Eyewitness to History

Held in the gallery throughout the run of State of Deception: The Power of Nazi Propaganda, the Eyewitness to History series builds upon the exhibition with intimate programs that facilitate conversation and learning amongst small groups.  Performances in the series explore how Nazi propaganda was received by fictionalized characters through relatable storytelling and powerful portrayals. Pairing these performances with discussion provides an opportunity to remember the experience of those who actually lived through, and died as a result of, coercion and cruelty under the Nazi regime.

Please note: This program is located in the gallery, therefore, exhibit admission is required. An RSVP expresses your interest in the program but doesn’t guarantee at seat. Seating is limited but standing room is available.

About the Performance

Stille Nacht explores the critical decisions of personal belief that confronted many Germany citizens on the eve of Adolf Hitler's appointment as national Chancellor. On December 24, 1932, family patriarch Karl sets aside struggles with Depression-era debt to host a traditional holiday homecoming. His kin gather to Parchim, a rural village of the Mecklenburg region where sentiment for the National Socialist German Workers' Party is on the rise. When Karl's sister, Ilse, arrives from nearby progressive Berlin after an extended family absence, they discuss the pressing national concerns over social class and finance. But their very family bonds are tested when their dispute comes to the NSDAP--the Nazi Party--and whether leader Adolf Hitler is going too far by instituting identity-building propaganda campaigns designed to unite the citizens of Germany by utterly dividing them.

About the Discussion

Chaja Verveer will share her experience with visitors. Chaja was born in the Netherlands in 1941. In 1942, the Nazis implemented the deportation of Jews to concentration camps. When Chaja was only one year old, her family of six went into hiding, splitting up because they were too many to stay together in one place. When the non-Jewish family hiding her betrayed them to the Nazis in 1944, Chaja was sent to the Westerbork, a transit camp in northeastern Holland, from which trains regularly departed for the extermination camps elsewhere.  After three months in camps, she and the children with her were sent to Theresienstadt, a ghetto and transit camp in occupied Czechoslovakia. She and the other inmates were finally liberated in May 1945 by the Russians. 

State of Deception: The Power of Nazi Propaganda education programs sponsored by Lisa and Sandy Gottesman.

State of Deception: The Power of Nazi Propaganda sponsored by the Albert and Ethel Herzstein Hall Fund and Jeanne and Michael L. Klein. Additional support by The Stanford and Joan Alexander Foundation, the Pearlman Family Foundation, the Friedel Family Foundation, and The Rollins M. and Amalie L. Koppel Foundation.

Support for the Bullock Museum's exhibitions and education programs provided by the Texas State History Museum Foundation.