  The New York Times, 9 Nov. 1936 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    34 min
  8. Everyone Has Their Act

    07/27/2024

    Everyone Has Their Act

    Franz returns to a Europe that looks very different than the one he left behind.  For more information about this episode, please see the sources below. “Henry Coston Obituary” the Independent, 27 August 2001 Le Libre Parole headlines Le Libre Parole - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    28 min
  9. Everything is a Show

    07/13/2024

    Everything is a Show

    Franz's adventure continues as he learns how to put on a show.... on both sides of the world. For more information about this episode, please see the sources below. Britannica - Transylvania Britannica - Roma  Kenrick, Donald (2007). Historical Dictionary of the Gypsies (Romanies) (2nd ed.). Scarecrow Press. Online version. Achim, V. 1998. Chapter III. Emancipation. In The Roma in Romanian History. Central European University Press. Retrieved from http://books.openedition.org/ceup/1551 Romani children stand near a caravan, as adults look out from the doorway. Three Romani brothers sit outside in front of a caravan reading a newspaper. Roma/Sinti caravan in Russia Cap Norte, Hamburg-South American Line postcard Photographs of the Cap Norte  HMS Belfast on Northern Patrol captures the German blockade runner 'Cap Norte' 13,615 tons 9th October 1939 1930s Montevideo, Getty Images Montevideo Postcard “The Creole Circus and Popular Entertainment in 19th Century Argentina and Uruguay,” William G. Acree Jr., Harvard University Press. Online here. The Western Mail (Perth, Australia), 7 November 1929, and printed in The World’s News (Sydney, Australia) as well. The Canberra Times, 14 January 1930  The Telegraph Variety, May 1928, p. n64 Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus. Blacaman Hindu Animal Hypnotist. Franz Czeisler’s Obituary in The Telegraph Teatro Artigas - Archival Photographs Teatro Artigas - Archival Photographs (continued) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    38 min
  10. Born as a Showman

    06/29/2024

    Born as a Showman

    The Great Tihany was one of the most successful showmen in all of South America. But how did he get there? Take a peek behind the curtain of the Great Tihany to learn the exciting and often dark history behind the man who used his power of illusion to survive the Holocaust.  For more information about this episode, please see the sources below. It Happened at the Fantastic Circo Tihany Population and casualty data from WWI - Census.gov Ludovic’s Records - Rendeleti Közlöny a Magyar Királyi Honvédség számára - Személyes Ügyek, 1917 (44. évfolyam, 86-172. szám)1917-12-08 / 162. szám "Czeiszler Lajostartalékos hadnagynak" (Czeiszler, Lajos, reserve lieutenant) Ludovic/Lajos Czeisler’s grave in Gyula Jewish Cemetery Gyula Jewish Cemetery - Photograph Dallas Michelbacher’s Jewish Forced Labor in Romania, 1940–1944 “Boy Missing Article” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    32 min
  11. Introducing Tihany's Illusion: The Search for Franz Czeisler

    06/25/2024

    Introducing Tihany's Illusion: The Search for Franz Czeisler

    The captivating true story about a man who used his illusions to survive and escape Nazi-occupied Europe only to become one of the Greatest Showmen the world had ever seen.   Tihany's Illusion: The Search for Franz Czeisler is coming soon to wherever you get your podcasts.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    3 min
  • 11 Episodes

5
out of 5
18 Ratings

About

The captivating true story about a man who used his illusions to survive and escape Nazi occupied Europe only to become one of the Greatest Showmen the world had ever seen.

Information