During the Second World War, Amos Arad managed to escape a razzia by hiding in a closet. He was nine years old. Although he eventually fell into the hands of the Nazis, he was able to survive the holocaust, together with his parents – by great good fortune. He was liberated in May 1945 and went to Israel, where he graduated from the Hebrew University. Tonight, on Remembrance Day, Amos Arad will talk about his experiences in those dark days of the Second World War.

After the lecture, soprano Irene Maessen will sing three songs: Teechezakna (meaning ‘let us be strong’ in Hebrew), Kaddisch by Ravel and Wiegala (lullaby) by Ilse Weber, a Jewish poet who wrote songs for Jewish children and was voluntarily transported to Auschwitz with the children of Theresienstadt and killed in the gas chambers, along with her son Tommy.

Irene Maessen has sung soprano roles in Mozart operas at the opera houses of Salzburg and Innsbruck. She is also passionate about chamber music and art-song, especially French music and the music of forgotten (Jewish/female) composers from the Interbellum period. Since 2007, she has been teaching classical singing at the ArtEZ conservatory.