Welcome to The Lahr von Leïtis Academy & Archive.
When Gregorij von Leïtis opened his Elysium Theater Company in New York in 1983, German-speaking exiles, who were still living in large numbers at the time, quickly became his regular audience. They told of flight and survival, of longing for the homeland they had been forced to leave, and of the love of German-language culture that had been instilled in them from an early age. The many small stories of the emigrants made the big story concrete and tangible.
To preserve their stories, to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive, to bring the works of persecuted and often forgotten artists to the stage – that is our concern.
We do this through readings, concerts, literary-musical collages, lectures and roundtable luncheons.
We cooperate with schools, universities and cultural institutions.
We continually ask the question: what can we learn for today from history that happened decades ago? Where do we need to be vigilant today?
Art reaches hearts and the whole person, not just the mind.
Education is more than mere factual knowledge. Education is always education of the heart.
Art and education without borders.