Annual Report 2023
202 3 Annual Report
ORIGINAL : DEFIANT REQUIEM:VERDIAT TEREZÍN ARTWORK Design by: Gut Instinct Creative | Artwork by: Brad Mancuso
MISSION STATEMENT
By honoring the defiance and bravery of the prisoners in the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp (Terezín) during World War II, performances by The Defiant Requiem Foundation show the role that music and art play in confronting contemporary challenges, including increased Holocaust ignorance, Holocaust denial, and antisemitism. In refusing to forfeit their humanity, the Terezín prisoners taught a universal lesson about the power of music and art to foster hope and inspiration even in the face of monumental suffering, disease, and the constant presence of death. The Foundation’s hallmark concert performance, Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezín ; its sister concert, Hours of Freedom: The Story of the Terezín Composer ; its Emmy-nominated documentary film, Defiant Requiem ; along with comprehensive curriculum modules that are designed to frame and enhance Holocaust education all use the courage and cultural resistance of Rafael Schächter and his fellow prisoners to show why the Holocaust must never be forgotten.
ORIGINAL HOURS OF FREEDOM ARTWORK Design by: Gut Instinct Creative | Artwork by: Brad Mancuso
VISION STATEMENT
The Defiant Requiem Foundation strives to promote awareness and understanding of the dangers of antisemitism, Holocaust ignorance, and Holocaust denial by presenting the singular story, and one with universal application, of Rafael Schächter and prisoners in the Terezín Concentration Camp during the Holocaust who used music and art as an act of defiance to maintain their humanity, dignity, hope, and inspiration. Using original performance art — increasingly on college campuses with student musicians and singers — documentary film, and educational materials geared for middle and high school students, the Foundation offers a unique approach to addressing contemporary issues of bigotry, human rights violations, mass atrocity, and genocide crimes.
CONTENTS
Letter from the Board Chair, President & Artistic Director, and Executive Director
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Origins
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List of Donors
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Donor Profile: Stuart E. Eizenstat
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2023 Season Highlights
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Selected Financial Information
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Board of Directors and Staff
The Defiant Requiem Foundation’s board and staff thank all donors for their generous support of the Foundation’s important work.
To stay apprised of upcoming events and educational programs, please find us on Facebook, visit our website www.defiantrequiem.org, and sign up for our eNewsletters.
5506 Connecticut Avenue NW Suite 24 Washington, DC 20015 202-244-0220 | info@defiantrequiem.org | www.defiantrequiem.org
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Dear Friends and Supporters:
The events of October 7 have left many of us in the worldwide Jewish community shocked and traumatized and more determined than ever to stand up to violence, hate and antisemitism. We join with many other organizations that have dedicated years of resources and expertise in Holocaust education to redoubling our efforts to combat Holocaust ignorance and the scourge of antisemitism. The Foundation remains dedicated to pursuing these goals through the promotion of its concert performances, film screenings and original curriculum materials for students and teachers. In May 2023, we were honored to perform Hours of Freedom: The Story of The Terezín Composer in Berlin at the Pierre Boulez Saal under the patronage of the German Minister of State for Culture and Media Claudia Roth. The concert was attended by German government officials, VIPS, corporate executives and a Holocaust Survivor. Stu and Minister Roth provided moving opening remarks. Our education department continues to form valuable and meaningful partnerships with other organizations. In July, five Defiant Requiem Teaching Ambassadors, along with Alexandra Zapruder and Murry, traveled to Terezín as part of the Centropa Summer Academy. We also partnered with Classrooms Without Borders and conducted a teacher workshop in Richmond at the Virginia Holocaust Museum. We continue to create new curriculum materials and look forward to hosting our first in-person seminar for teachers in Washington, DC in June 2024 with a generous grant received from The Claims Conference. 2023 ended with a deeply personal and powerful performance of they burn, the fires of the night: lamentations from the ashes, based on the book Poems Born in Bergen-Belsen by Defiant Requiem Foundation board member Menachem Z. Rosensaft in New York City in November. A complete list of events in 2023 is provided in this report. The three of us continue to be honored to lead The Defiant Requiem Foundation into its second decade. Current events only increase the urgency to promote the Foundation’s mission to educate the next generation using its artistic performances, film and original curriculum materials. Engaging students and teachers in high schools and college campuses to use our programs as a catalyst to confront all forms of hate is a critical component of the work we do. At this critical juncture with survivors passing away, antisemitism on the rise, and sobering statistics confirming worldwide Holocaust ignorance, the Foundation’s mission is more important than ever. We are deeply grateful to all of our donors for their generosity and commitment.
STUART E. EIZENSTAT BOARD CHAIR
MURRY SIDLIN PRESIDENT AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
LOUISA HOLLMAN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
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ORIGINS
Terezín, or as the Germans named it, Theresienstadt, is located about 40 miles northwest of Prague and was built as a garrison city in the 1780s. From 1941 to 1945, the Nazis used Terezín as a transit camp, ghetto, and concentration camp for Jewish prisoners. Remarkably, it was a prison where the arts and humanities thrived amidst unspeakable horror. While people continued to die of disease and starvation, the prisoners gave more than 2,400 lectures and presented more than 1,000 concerts — including 16 performances of Verdi’s Requiem Mass — for those who remained. Despite its reputation as a propaganda camp, more than 140,000 people were imprisoned in Terezín and 33,430 were murdered within the ghetto walls. Another 88,000 were sent to the death camps, including 15,000 children, of whom fewer than 150 are believed to have survived. Terezín was liberated on May 8, 1945.
The Verdi performances, led by prisoner Rafael Schächter in 1943 and 1944, inspired conductor Murry Sidlin to create the concert-drama Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezín . The success of that concert led to the creation of The Defiant Requiem Foundation, an award-wining documentary film, a second concert-drama, and engaging educational materials.
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202 3 DONOR LIST
$ 2 , 5 00 - $ 4 ,499 Morris Antonelli Mark Furstenberg Laura Ginns Arlene and Robert Kogod Peter Lefkin June and Marvin Rogul $1,000 - $2,499 T ommy and Elizabeth Baer Karla and Randolph Bell James D. Bindenagel Richard and Elaine Binder Ed win and Nancy Colodny Hope Eastman Elisa and Robert Ezor
Debbie Brown E and B Family Trust Frederic Levy Paul and Zena Mason Mary Louise and Robert McGee Siobhan Murphy James and Virginia Newmyer Family Fund Julie Ratner Della and William Robertson Jan Rocek Menachem Z. Rosensaft Alan J. Savada and Will Stevenson Susan H. Shapiro Murry and Debby Sidlin Jennifer and Neal Simon Rita Sloan and David Gottlieb Cathy Sulzberger and Joe Perpich William Upton $250 - $499 Stephen and Sharlene Amitay David Bond and Megan DiGeorgio Marney Cheek and Bruce Hirsh Edward and Ann Colby David and Susan Cooke Jonathan Cutler and Paula Parsons Alan Ezagui Lois and Michael Fingerhut Henry Irvin Henry D. Kahn and Laura Primakoff Debra and Raphael Krasa Susan Lieberman Janet Masetti Marilyn B. Meyers Paul and Debra Moore Owen Pell Margaret Pizzo Tom and Joan Schaumberg Pedro Seidemann Michael Shulman and Jackie Judd SaraKay Smullens Linda S. Stein William and Claudia Stiebel David and Stacy Welch Marjorie Zapruder Philip Zeidman and Virginia W. Newmyer
Allan and Shelley Holt , The Hillside Foundation
Margaret and John Ford Ramon and Jody Fr anco The Roderick S., Flossie R., and Helen M. Galloway Foundation Geraldine Garbow Denise and Peter Glassman Susan and Sanford Greenberg Steven Hess and Sarah Atkinson Carol Hoffman Louisa and Steven Hollman Sean Kehoe and Emily Burr Orin Kramer Richard and Jill Lane Philip Margolius Ruth Medak Martha A. Newman Trust Wolfgang Pordzik Lynanne Rales Steven Schwat Tina and Albert Small , Jr. Mary and James Speyer, Speyer Family Foundation William and Leah Steinberg Carl Tretter
Charles R. Bronfman Philanthropic Fund Wendy Fisher, Linda Mirels, The Kirsh Foundation Powell Family Foundation , Carol P. Heller Division , Nancy E. Powell Division Evelyn Sandground and Bill Perkins , The Frank and Marta Jager Foundation , Inc. Anita and Herbert Winter , Adolf and Mary Mil Foundation Judith and Leo Zickler $5,000 - $9,999 Ann B rown Ryna Cohen, Marcella and Neil Cohen Carol Brown Goldberg and Henry Goldberg
Ellen Heller and Shale Stiller Selfhelp Community Services Foundation, Inc.
$500 - $999 Sydney Alberg Andrew E. Baker Rick and Katie Baker Martin Baumrind Betty Breen
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$100 - $249 Toni and Joel Adler
Robert Schaftel Adam and Elizabeth Schneiberg Harold and Wilma Schneiberg Jonathan and Beverly Schnitzer Timothy and Elizabeth Shannon Therese Shroeder-Sheker Ori Z. Soltes Helen Sunshine Lorraine Thall Lisa Tylke Eva K. Unterman Thomas S. Wallsten Anita and Mark Weinstein Lenore Weitzman Joan Wessel Alan and Irene Wurtzel Dari Yudkoff
Gordon and Debra Lang Mark Laster Phil and Donna Lebovitz Barbara Leibundguth Susan Leshnoff Susan and Leonard Lyon Ellen and Gary Malasky Hilary Marcus and J onathan Maga z i n er Michael Matzkin Helaine Medoff Kathy and Jijodrag Miljanic Robyn Miller Lynda Moss Kristopher Mount Andrew Nadler Beth Naftalin Jim Ostroff and Wendy Shapiro Grant and Ellen Ottenstein Deborah Parks Marsha S. Pinson Shelbi Preston
Seth Altman Anonymous David and Ari Antonelli Erica Antonelli Elena Barr Baum Sander Bieber and Linda E. Rosenzweig Rose and Norm Bloomberg
Sally Broughton Janis Buchanan
George and Phyliss Cohen Marc Cohen and Deborah Levine Rob and Debbie Director Marcy Drozdowicz Linda Duritz Susan and Fred Feinberg Andrew Goldblatt The Irving and Blu Greenberg Family Foundation Nancy and John Harris
$1-$99 Susan Abrams Nance Morris Adler Deborah Amster Anonymous Phyllis Belford
Diane Ross Nancy Ross Pearl and L. H. Schainker R.T. Scheidlinger Naomi Schwartz Cookie Segelstein Mark and Rachel Seliber
Charles Heller Esther Herman Joseph Hickerson Sam Hoenig
Susan Blatz Devra Block Sally Bourrie Helene Brody C. Jean Sperling Catherwood Elyla Cohen Laurie Cohen Etty Dolin
Patti and Harvey Iglarsh Judith and J erry Ingber Lisa Isenman Emily and Douglas Jacobson Carolyn W. Keene Hazel and Robert Keimowitz Theodora Klayman Pamela and John Korbel Ellen and Paul Lazar Richard Levine Helayna Minsk Lewis Janine and Howard Lossing Vivian Margulies Eileen B. Mason Tatjana Meschede and Daniel Krasa Darlene Lambert Netzer Courtney Olsen Eric Osterweil Jeffrey Pargament Eugene Rosengarden Ann Saunders
Barbara Shapiro Ilene A. Sherman Laurie Sokoloff Nancy Stark Paula Stern Pamela Thomas Karen Ward Howard Weinberg Moriel Weiselberg Brian Wieck
Natalie Eatedali Beverly Epstein Sennur Fahrali Amy R. Fine Shanti Fry Andrew Gallant
Allan and Carol Gingold Susan and Richard Grilli Barbara Rubin Hanlen
Carin Zelenko Jana Zimmer
Joseph Heininger Alexandra Hollman Marian Hulsey
Kim Izzarelli Don Jacobs Nancy Karp Paul Klumpes Rosalie and Alan Kogan
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DONOR PROFILE: STUART E. EIZENSTAT
Despite not hearing discussions about the Holocaust while growing up in Atlanta, GA, Stuart E. Eizenstat has dedicated his life and career to Holocaust justice and memory. When he first saw Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezín in 2009 on the grounds of Theresienstadt, he thought, “This is the most moving and critically important thing I have ever seen.” At the encouragement of his (now late) wife, Fran, he introduced himself to Murry Sidlin, and embarked on a mission to bring the performance to Washington D.C. Thus began the now 15-year relationship between Eizenstat and The Defiant Requiem Foundation. As Board Chair, Eizenstat emphasizes the uniqueness of the organization. With numerous lessons of the Holocaust to impart, he sees the immense value in having a method to teach through an atypical format, personalizing the events that took place in Theresienstadt through the experiences of Rafael Schächter and his prisoner choir, and the compositions of prisoner-composers. Continuing the legacy that Schächter began, Eizenstat believes in harnessing the power of the arts to exhibit hope for a better future. With a recent survey indicating that 60% of young adults in the U. S. could not identify Auschwitz, Eizenstat’s hope is that the products of The Defiant Requiem Foundation will continue to reach and inspire younger generations. He is especially proud of the University Residency Project, which brings the musical performances of the Foundation to college campuses, where student musicians and audiences are fully immersed in the storytelling. He emphasizes: “This is a novel way of teaching this material. It acts as inspiration, hope, and courage, while teaching the larger lessons of the Holocaust. We strive to broaden our outreach to school-age children, to show what happens when good people are silent. With the current rise in antisemitism, it is more important than ever to impart this message. The Defiant Requiem Foundation has the unique ability to bring these lessons to a troubled world, through the universal lens of art and music.” Eizenstat was appointed by President Biden in 2022 as Chair of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council. He has called this, “Life coming full circle,” because as President Carter’s Chief White House Domestic Policy Advisor, Eizenstat recommended a President’s Commission of the Holocaust and helped draft the legislation authorizing creation of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. During his public service in six administrations, Eizenstat has served in numerous key roles, including chief White House domestic policy adviser to President Carter; U.S. Ambassador to the European Union in the Clinton Administration; and Special Advisor to Secretaries of State Clinton and Kerry on Holocaust-Era Issues during the Obama Administration. He is currently Special Adviser to Secretary of State Blinken on Holocaust Issues. As Special Negotiator for the Jewish Claims Conference, he has negotiated compensation and social services for survivors, with an increasing emphasis on Holocaust memory and lessons. In addition to authoring four books, he has received eight honorary doctorates and over75 awards, including USHMM’s Elie Wiesel Award, and the LBJ Award for Moral Courage, as well as honors from the governments of six countries.
STU EIZENSTAT (L) WITH MURRY SIDLIN
For more information on Eizenstat’s illustrious career, see his complete biography at USHMM.org
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2023 Season Highlights
FEBRUARY
OCTOBER
• Film Screening of Defiant Requiem and discussion at St. Columba’s Episcopal Church, Washington, DC. • Zoom presentation with Holocaust survivor, author, and lecturer Dr. Charles Ota Heller. • Zoom event featuring Ambassadors Dennis B. Ross and Stuart E. Eizenstat in conversation about the current state of affairs in Israel. • Film screening at Ingleside Senior Living Community in Washington, DC. • Defiant Requiem presentation for the Wednesday Morning Group at the Unitarian Church, Bethesda, MD. • Hours of Freedom: The Story of the Terezín Composer performance at the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin, Germany under the patronage of German Minister of State for Culture and Media Claudia Roth. The concert was attended by German government officials, VIPs, corporate executives, and a Holocaust survivor . MAY APRIL
• "Rescue and Resistance: The Remarkable Village of Le Chambon” presentation, featuring Holocaust survivor Peter Fiegl and author Maggie Paxson. • Film screening of Defiant Requiem , and two performances of Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezín for piano, violin and cello with a full chorus in Bismarck, North Dakota. • The world premiere in NYC of they burn, the fires of the night: lamentations from the ashes , a musical adaptation of the book Poems Born in Bergen-Belsen by Menachem Z. Rosensaft. The program also included music from Hours of Freedom and Messiaen’s Quartet from the End of Time. The concert was curated by Murry Sidlin. • Teacher workshop at the Virginia Holocaust Museum.
DECEMBER • Education staff attendance at the National Council for the Social Studies conference in Nashville.
JUNE
• Film screening of Defiant Requiem in Oxford, England with Zoom discussion by Murry Sidlin.
JULY
• Members of the Education Department, Murry Sidlin, and five DR Teaching Ambassadors, participated in an educators’ study trip to Vienna, Prague, and Terezín as part of the annual Centropa Summer Academy. In Terezín, the Defiant Requiem film was screened, • Film screening of Defiant Requiem in Barcelona at the International Association of Holocaust and Genocide Scholars conference.
HOURS OF FREEDOM: THE STORY OF THE TEREZIN COMPOSER IN BERLIN, GERMANY Photo credit: Chris Savas
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SELECTED FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Years Ended December 31, 202 3 and 202 2
Reviewed Dec 31, 202 2
Consolidated Statements of Financial Position
Unaudited Dec 31, 202 3
ASSETS
$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
124,090 153,461 165,000 7,000
$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
346,825 299,020 6,917 3,161 3,161 37,263 795 , 515 6,382 25,947 35,763 68,092 727,423 795,515
Cash and cash equivalents Marketable securities Accounts receivable Prepaid expenses Property and Equipment, net Security Deposits
4,260 1,502 455,313
Total Assets
LIABILITIES & NET ASSETS LIABILITIES
2,154 23,616 - 25,770
Accounts payable and accrued expenses Payroll Liabilities Deferred Income
Total Liabilities
NET ASSETS TOTAL LIABILITIES & NET ASSETS
429,543 455,313
Consolidated Statements of Activities
Reviewed Dec 31, 202 2
Unaudited Dec 31, 202 3
REVENUE
$ $ $ $ $
$ $ $ $ $
644,086 88,818 - 15,983 748,886
973,258 605,742 85,292 (43,868) 1,620,424
Contributions Concert and Film Contributed Services Investment and Other Revenue
Total Revenue
EXPENSES
Program Services
$ $ $ $
$ $ $ $
326,634 1,280 334,706 662,620
$494,009 $49,400 $334,600 $878,009
Concerts and Musical Performances Documentary Film Educational
Total Program Services
Supporting Services
$263,965 $195,275 $459,240
$ $ $
$ $ $
185,074 199,072 384,146
General and Administrative Fundraising
Total Supporting Services
1,046,766 ( 297,880 )
$ $
$ $
1,337,249 283,175
Total Expenses Change in Net Assets
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THE DEFIANT REQUIEM FOUNDATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS, ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND STAFF
ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERS Rheda Becker* Michael Berenbaum J. Christian Kennedy* Tomáš Kraus* Owen Pell* Michael Sonnenreich Lenore Weitzman *Former Board Member
BOARD OFFICERS Stuart E. Eizenstat, Board Chair Morris Antonelli, Secretary Randolph M. Bell, Treasurer
BOARD MEMBERS Tommy Baer Andrew Baker J.D. Bindenagel Mark Furstenberg Laura Ginns Nina Glasner Ellen M. Heller Patti Askwith Kenner Peter Lefkin
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF Murry Sidlin, President and Artistic Director Louisa Hollman, Executive Director Sean Kehoe, Program Director and General Manager David Welch, Director of Finance Alexandra Zapruder, Education Director Karen Uslin, Director of Research Lusha Caliendo, Development Manager Micaela Procopio, Education Fellow
Marion Ein Lewin David G. Marwell
Jennifer Loew Mendelson Menachem Z. Rosensaft Evelyn Sandground Philippe Sands Pedro Seidemann
Murry Sidlin Anita Winter Judy Zickler
STAFF FROM CENTROPA AND THE DEFIANT REQUIEM FOUNDATION WITH DRF TEACHING AMBASSADORS AT THE CENTROPA SUMMER ACADEMY IN PRAGUE.
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5506 Connecticut Avenue NW Suite 24 Washington, DC 20015 | 202-244-0220 | info@defiantrequiem.org | www.defiantrequiem.org
The Defiant Requiem Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Washington, DC. It was founded by President and Artistic Director Murry Sidlin in 2008, and Ambassador Stuart E. Eizenstat became the Foundation’s first Board Chair in 2011.
Photo credit: Ouriel Morgensztern
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