Lights Up on the Dark: The Holocaust Onstage

Samantha Mitschke & Alexandra Gellner

Blending performing arts and history, LUOTD delves into what it means to represent the Holocaust onstage. Co-hosting from London and New York, theatre historian Samantha Mitschke and actor Alexandra Gellner discuss all things Holocaust-theatre. Bringing their perspectives as Holocaust educators, the pair look at how theatre can help with teaching and learning about the Holocaust as they offer fresh and thought-provoking insights.

  1. "Here There Are Blueberries" by Moisés Kaufman and Amanda Gronich

    Apr 13

    "Here There Are Blueberries" by Moisés Kaufman and Amanda Gronich

    In this week’s episode, coinciding with Yom HaShoah, Sam and Alex look at Here There Are Blueberries by Moisés Kaufman and Amanda Gronich. Here There Are Blueberries tells the story of an album donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum containing never-before-seen photographic evidence of Nazi officers and staff at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. In the play, Museum archivist Rebecca Erbelding and her colleagues begin to unravel the shocking story behind the images. As the album makes headlines around the world, a businessman in Germany sees the photos online and recognizes his own grandfather. He begins a journey of discovery that will take him into the lives of other Nazi descendants—and into a reckoning with his family’s past and his country’s history. Currently unable to get a copy of the playtext for love nor money, Sam and Alex rely on their memories of seeing productions in New York and London as they discuss elements such as the ‘play as museum’ and the different takeaways for different spectators; the element of ‘detective story’; the representation of perpetrators’ descendants; the concept of ‘I could never do that’ and its contemporary relevance; and the elusive quality they wanted but couldn’t quite find… For more of the historical context around Here There Are Blueberries, listen to S3 Episode 2 - “Album Karla Höckera / The Album of Karl Höcker with Paul Bargetto.” Don’t forget to comment, rate, review, subscribe and share! Hosts: Samantha Mitschke & Alexandra Gellner Executive Producer: Samantha Mitschke Producer / Editor: Alexandra Gellner Music: “Image” by Infraction Music Contact: https://holocaustonstage.com/contact/ Episode Sources Plays Moisés Kaufman and Amanda Gronich (2024) Here There Are Blueberries. Selected sources and resources - for a full list, please use the Contact form above ‘Here There Are Blueberries’ Further Learning - online resource from Tectonic Theater Project. Jonathan Freund, 'Widen the Lens: A Learning and Discussion Guide', provided by the University of Miami. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM), Unlocking the Mystery: The Höcker Album (YouTube). United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM), Inside the Höcker Album: The Nazis at Auschwitz - further learning guides and resources relating to Here There Are Blueberries

    54 min
  2. Women's History: "Blonde Poison" by Gail Louw

    Apr 1

    Women's History: "Blonde Poison" by Gail Louw

    CONTENT WARNING: References to suicide; sexual references In this week’s episode, originally recorded for Women’s History Month, Sam and Alex look at Gail Louw’s 2013 one-woman play Blonde Poison. Stella Goldschlag was living illegally in war-torn Berlin when she herself was betrayed and tortured. When offered the chance of saving herself and her parents from the death camps, she agreed to be a Greifer for the Gestapo and inform on Jews in hiding. She was extraordinarily successful in this and her activities increased after her parents had finally been deported. The vast dimensions of Stella's character range from tortured victim to cruel killer, from loving daughter to betrayer of friends, from gentle lover to depraved promiscuity. She was given the name Blonde Poison by the Gestapo, who revelled in her treachery. Decades after the war Stella agrees to be interviewed by a well-respected journalist - her last chance for redemption. Can she ever be released from her past? Sam and Alex discuss aspects such as the fragmented and often conflicting historical information about Stella herself; how a spectator can intensely dislike a character, and yet still empathise with them; the concepts of ‘victim as oppressor’ and Jewish antisemitism; and the double standards around female sexuality and morality. Don’t forget to comment, rate, review, subscribe and share! Hosts: Samantha Mitschke & Alexandra Gellner Executive Producer: Samantha Mitschke Producer / Editor: Alexandra Gellner Music: “Image” by Infraction Music Contact: https://holocaustonstage.com/contact/ Episode Sources: Full list forthcoming Books & Articles Stew Ross (2022) Stella Goldschlag. Plays Gail Louw (2013) Blonde Poison. Oberon Modern Plays.

    51 min
  3. "Bent" by Martin Sherman

    Mar 4

    "Bent" by Martin Sherman

    CONTENT WARNING: Explicit content and references to suicide In this week’s episode, coinciding with the end of Queer History Month in the UK, Sam and Alex explore Martin Sherman’s groundbreaking play Bent. The first major play - if not the first play - to represent the Nazi persecution of gay men, Bent tells the story of hedonist Max, living in 1930s Berlin until he and his lover Rudy are hunted and finally captured by the Nazis. Sent to Dachau, Max pretends to be Jewish rather than gay to get better treatment from the guards, and meets Horst - an openly gay prisoner. The pair gradually fall in love, but Max refuses to admit it until circumstances force him to make a defining choice. Sam and Alex talk about aspects such as the historical context, including the infamous German law Paragraph 175; the rumours and lack of public awareness about the Nazi persecution of gay men until the play’s inception; Bent’s UK production history, with Sir Ian McKellen starring as Max in 1979 and 1990 under very different circumstances; the question of a ‘different’ ending; and ‘that’ scene… Don’t forget to comment (especially with your ideas for a different ending), rate, review, subscribe and share! Hosts: Samantha Mitschke & Alexandra Gellner Executive Producer: Samantha Mitschke Producer / Editor: Alexandra Gellner Music: “Image” by Infraction Music Contact: https://holocaustonstage.com/contact/ Episode Sources: Full list forthcoming

    52 min
  4. "Album Karla Höckera / The Album of Karl Höcker" with Paul Bargetto

    Feb 18

    "Album Karla Höckera / The Album of Karl Höcker" with Paul Bargetto

    CONTENT WARNING: References to suicide In this week’s episode, Sam and Alex talk to director and dramaturg Paul Bargetto about devised part process, part docu-drama Album Karla Höckera / The Album of Karl Höcker. Co-created by Paul in collaboration with his team at Teatr Trans-Atlantyk, an international independent theatre ensemble from Warsaw, the piece delves into the album of 116 photos received by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2007, chronicling the activities of the Auschwitz SS. The album was created by and belonged to Karl Höcker - adjutant to the Commandant from May 1944 until the camp’s forced evacuation in January 1945. “Album Karla Höckera” [...] is an attempt to understand the historical catastrophe of Auschwitz from the largely unexamined perspective of the perpetrators. Using documentary theatre techniques, improvisation, research and scripted drama, the performance explores the all-too-human men and women who carried out the Final Solution. Sam, Alex and Paul discuss elements including the devising process; the highlights and challenges of both participating and watching; the historical context, including Höcker’s life after the war; how the piece both implicitly and explicitly encourages spectators to consider their own ability to say ‘no’; and Paul’s experiences of performing the piece to different audiences around the world - from dozens of Polish Army cadets to an audience in Oświęcim that included three Auschwitz survivors. Don’t forget to rate, review, subscribe and share! Hosts: Samantha Mitschke & Alexandra Gellner Guest: Paul Bargetto Executive Producer: Samantha Mitschke Producer / Editor: Alexandra Gellner Music: “⁠Image⁠” by ⁠Infraction Music⁠ Contact: ⁠https://holocaustonstage.com/contact/⁠ Episode Sources Books & Articles Holocaust Survivors and Remembrance Project, ⁠Karl Hoecker (Höcker) United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM), ⁠Auschwitz Through the Lens of the SS: The Album⁠. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM), ⁠Collections Highlight: Auschwitz Through the Lens of the SS⁠. Plays Teatr Trans-Atlantyk, ⁠Album Karla Höckera⁠. Other sources To learn more about Paul and his work, please visit ⁠https://paulbargetto.com/⁠. To request a full list of other sources, please use the Contact details.

    1h 35m
  5. "Leopoldstadt" by Tom Stoppard

    Jan 26

    "Leopoldstadt" by Tom Stoppard

    In this week’s season premiere, timed to coincide with Holocaust Memorial Day and its 2026 theme of “Bridging Generations,” Sam and Alex look at Tom Stoppard’s Leopoldstadt. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Leopoldstadt was the old, crowded Jewish quarter of Vienna. But Hermann Merz, a manufacturer and baptised Jew married to Catholic Gretl, has moved up in the world. Gathered in the Merz apartment in a fashionable part of the city, Hermann’s extended family are at the heart of Tom Stoppard’s epic yet intimate drama. By the time we have taken leave of them, Austria has passed through the convulsions of war, revolution, impoverishment, annexation by Nazi Germany and – for Austrian Jews – the Holocaust in which 65,000 of them were murdered. It is for the survivors to pass on a story which hasn’t ended yet. Sam and Alex explore key themes covered in the play, from antisemitism to family relationships; discuss Stoppard’s skill in placing ‘Easter eggs’ throughout the play to show, rather than tell, Jewish and Holocaust history; look at the historical context of Leopoldstadt, Vienna’s second district; and consider how the play, which spans the period from 1899-1956, illustrates the importance of passing on stories before they are lost. Don’t forget to rate, review, subscribe, comment, and share! Hosts: Samantha Mitschke & Alexandra Gellner Executive Producer: Samantha Mitschke Producer / Editor: Alexandra Gellner Music: “Image” by Infraction Music Contact: https://holocaustonstage.com/contact/ Episode Sources: Full list forthcoming

    46 min
  6. The "Lights Up" 2025 Lookback

    Jan 5

    The "Lights Up" 2025 Lookback

    In this episode - the last one of Season 2 - Sam and Alex look back on 2025 and the first two seasons of LUOTD. They recap how the podcast came about; talk about the highlights, from special guests to a global audience; the challenges, including politics and time zones; their top three Holocaust plays so far; podcast plans for 2026; and how even 103 editing notes for a single episode hasn’t ruined their friendship. Hosts: Samantha Mitschke & Alexandra Gellner Executive Producer: Samantha Mitschke Producer / Editor: Alexandra Gellner Music: “Image” by Infraction Music Contact: https://holocaustonstage.com/contact/

    47 min
  7. "Kindertransport" by Diane Samuels

    12/16/2025

    "Kindertransport" by Diane Samuels

    In this episode, Sam and Alex explore Kindertransport by Diane Samuels. In 1938-39, nearly 10,000 mostly Jewish children were brought to the UK as part of a humanitarian mission that rescued them from what was to come in Nazi-occupied Europe - but meant that many never saw their parents again. Kindertransport draws upon the experiences of kinder and rescuers to look at what it means to survive when everything you once knew has been ripped away. When nine-year-old Eva arrives in Manchester from Germany, she knows it won’t be long before her parents join her. But as time passes, contact stops and hope fades, Eva begins to transform herself into Evelyn, blocking out her past to reinvent herself. It’s only years later, when her own daughter Faith is getting ready to fly the nest, that Evelyn is forced to admit the truth and face what she thought was already gone. Sam and Alex discuss elements including the themes of identity, loss and intergenerational trauma; comparisons between the Kindertransports and British evacuees during WWII; the device of the Ratcatcher; and Kindertransport’s contemporary relevance in the context of child refugees and rising global tides of hate. Hosts: Samantha Mitschke & Alexandra Gellner Executive Producer: Samantha Mitschke Producer / Editor: Alexandra Gellner Music: “Image” by Infraction Music Contact: https://holocaustonstage.com/contact/ Episode Sources Books & Articles Melissa Hacker and Ernest Goodman, "Kindertransport." Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 November 2025. Plays Diane Samuels (1995/2009) Kindertransport. Nick Hern Books.

    55 min
  8. Representing Resistance: "Rescued From The Holocaust" & "Dr. Yanush Korczak"

    11/07/2025

    Representing Resistance: "Rescued From The Holocaust" & "Dr. Yanush Korczak"

    In this week’s episode, Sam and Alex look at two short plays for middle schoolers: Rescued From The Holocaust by Sean Price and Dr. Yanush Korczak by Alina Kentof. As well as a discussion about the highlights, challenges and contemporary relevance of working with the plays, the pair explore the historical contexts behind each one. American diplomat Varian Fry led successful efforts in southern France to rescue around 2,000 people, both Jews and non-Jews; while Janusz Korczak was a Polish Jewish paediatrician, writer, educator and children’s rights advocate who ran a Jewish orphanage in the Warsaw Ghetto. Don’t forget to rate, review, subscribe, comment, and share! Hosts: Samantha Mitschke & Alexandra Gellner Executive Producer: Samantha Mitschke Producer / Editor: Alexandra Gellner Music: “Image” by Infraction Music Contact: https://holocaustonstage.com/contact/ Episode Sources Books & Articles Anita Kassof / Holocaust Teacher Resource Center / Walter Meyerhof / Varian Fry Foundation, Varian Fry and the Emergency Rescue Committee: A Resource Guide for Teachers. Arolsen Archives, Janusz Korczak. The man who set an example for educators. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM), Holocaust Encyclopedia: Varian Fry. Plays Rescued From the Holocaust by Sean Price and Dr. Yanush Korczak by Alina Kent in A Teacher’s Guide to the Holocaust: Plays, Florida Center for Instructional Technology.

    1h 9m
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About

Blending performing arts and history, LUOTD delves into what it means to represent the Holocaust onstage. Co-hosting from London and New York, theatre historian Samantha Mitschke and actor Alexandra Gellner discuss all things Holocaust-theatre. Bringing their perspectives as Holocaust educators, the pair look at how theatre can help with teaching and learning about the Holocaust as they offer fresh and thought-provoking insights.

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