The captivating true story about a man who used his illusions to survive and escape Nazi occupied Europe only to become one of the Greatest Showmen the world had ever seen.
The captivating true story about a man who used his illusions to survive and escape Nazi occupied Europe only to become one of the Greatest Showmen the world had ever seen.
The Czeisler's make their way back to Post War Europe in an attempt to find a way to the America in the early days of the Cold War. However, It might not be as simple as they might think.
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Season 2 Picks up where we left off. Franz finds himself in the newly established State of Israel. But, is this tiny Nation big enough for Franz's big ambitions?
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Catherine and Sarah sit down to talk about experiences creating season 1 and a look forward into season 2
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First part finale: Soviet occupation creates new and different dangers for Franz and his family as his state of mind moves from survival to escape.
For more information about this episode, please see the sources below.
“Buying Romania’s Jews” - The Washington Post
The Ransom of the Jews: The Story of the Extraordinary Secret Bargain Between Romania and Israel
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As Nazi Germany occupies Hungary and begins deporting Jewish communities, Franz must do everything he can to protect his family.
NOTE: Audio will soon be updated to "Buchenwald will be liberated [in] just three months" rather than "one month" to reflect greater accuracy.
For more information about this episode, please see the sources below.
Yellow Star Houses
One House in Budapest, 1944-1945: A Personal History by Professor Árpád von Klimó
Yellow Star Houses and Signs - Photographs
Yellow Star Houses - “No Jews Live Here”
Deportations in Hungary
Deportations, Protective Passports, and Underground Movements - Yad Vashem
The Security Police (SiPo) - USHMM
Budapest Deportations - Yad Vashem
Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933-1945, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Fred Wander, The Seventh Wall
Liberation of Ohrdruf and Buchenwald - USHMM
Evolution of Hungarian World News Intro 1938-1944 (Magyar Világhíradó)
“Judenfrei” - The Holocaust Explained
“Judenfrei” Map and the Einsatzgruppen - USHMM
The Siege of Budapest
The Siege of Budapest - UCLA Asia Pacific Center
The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) 31 March 1944 - Hungarian Jews Herded by Gestapo - Newspapers.com
Buffalo Jewish Review (Buffalo, New York) 23 June 1944 - Hungary Adopts Nazi Anti-Jewish Policy - Newspapers.com
Flossenburg
https://www.gedenkstaette-flossenbuerg.de/en/history/flossenbuerg
Flossenburg Subcamp System - Project Muse
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Following the events of Novi Sad, Franz struggles to find safety for him and his family. As the dangers in Europe continue to grow, the stakes grow with them.
For more information about this episode, please see the sources below.
Novi Sad in modern-day Serbia - Britannica
The New York Times, 9 Nov. 1936
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As Franz's family grows, so do the dangers in Europe.
For more information about this episode, please see the sources below.
The Wiener Holocaust Library: The Iron Guard
Pogrom in Bucharest Synagogue, Romania, January 1941 - Yad Vashem
Axis Powers in WW11 - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Hungarian Expansion - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Novi Sad in modern-day Serbia - Britannica
The New York Times, 9 Nov. 1936
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Franz returns to a Europe that looks very different than the one he left behind.
For more information about this episode, please see the sources below.
“Henry Coston Obituary” the Independent, 27 August 2001
Le Libre Parole - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
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Franz's adventure continues as he learns how to put on a show.... on both sides of the world.
For more information about this episode, please see the sources below.
Kenrick, Donald (2007). Historical Dictionary of the Gypsies (Romanies) (2nd ed.). Scarecrow Press. Online version.
Achim, V. 1998. Chapter III. Emancipation. In The Roma in Romanian History. Central European University Press. Retrieved from http://books.openedition.org/ceup/1551
Romani children stand near a caravan, as adults look out from the doorway.
Three Romani brothers sit outside in front of a caravan reading a newspaper.
Cap Norte, Hamburg-South American Line postcard
1930s Montevideo, Getty Images
“The Creole Circus and Popular Entertainment in 19th Century Argentina and Uruguay,” William G. Acree Jr., Harvard University Press. Online here.
The Western Mail (Perth, Australia), 7 November 1929, and printed in The World’s News (Sydney, Australia) as well.
The Canberra Times, 14 January 1930
Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus. Blacaman Hindu Animal Hypnotist.
Franz Czeisler’s Obituary in The Telegraph
Teatro Artigas - Archival Photographs
Teatro Artigas - Archival Photographs (continued)
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The Great Tihany was one of the most successful showmen in all of South America. But how did he get there? Take a peek behind the curtain of the Great Tihany to learn the exciting and often dark history behind the man who used his power of illusion to survive the Holocaust.
For more information about this episode, please see the sources below.
It Happened at the Fantastic Circo Tihany
Population and casualty data from WWI - Census.gov
Ludovic’s Records - Rendeleti Közlöny a Magyar Királyi Honvédség számára - Személyes Ügyek, 1917 (44. évfolyam, 86-172. szám)1917-12-08 / 162. szám "Czeiszler Lajostartalékos hadnagynak" (Czeiszler, Lajos, reserve lieutenant)
Ludovic/Lajos Czeisler’s grave in Gyula Jewish Cemetery
Gyula Jewish Cemetery - Photograph
Dallas Michelbacher’s Jewish Forced Labor in Romania, 1940–1944
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The captivating true story about a man who used his illusions to survive and escape Nazi-occupied Europe only to become one of the Greatest Showmen the world had ever seen.
Tihany's Illusion: The Search for Franz Czeisler is coming soon to wherever you get your podcasts.
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