Lea Deutsch
Encyclopedia
Lea Deutsch was a Croatia
n Jewish
child actress who died during the Holocaust.
Singer) Deutsch. Her father was a lawyer, and her mother was educated housewife, who was actively engaged in chess
. She also had a brother, Saša. Deutsch family lived in Zagreb at Gundulićeva street 39 in a three-story house. Deutsch began acting at the HNK Zagreb at the age of five playing small roles in professional productions of Moliere
and Shakespeare
. People were enchanted by her, she was thought as an exceptional talent, a "Croatian Shirley Temple
". Even the famous Parisian firm Pathé
heard of Deutsch and arrived to Zagreb to film a short documentary about her. She quickly rose to become a popular child actor
.
In 1941 NDH
began with implementation of race laws which prevented Deutsch from acting. Immediately after the establishment of the NDH she was banned from the theater where she performed, and little later from a school that she attended. Deutsch's schoolmate Relja Bašić
recalls; "She used to sit motionless on a bench across from the theater in a little herringbone pattern
coat with a yellow star of David
on her sleeves, staring for hours at the building where once she was a star, and now she couldn't even enter the building".
visited Zagreb. During his visit he pressed NDH leader Ante Pavelić
, to enact the "Final Solution
" on his territory. In the coming days, Croatian and German officials began detaining the heads of the Jewish Community Zagreb and remaining Jews who had been allowed to stay in the city up until this point.
Members of the national theatre intervened to try to help Deutsch and her family. Actors Tito Strozzi, Vika Podgorska and Hinko Nučić, and the theatre's intendant Dušan Žanko
(himself a member of the Ustashe
) all attempted to save Deutsch's life. "Ordinary" people tried to save the Deutsch family. Escape trip to Karlovac was organized for a Deutsch family, where they were supposed to hook up with the Partisans, but they had to return to Zagreb because they failed to meet with their "connection". Jewish attempts to transfer the Deutsch family to British Mandate of Palestine, also failed. In the lower floor of their house Deutsch family had at one time a tenant, young men from Herzegovina
, who occasionally wore the Ustasha uniform. In the words of Deutsch friend Nika Grgić, this young man offered to falsely marry Lea in a attempt to save her from deportation, but that was not realized for unknown reasons. On May 1943, Deutsch with her mother and brother was deported to Auschwitz
by Nazis
. Out of 75 prisoners during the six-day journey in the cattle wagon
, without a food and water, 25 did not survive. Lea Deutsch was among the deceased, after her supposedly weak heart gave up on her. Her mother and brother were killed in Auschwitz, while her father survived the Holocaust and lived until 1959.
In 2010 Croatian director Branko Ivanda made a film "Lea i Darija - Dječje carstvo", about a tragic destiny of Lea Deutsch.
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n Jewish
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
child actress who died during the Holocaust.
Early life
Deutsch was born in Zagreb to a Croatian Jewish parents, Stjepan and Ivka (néeMarried and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Singer) Deutsch. Her father was a lawyer, and her mother was educated housewife, who was actively engaged in chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
. She also had a brother, Saša. Deutsch family lived in Zagreb at Gundulićeva street 39 in a three-story house. Deutsch began acting at the HNK Zagreb at the age of five playing small roles in professional productions of Moliere
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
and Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
. People were enchanted by her, she was thought as an exceptional talent, a "Croatian Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple Black , born Shirley Jane Temple, is an American film and television actress, singer, dancer, autobiographer, and former U.S. Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia...
". Even the famous Parisian firm Pathé
Pathé
Pathé or Pathé Frères is the name of various French businesses founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France.-History:...
heard of Deutsch and arrived to Zagreb to film a short documentary about her. She quickly rose to become a popular child actor
Child actor
The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting in motion pictures or television, but also to an adult who began his or her acting career as a child; to avoid confusion, the latter is also called a former child actor...
.
In 1941 NDH
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia was a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany, established on a part of Axis-occupied Yugoslavia. The NDH was founded on 10 April 1941, after the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers. All of Bosnia and Herzegovina was annexed to NDH, together with some parts...
began with implementation of race laws which prevented Deutsch from acting. Immediately after the establishment of the NDH she was banned from the theater where she performed, and little later from a school that she attended. Deutsch's schoolmate Relja Bašić
Relja Bašic
Relja Bašić is a Croatian actor.A native of Zagreb , Bašić is one of the most prolific and versatile Croatian actors with a career which lasts for more than half a century. He first appeared on screen in 1954 classic film Koncert...
recalls; "She used to sit motionless on a bench across from the theater in a little herringbone pattern
Herringbone (cloth)
Herringbone describes a distinctive V-shaped weaving pattern usually found in twill fabric. It is distinguished from a plain chevron by the break at reversal, which makes it resemble a broken zigzag. The pattern is called herringbone because it resembles the skeleton of a herring fish...
coat with a yellow star of David
Yellow badge
The yellow badge , also referred to as a Jewish badge, was a cloth patch that Jews were ordered to sew on their outer garments in order to mark them as Jews in public. It is intended to be a badge of shame associated with antisemitism...
on her sleeves, staring for hours at the building where once she was a star, and now she couldn't even enter the building".
Arrest, deportation and death
In an attempt to save his family, Deutsch's father had converted his family to Catholicism. On May 5, 1943 Heinrich HimmlerHeinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
visited Zagreb. During his visit he pressed NDH leader Ante Pavelić
Ante Pavelic
Ante Pavelić was a Croatian fascist leader, revolutionary, and politician. He ruled as Poglavnik or head, of the Independent State of Croatia , a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany in Axis-occupied Yugoslavia...
, to enact the "Final Solution
Final Solution
The Final Solution was Nazi Germany's plan and execution of the systematic genocide of European Jews during World War II, resulting in the most deadly phase of the Holocaust...
" on his territory. In the coming days, Croatian and German officials began detaining the heads of the Jewish Community Zagreb and remaining Jews who had been allowed to stay in the city up until this point.
Members of the national theatre intervened to try to help Deutsch and her family. Actors Tito Strozzi, Vika Podgorska and Hinko Nučić, and the theatre's intendant Dušan Žanko
Dušan Žanko
Dušan Žanko was a Croatian writer and the intendant of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb from 1941 to 1943....
(himself a member of the Ustashe
Ustaše
The Ustaša - Croatian Revolutionary Movement was a Croatian fascist anti-Yugoslav separatist movement. The ideology of the movement was a blend of fascism, Nazism, and Croatian nationalism. The Ustaše supported the creation of a Greater Croatia that would span to the River Drina and to the border...
) all attempted to save Deutsch's life. "Ordinary" people tried to save the Deutsch family. Escape trip to Karlovac was organized for a Deutsch family, where they were supposed to hook up with the Partisans, but they had to return to Zagreb because they failed to meet with their "connection". Jewish attempts to transfer the Deutsch family to British Mandate of Palestine, also failed. In the lower floor of their house Deutsch family had at one time a tenant, young men from Herzegovina
Herzegovina
Herzegovina is the southern region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. While there is no official border distinguishing it from the Bosnian region, it is generally accepted that the borders of the region are Croatia to the west, Montenegro to the south, the canton boundaries of the Herzegovina-Neretva...
, who occasionally wore the Ustasha uniform. In the words of Deutsch friend Nika Grgić, this young man offered to falsely marry Lea in a attempt to save her from deportation, but that was not realized for unknown reasons. On May 1943, Deutsch with her mother and brother was deported to Auschwitz
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
by Nazis
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. Out of 75 prisoners during the six-day journey in the cattle wagon
Stock car (rail)
In railroad terminology, a stock car or cattle wagon is a type of rolling stock used for carrying livestock to market...
, without a food and water, 25 did not survive. Lea Deutsch was among the deceased, after her supposedly weak heart gave up on her. Her mother and brother were killed in Auschwitz, while her father survived the Holocaust and lived until 1959.
Legacy
In 2003, a Lauder Jewish elementary school in Zagreb was named after her.In 2010 Croatian director Branko Ivanda made a film "Lea i Darija - Dječje carstvo", about a tragic destiny of Lea Deutsch.