Yisrolik

Given the proper conditions, theater and music could flourish in the ghettos, where talented individuals, crowded together with little meaningful work to do, might be called on to entertain a captive audience. Established in January 1942, the Vilna ghetto theater mounted productions of Yiddish and European classics as well as original plays and revues based on ghetto themes. The novelty song Yisrolik, about a tough but sentimental child entrepreneur, was created by writer Leyb Rozental (1916-1945) and composer-conductor Misha Veksler (1907-1943) especially for performance in the ghetto theater. It was introduced by Rozental's sister, Chayela (1924-1979), who went on to a successful postwar career as a stage actress in South Africa and on Broadway. She recorded Yisrolik in Paris, ca. 1948. Chayela took to heart Yisrolik's admonition "not to speak of sadness" (in the song's last verse), and never discussed her wartime experiences with her children. The theme of her mother's silence was treated by Chayela's daughter, Naava Piatka, in her own musical play, Better Don't Talk.