Kurt Hirschfeld: Late Applause For A Forgotten Man

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Under Kurt Hirschfeld's influence, the Schauspielhaus Zürich, Switzerland's largest theatre, gained unprecedented political and artistic significance. However, the man himself remained invisible for a long time. A documentary now turns the spotlight on the Jewish theatre pioneer. This content was published on June 9, 2026 - 09:00 4 minutes Ana Matijašević, SRF, swissinfo

Deutsch de Kurt Hirschfeld: Später Applaus für einen vergessenen Theaterpionier Original Read more: Kurt Hirschfeld: Später Applaus für einen vergessenen Theaterpi

Hirschfeld – Unknown Acquaintance begins quietly. At the Schauspielhaus Zurich, actors are rehearsing a text from Max Frisch's play Andorra that seems to have fallen out of time.“Now it's up to you to acknowledge your Jew.” It's not just about the play and the message, but about the man who made these sentences possible: Kurt Hirschfeld (1902-1964). And the irritating fact that hardly anyone knows his name.

This is because Hirschfeld was one of the key figures in the Zurich theatre. The stage that became a refuge for persecuted artists during the Nazi era and saw theatre as resistance. Outside, dark history was being written; inside, it was being played out. This would not have been the case without Hirschfeld. But for a long time, people were more familiar with the myth of the theatre than the man behind it.

The married couple and directing duo Stina Werenfels and Samir turn the spotlight on the“unknown acquaintance”, as Hirschfeld is referred to in the title of the new film. It seems as if an old omission has been corrected.

External Content As if the story could slip away

In the next scene, Hirschfeld's daughter opens a box: maps, photos, a gun cartridge. Perhaps for emergencies. Memories come together, carefully, tentatively. Companions talk about him. This is how a figure emerges, a man who wrote theatre history, about things, quotes, voices. It is touching and bitter at the same time.

In passing, we learn that for a long time hardly anyone in Switzerland was interested in him: his estate ends up in New York. A punchline about national memory: it celebrates institutions – and forgets who made them possible.

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This content was published on Jun 9, 2026 During the Second World War, the theatre became one of the most important places of refuge for persecuted artists from German-speaking countries.

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