Freedom to Imagine: DP Camp Theatre Performances as an Expression of Liberation after World War II

• In Event: Cultural Histories of Displaced Persons between World War II and the Cold War

Abstract

For many Jewish Holocaust survivors, liberation did not mean an immediate return to their prewar homes, or the establishment of new homes. Their mobility continued to be restricted as they waited in Displaced Persons camps for the next stage of their journeys to begin. Theatre productions were staged in these camps as expressions of creative and intellectual freedom, even while physical freedom remained elusive.
Through these productions, survivors freed parts of themselves which had been suppressed during the war: imagination, hope and creativity. Some plays, such as the early work of the Katset-Teater in Belsen, focused on the camp experience, giving performers and audiences an opportunity to process their recent experiences, as a vital step towards true spiritual liberation. Other performances enacted survivors’ cultural and religious roots, again providing a path back to life as liberated, whole humans. And a third category of performances imagined a life beyond DP camps, giving survivors tools to create their futures in true liberation.

Author

• Kate Kirsten Green, Sydney Jewish Museum (Australia)