Lights Up on the Dark: The Holocaust Onstage23 Juni 2025

Contested Histories: "Our Class" and the Jedwabne Pogrom (21st April 2025)

Content warning: Discussions of sexual violence and graphic descriptions of antisemitic violence and killings.

In this episode - the first in the Contested Histories series - Sam and Alex explore Our Class by Tadeusz Słobodzianek, translated/adapted by Ryan Craig. Based on the controversial history of the Jedwabne pogrom, in which the Jews of the town were murdered in July 1941 by their Polish Catholic neighbours, the play looks at the stories of victims, perpetrators and survivors. The real life events on which the play is based challenged the image of Poles as solely victims in World War II, and debates continue to this day.

Sam and Alex discuss aspects including the history and investigation of the massacre; ‘responsible’ stage portrayals of violent acts; and the resonance of Our Class in the current moment - all in a play where the name ‘Jedwabne’ is never actually spoken.

Hosts: Samantha Mitschke & Alexandra Gellner

Executive Producer: Samantha Mitschke

Producer / Editor: Alexandra Gellner

Music: “⁠Image⁠” by ⁠Infraction Music⁠

Contact: ⁠https://holocaustonstage.com/contact/⁠

Books & Articles

The Contested Histories Initiative, “Jedwabne Pogrom Memorial in Poland”, Contested Histories Case Study #125 (June 2021).

Museum of the History of Polish Jews (POLIN), ⁠The anniversary of the Jedwabne massacre and ⁠Timeline of pogroms in the former Soviet occupation zone – summer of 1941.⁠

Plays

Tadeusz Słobodzianek; Ryan Craig (trans.) (2009) ⁠Our Class⁠. Oberon Modern Plays.

To request a full list of resources for this episode, please use this form.

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(19)

"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...

13 Apr 54min

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

CONTENT WARNING: References to suicide; sexual referencesIn 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. Stel...

1 Apr 51min

"Bent" by Martin Sherman

CONTENT WARNING: Explicit content and references to suicideIn this week’s episode, coinciding with the end of Queer History Month in the UK, Sam and Alex explore Martin Sherman’s groundbreaking play B...

4 Mars 51min

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

CONTENT WARNING: References to suicideIn 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 K...

18 Feb 1h 34min

"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 twe...

26 Jan 45min

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...

5 Jan 47min

"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...

16 Dec 202555min

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 hig...

7 Nov 20251h 8min