The Lahr von Leitis Academy & Archive

A Clear Commitment - The cast members of the r***e “Dance on the Volcano,” produced by Elysium, before their performance at the Künstlerhaus in Munich. The lyrics and songs of this r***e, set in 1920s Berlin, are shockingly relevant today and hold up a mirror to our society. Since our founding over 40 years ago, we at Elysium - between two continents have been resolutely using the power of art to fight against antisemitism, racism, discrimination, and hatred, and to promote genuine, authentic dialogue and exchange across borders.

Fulminante Vorstellung im ausverkauften Festsaal des Münchner Künstlerhauses. Am Montag präsentierten wir unseren "Tanz auf dem Vulkan" in München. Neelam Brader, Patrick Lammer, Christa Pillmann und Maria Yulin heizten dem Publikum ordentlich ein, steppten, swingten, musizierten und rezitierten, was das Zeug hielt. Immer wieder begeisterter Zwischenapplaus.
Tausend Dank dem Münchner Künstlerhaus für eine erneute wundervolle Kooperation und dem Österreichischen Generalkonsulat München für die Unterstützung.

Fotos: Steffen Amann

“Dancing on the Volcano” – and Berlin is ablaze. 🔥
A dazzling premiere of our Weimar R***e at the Austrian Cultural Forum Berlin: texts by Kurt Tucholsky, Klaus Mann, Erwin Piscator Joseph Roth and others, music by Kurt Weill, Mischa Spoliansky, Paul Abraham and many more – brilliantly performed by Neelam Brader, Patrick Lammer, Christa Pillmann, and Maria Yulin. An evening blending cabaret, melancholy, and deep emotion.
Many thanks to our partners: Leo Baeck Institute New York/Berlin, Austrian Cultural Forum Berlin, and patron Dr. Felix Klein.
📸 Christian Walter

Heute in der Münchner Abendzeitung! Ein paar wenige Karten sind noch an der Abendkasse erhältlich! Wir freuen uns auf Euch!

Die Premiere von "Tanz auf dem Vulkan" am 5.6. in Berlin ist komplett ausgebucht. Aber für die Vorstellung am Montag, 8.6. im Münchner Künstlerhaus gibt es noch Karten. Kommt und taucht ein in das brodelnde Berlin der 1920er Jahre. Tickets gibt es hier: https://tickets.kuenstlerhaus-muc.de/event/literarische-r***e-tanz-auf-dem-vulkan--im-juni-2026

“Anyone who attacks Jewish life in Germany attacks the identity of German society; they attack all of us” — Former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz received the Leo Baeck Medal in New York on April 29. In his laudatory speech, former U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken highlighted Scholz’s zero-tolerance policy toward all forms of antisemitism. Blinken also emphasized the enormously important contribution of German-Jewish political thinkers—such as Hannah Arendt and Ernst Fraenkel—to the philosophical foundations of democratic institutions. Blinken’s stepfather, Samuel Pisar, was the only member of his family and school class in Bialystok to survive the Holocaust. After the presentation of the Leo Baeck Medal by David G. Marwell, President of the Leo Baeck Institute, Olaf Scholz and Antony Blinken discussed the future of the transatlantic alliance, NATO, and the war in Iran with journalist Kati Marton. A truly fascinating evening! Congratulations to Olaf Scholz.

Our friends at the Rosenstrasse Civil Courage Foundation will hold another Civil Courage workshop with German historian Anna Rosmus. Please join us online this Thursday:

At just 20 years old, Anna Rosmus embarked on a research project about the Jewish community of her hometown Passau during the N**i era. What began as a student essay soon uncovered a deeply unsettling history. Prominent figures in local government had been active participants in the National Socialist regime, and the town’s ties to the N**i leadership ran deep. Adolf Hi**er and Adolf Eichmann had both spent time in Passau, and Heinrich Himmler’s father had served as headmaster of the local school.

When Rosmus published her research in 1980, Passau was not ready to receive it. Her work forced the people of Passau to confront not just distant historical atrocities, but the specific actions of their own families and community leaders. Rosmus faced death threats from neighbors and fellow citizens, a stark reflection of how raw and unresolved the war and its legacy remained. They were traumatic for many Germans and a habit of silence had taken hold — one that her research now threatened.

Rosmus was not silenced. Despite relentless pressure from local government and neighbors alike, she continued her research with unwavering determination. As the hostility grew, she left for the United States in 1994 but never abandoned her mission. Her story inspired Michael Verhoeven's film "The Nasty Girl." During the month of March 2026 she has been touring Germany, including Passau.
Here is the link to register:
https://fsu.zoom.us/.../register/LAzuRmpUSIO4pbKhvQqr4Q...

, April 9, 1945, just one month before the end of World War II, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was executed in the concentration camp of Flossenbürg. Adolf Hi**er personally had given order to hang Bonhoeffer. The German Lutheran theologian and resistance fighter was 39 years old. In April of 1933, Bonhoeffer admonished the council of the Protestant Church not only to "bandage the victims under the wheel, but jam a spoke in the wheel itself” and called for open resistance where necessary. With this position, Bonhoeffer was largely isolated, even within the church. In underground seminaries he helped train pastors for the so-called “Confessing Church.” Later he joined the resistance circle of his brother-in-law Hans von Dohnany. On April 2, 1942, Bonhoeffer was arrested. Bonhoeffer's example is more important today than ever before. In the past we have done several programs presenting Bonhoeffer's thoughts. On June 16, we will again present Bonhoeffer's poignant reflections in Oldenburg.

Erwin Piscator's ideas of political and epic theater revolutionized the stage during his lifetime. His legacy still inspires today. On March 30, the 60th anniversary of his death, we gathered five recipients of the Erwin Piscator Award, which had been founded by Gregorij von Leitis in 1985, to discuss theater and politics in a time of multiple crises. The stellar panel consisted of Oscar winning actress Ellen Burstyn, Jim Nicola, former artistic director of the New York Theatre Workshop, playwrights J.T. Rogers and Doug Wright, and stage director Bartlett Sher. Linda S. Chapman, Co-Director of the LGBTQ+ Artists Archive Project moderated. The discussion touched on many pressing questions of our times. When a student in the audience asked how to react to the overall hopelessness of our current moment, all on the panel responded in unison: "Be creative, make art. And if you lack a bigger space to do theater, start in your living room and invite your friends and like-minded people."
This message ties in with Piscator's belief: "The human principle of self-respect, and the cultivation of human relationships, the behavior of man towards man, that is really what theatre can offer. And from this very small unit, we can advance into the magnitude of world politics."
The panel and the following reception took place at the New School, where Piscator in 1940 had founded the Dramatic Workshop, and was organized in cooperation with the Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts and 1014 - Space for Ideas. We are deeply grateful to all the panelists for this enlivening and encouraging conversation.

(photos: Lucia Lahr and Michael Lahr)

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Erwin Piscators Ideen vom politischen und epischen Theater revolutionierten zu seinen Lebzeiten die Bühne. Sein Vermächtnis inspiriert bis heute. Am 30. März, dem 60. Jahrestag seines Todes, versammelten wir fünf Preisträger des Erwin-Piscator-Preises, der 1985 von Gregorij von Leitis ins Leben gerufen worden war, um über Theater und Politik in einer Zeit vielfältiger Krisen zu diskutieren. Die hochkarätige Diskussionsrunde bestand aus der Oscar-Preisträgerin Ellen Burstyn, Jim Nicola, dem ehemaligen künstlerischen Leiter des New York Theatre Workshop, den Dramatikern J.T. Rogers und Doug Wright sowie dem Regisseur Bartlett Sher. Moderiert wurde die Veranstaltung von Linda S. Chapman, Co-Direktorin des LGBTQ+ Artists Archive Project. Die Diskussion berührte viele drängende Fragen unserer Zeit. Als ein Student im Publikum fragte, wie man auf die allgemeine Hoffnungslosigkeit unserer gegenwärtigen Zeit reagieren solle, antworteten alle Podiumsteilnehmer einstimmig: „Seid kreativ, macht Kunst. Und wenn euch ein größerer Raum für Theater fehlt, fangt in eurem Wohnzimmer an und ladet eure Freunde und Gleichgesinnte ein.“
Diese Botschaft knüpft an Piscators Überzeugung an: „Das menschliche Prinzip der Selbstachtung und die Pflege menschlicher Beziehungen, das Verhalten des Menschen gegenüber dem Menschen – das ist es, was das Theater wirklich bieten kann. Und von dieser sehr kleinen Einheit aus können wir uns in die Weiten der Weltpolitik vorwagen.“
Die Podiumsdiskussion und der anschließende Empfang fanden an der New School statt, wo Piscator 1940 den Dramatic Workshop gegründet hatte, und wurden in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts und 1014 – Space for Ideas organisiert. Wir sind allen Podiumsteilnehmern zutiefst dankbar für dieses anregende und ermutigende Gespräch.

(Fotos: Lucia Lahr und Michael Lahr)

Today would have been the 100th birthday of Eleanor Paul, the daughter of the Austrian composer Egon Lustgarten who fled his native Vienna in 1938 and found a safe haven in NYC.
For all of us at ELYSIUM, this is a day of deep gratitude and remembrance. Eleanor was not only a generous benefactor who entrusted us with her father's precious musical materials and legacy, but also a deeply cherished and close friend of our Artistic Director, Gregorij von Leitis. Today, we remember a very special woman whose trust continues to enrich our work to this day.

The first photo shows Eleanor playing the flute while her father Egon Lustgarten accompanies her on the piano.
The second photo was done in 2005 after the successful premiere of Lustgarten's "Dante in Exile" in New York, showing Eleanor Paul with Elysium's music director Dan Franklin Smith.