FRI, FEB 17, 2023
9:00 PM ET | FLOOR 1

The Thinking Heart of the Barracks

The compelling journey of Etty Hillesum through her own words from An Interrupted Life and Letters from Westerbork, with original music reflections by Jonathan Fields, composer

Etty Hillesum was a young Dutch woman who came from a thoroughly assimilated Jewish family. She led a disorderly bohemian life until forced to confront her demons through an encounter with the Jungian psychotherapist Julius Spear. He encouraged Etty to begin a diary. She wrote from 1941-1943, until her death at Auschwitz at the age of 29.

In these two years, she catalogs an incredible spiritual journey in the face of horrible injustice.

This work attempts original musical reflections for piano, violin, cello, soprano, and actress based on excerpts from Etty’s words from An Interrupted Life and Letters from Westerbork. We hope her moving and deeply personal testimony can help illuminate a way forward for us as well.