A Message from Arnold Mittelman After a career in not-for-profit and commercial theater spanning more than 40 years I was honored in 2007 to found the National Jewish Theater / Foundation and in 2010 to assume leadership of its Holocaust Theater International...
The Book Thief
Author(s): Heidi Stillman
Adapted by Heidi Stillman from Markus Zusak’s book, the story is narrated by a Death figure who is haunted by humans, and who tries alongside the audience to understand why people do the terrible and generous things they do. Liesel Meminger comes to live with adoptive parents in Nazi Germany. Over the course of the Second World War, she blooms from a tight-lipped, nightmare-ridden girl to a poised young woman who commits several acts of book thievery as she learns to read, keep important secrets, and heil Hitler whether she wants to or not.
Format: Drama
Notes:
The play is presented in Chicago as part of an initiative to stop youth violence and intolerance.
Snapshot
Original or Prominent Production:
2012, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago, IL, USA
2012, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago, IL, USA
Original Source Material: Book by Markus Zusak
Nationality of Author: Australian
Original Language: English
Experience(s) Chronicled: Perpetrators, Bystanders and Collaborators
HTC Insights
Views, reference and research of interest.
Lifetime Achievement Award
The National Jewish Theater Foundation presented its 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award to Alfred Uhry. The presentation took place as part of the Lincoln Center Library event on January 27th 2025 in commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on the 80th Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz
Lifetime Achievement Award
On September 30, 2024, French playwright, Mr. Jean Claude Grumberg received the Lifetime Achievement Award. It was presented by NJTF HTII President, Arnold Mittelman with Dominique Trimbur, PhD-Manager for the History of Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust, Teaching of the Holocaust of Fondation Pour La Memoir de la Shoah Project.