Exile

For years, Emma Haas and Helene Krämer have been the dedicated stewards of the Neu Isenburg Home, a sanctuary for orphaned Jewish children and vulnerable women. When the devastating events of Kristallnacht leave the home in ruins, Emma and Helene must find a way to protect the people in their care—and to escape the looming Nazi threat themselves.

Learn more at www.lbi.org/isenburg.

Exile is a production of the Leo Baeck Institute, New York and Antica Productions.

It’s narrated by Mandy Patinkin. This episode was produced by Joanne O’Sullivan.

Our executive producers are Laura Regehr, Rami Tzabar, Stuart Coxe, and Bernie Blum.

Our associate producer is Emily Morantz.

Research and translation by Isabella Kempf.

Voice acting by Hannah Gelman and Hanna Kent.

Sound design and audio mix by Philip Wilson.

Theme music by Oliver Wickham.

Special thanks to Will Coley, Ellen Rolfes, Irit Reinheimer, Julie Langsdorf, and Jessica Van Tijn. Thanks also to Arije deHass from Leo Baeck Institute in Jerusalem for the use of their space and audio assistance.

This episode of Exile is made possible in part by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, which is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Finance and the Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future.

Robert Bachrach is a buttoned-up doctor and dedicated researcher. Leo Hochner is a bon-vivant and art connoisseur who breeds small dogs. Both bachelors, they are part of a close network of friends from Vienna who are scattered across the globe after the Nazis take power in Austria. When Robert takes his life in New York after a humiliating arrest under New York’s anti-gay laws, he directs his final words to Leo, who was still trapped in Nazi-occupied Budapest. We follow the traces they left in the LBI archives to uncover an incredible story of heartbreak and heroism. For Robert, escaping the Nazis didn’t mean an end to discrimination, persecution, or fear.

Learn more www.lbi.org/bachrach-hochner. 

Exile is a production of the Leo Baeck Institute, New York and Antica Productions.

It’s narrated by Mandy Patinkin. This episode was produced by Nadia Medhi.

Our executive Producers are Laura Regehr, Rami Tzabar, Stuart Coxe, and Bernie Blum. Our associate producer is Emily Morantz. Research and translation by Isabella Kempf. Voice acting by Isabella Kempf, Cyrus Lane, and Manuel Mairhofer. Sound design and audio mix by Philip Wilson. Theme music by Oliver Wickham.

Special thanks to Anna Lvovsky, Brian Ferree, Hannes Sulzenbacher, Clarissa Hochner, and Diana Bulman. Thanks also to Victor Sattler, who wrote about Robert and LAY-oh as part of the LBI’s literary project, “Stolpertexte”, and whose essay lent our episode its title and opening scene.

This episode of Exile is made possible in part by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, which is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Finance and the Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future.

To Samson Schames, art is everything. When fleeing the Nazis lands him in an English internment camp for enemy aliens, he doesn’t let the squalid conditions curb his creativity—in fact, he thrives. Using the debris of destruction as material for his work, Samson cultivates an artistic vision that captures the horrors of war unlike any other. 

Learn more at www.lbi.org/schames.

Exile is a production of the Leo Baeck Institute, New York and Antica Productions.

It’s narrated by Mandy Patinkin. This episode was produced by Ilan Goodman.

Our executive Producers are Laura Regehr, Rami Tzabar, Stuart Coxe, and Bernie Blum. Our associate producer is Emily Morantz. Research and translation by Isabella Kempf. Voice acting by Ilan Goodman. Sound design and audio mix by Philip Wilson. Theme music by Oliver Wickham.

Special thanks to the Jewish Museum of Frankfurt.

This episode of Exile is made possible in part by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, which is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Finance and the Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future.

In 1943, 13-year-old Zuzana Justman and her family are sent to Theresienstadt, a transit camp and ghetto in occupied Czechoslovakia. While the Nazis claim Theresienstadt was a model ghetto with a thriving cultural life, Zuzana and her family face starvation, illness, and fear of the mysterious transports that take her loved ones away, never to return. 

Learn more at www.lbi.org/justman.

Exile is a production of the Leo Baeck Institute, New York and Antica Productions.

It’s narrated by Mandy Patinkin. This episode was produced by Rami Tzabar.

Our executive Producers are Laura Regehr, Rami Tzabar, Stuart Coxe, and Bernie Blum. Our associate producer is Emily Morantz. Research and translation by Isabella Kempf. Sound design and audio mix by Philip Wilson. Theme music by Oliver Wickham.

Special thanks to the German Federal Archives, the Guardian, Will Coley, The International Festival of Slavic Music for the use of their 2018 performance of Hans Krasa’s Brundibar, as well as Zuzana Justman for the use of her film, Voices of the Children.

This episode of Exile is made possible in part by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, which is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Finance and the Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future.

Leo Fuks is a born performer. So when, in 1936, a vaudeville impresario shows up to recruit him, 10-year-old Leo is more than happy to join his troupe, and his parents reluctantly agree. As Leo, now known as Jackie Gerlich, travels the world and dips his toes into Hollywood, his family is left behind to grapple with the terror of rising antisemitism in Vienna. After years without contact, Leo’s mother is shocked to see her son dancing on screen in The Wizard of Oz—and she resolves to do everything she can to get her son back. 

Learn more at www.lbi.org/gerlich.

Exile is a production of the Leo Baeck Institute, New York and Antica Productions.

It’s narrated by Mandy Patinkin. This episode was produced by Emily Morantz.

Our executive Producers are Laura Regehr, Rami Tzabar, Stuart Coxe, and Bernie Blum. Our associate producer is Emily Morantz. Research and translation by Isabella Kempf. Voice acting by Cyrus Lane. Sound design and audio mix by Philip Wilson. Theme music by Oliver Wickham.

Special thanks to the Bentley Historical Library and the Syracuse University Special Collections Research Centre.

This episode of Exile is made possible in part by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, which is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Finance and the Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future.

Exiled from her comfortable life in Vienna and left to fend for herself on the Kindertransport, Lily Renee Wilhelm has no idea what her future holds. She ends up in New York and, on a whim, applies to a comic book illustration job. She endures rampant sexism in the boys’ club atmosphere of the comics industry, but soon makes a name for herself as the illustrator of Senorita Rio, a comic series about a swashbuckling spy with a glamorous wardrobe. Decades later, she is remembered as an icon of the comic book industry.

Learn more at www.lbi.org/lily-renee.

Exile is a production of the Leo Baeck Institute, New York and Antica Productions.

It’s narrated by Mandy Patinkin. This episode was produced by Ilan Goodman.

Our executive Producers are Laura Regehr, Rami Tzabar, Stuart Coxe, and Bernie Blum. Our associate producer is Emily Morantz. Research and translation by Isabella Kempf. Voice acting by Cyrus Lane. Sound design and audio mix by Philip Wilson. Theme music by Oliver Wickham.

Special thanks to Rick Phillips, as well as Adrienne Gruben & David Armstrong for the use of their short film, LILY.

This episode of Exile is made possible in part by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, which is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Finance and the Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future.

In the Holy Roman Empire in the early 1500s, there was a campaign to burn all Jewish books. A legal scholar named Johannes Reuchlin wrote a pamphlet called Augenspiegel that convinced the powers-that-be that these texts had historical and scholarly value. Historian and author Erika Rummel joins Mark to tell this remarkable tale, which features everything from political power grabs to bribery to a Middle Ages version of a flame war.

LBI Presents is a production of the Leo Baeck Institute, New York | Berlin and Antica Productions. 

Hosted by Mark Oppenheimer.

Executive Producers include Laura Regehr, Stuart Coxe, and Bernie Blum. Senior Producer is Debbie Pacheco. Associate Producer is Emily Morantz. Associate audio editor is Cameron McIver. Sound design and audio mix by Philip Wilson. 

You may have heard of the transit camp Theresienstadt as a place of hope and resilience throughout the Holocaust. But the music, art, and recipes found in the Czech ghetto  after the war only tell one part of the story. Today, historian Anna Hájková, author of The Last Ghetto: An Everyday History of Theresienstadt, joins Mark to discuss the complexities of life at Theresienstadt, including class structure, the barter system, and most importantly, food. 

LBI Presents is a production of the Leo Baeck Institute, New York | Berlin and Antica Productions. 

Hosted by Mark Oppenheimer.

Executive Producers include Laura Regehr, Stuart Coxe, and Bernie Blum. Senior Producer is Debbie Pacheco. Associate Producer is Emily Morantz. Associate audio editor is Cameron McIver. Sound design and audio mix by Philip Wilson.

In 1933, Joseph Goebbels said that the Nazis could never have taken power without the radio. Heidi Tworek is a professor of history at the University of British Columbia and author of News From Germany: The Competition to Control World Communications, 1900-1945. On this episode, she joins Mark to tell the incredible story of how the Nazis broadcast their propaganda not just in Germany, but around the world.

LBI Presents is a production of the Leo Baeck Institute, New York | Berlin and Antica Productions. 

Hosted by Mark Oppenheimer.

Executive Producers include Laura Regehr, Stuart Coxe, and Bernie Blum. Senior Producer is Debbie Pacheco. Associate Producer is Emily Morantz. Associate audio editor is Cameron McIver. Sound design and audio mix by Philip Wilson. 

In the 1960s, artist Eva Hesse found herself at the center of the iconic New York contemporary art scene. A Jewish refugee who escaped Austria on the Kindertransport as a toddler, Hesse went on to become an icon of post minimalist art. 

Elisabeth Sussman is a curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art. She’s written and edited books about Hesse, and has curated exhibitions of her work. On this episode, Elisabeth and Mark discuss Hesse’s personal history, artistic style, and legacy.

LBI Presents is a production of the Leo Baeck Institute, New York | Berlin and Antica Productions. 

Hosted by Mark Oppenheimer.

Executive Producers include Laura Regehr, Stuart Coxe, and Bernie Blum. Senior Producer is Debbie Pacheco. Associate Producer is Emily Morantz. Associate audio editor is Cameron McIver. Sound design and audio mix by Philip Wilson.