The Lullaby of Ilse Weber: Terezín as a Mirror Image

Mirjam Frank

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Although Ilse Weber’s compositions have become central to the “Terezín canon”, very few of her musical manuscripts are available. My study argues that the lack of sources actually serves Weber’s popularity, as her Terezín songs can be tailored to the needs of individual performers to represent manifold notions of Terezín. Furthermore, my research juxta- poses Terezín’s current status as a memorial site with its original function as a “Potemkin Village.” Considering that much of the complexity of Terezín’s original soundscape has been ignored or suppressed, I argue that it has become a simplified mirror image of the “model ghetto” it originally was.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)25-38
Number of pages14
JournalMusicologica Olomucensia
VolumeXXII
Publication statusPublished - 30 Nov 2015

Cite this