LIVE PERFORMANCE | 1933: The Turning Point — Art, Oppression, and Resistance | Presented by Chicago Opera Theater and Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center 

In 1933, Adolf Hitler rose to power and democracy in Germany collapsed. Civil liberties were revoked. Jewish artists were dismissed. Books were burned. A new regime demanded obedience—not only in politics, but in culture. 

That same year, composer Kurt Weill and playwright Georg Kaiser premiered Der Silbersee (The Silver Lake), a haunting allegory about poverty, injustice, and redemption. Within weeks, the work was banned. Its creators were forced into exile. But the music survived, a witness to its time and a protest against tyranny. 

1933: The Turning Point — Art, Oppression, and Resistance brings this history to life through live excerpts from Der Silbersee and reflections on the forces that tried to silence it. The program explores how Nazi rule reshaped the arts, and how artists like Weill resisted through creation. 

Presented in partnership by Chicago Opera Theater and the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, this evening invites us to consider the stakes when truth is suppressed and expression is controlled—and why that warning still matters. 

Free to the public. Reservations required.