The Girls of Room 28, Theresienstadt As Meninas do Quarto 28

Farewell to

Ela Weissberger (1930-2018)

30 March 2018

Ela Weissberger, September 2004, Überlingen

Ela Weissberger, née Stein, one of "The Girls of Room 28" died March 30, 2018, in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Never will I forget our first meeting in 1996 in her home in Tappan and the uncountable moments we spent together - the meetings in Spindlermühle, the events that followed after the publication of the book and the opening of the exhibition "The Girls of Room 28" in 2004.

The photo above was taken in 2004 in Überlingen, Lake of Constance, where our exhibition was shown and Ela and her friends were invited to share their experiences in the frame of performances of the children's opera Brundibár. Ela had played the cat in the Theresienstadt performances, and to remember the children of the Brundibár cast and the children of Theresienstadt became her mission. This mission has taken her to many places in the US and in the world and on many stages, into the media and, I am sure, her words have reached and touched many people's hearts.

Ela and Hannelore in Spindlermühle, 1999

This is a little comfort: There are millions of people who won't forget you, Ela, and what you had to say. You will live on.

If you would have had the chance to browse through the Compendium 2017, you would have found four pages devoted to you and your childhood, and further pages that remember you as the one who played the cat in Brundibár.

I am so sorry that I had no chance to send it to you.

I feel so very sad that we have lost you!

Hannelore Brenner