Pre-order the paperback book: "The Lorches: The Rise and Fall of a Jewish Circus Dynasty"
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A biography of The Lorch family, legendary Jewish circus artists, that owned a circus in Germany intermittently from the nineteenth century until 1930.
This title will be released in 2021
Jewish academic and circus artist Stav Meishar has been researching the history of the Lorch Circus Family for over 8 years - in archives, museums, cemeteries, libraries and private collections- and has interviewed survivors and their children, gaining access to private photo albums and family stories. She and has poured their incredible stories, memories and experiences into this upcoming book, which will shed light on one of Jewish history's lesser known - and most colorful - legends.
With this book, the legacy of the Lorch Circus and the Lorch family will delight and fascinate readers worldwide. With this book, their lives won't be forgotten. With this book, you too can have the pleasure of going down the rabbit hole into the fascinating, little-known, death-defying world of the Lorch Family Circus.
Founded by Hirsch Lorch during the second half of the 19th century, the Lorch Circus enjoyed success touring all over Germany in the following decades. Even more successful was the family's Icarian troupe: An international sensation, they were so phenomenal that the Ringling Brothers Circus famously booked them for a higher salary than any attraction ever before, and the troupe toured the United States with the circus from 1909-1912.
Alas, the rise of the National Socialist Party in Germany, combined with its rabid anti-Semitism and a dreadful economic situation—rendered even tougher for Jewish enterprises which were systematically boycotted—made it impossible for the Lorches to continue to run their circus. They were forced into bankruptcy in 1930.
During the Holocaust, the Lorch family members spread in many directions and suffered a variety of fates. Between work camps and concentration camps, there was a branch of the family that benefitted from an incredible act of courage and generosity: In 1941 one of the Lorch family members, Irene, went to see the German Althoff Circus and fell in love with one of the circus clowns, Peter. Irene and Peter made their case to Adolf Althoff, the owner, to give Irene a job at the circus. Althoff agreed.
A couple of years later, as the noose started to tighten on Jewish people, Irene and Peter persuaded Mr. Althoff to welcome Irene's mother, father and sister into his circus. They spent the next few years performing at the Althoff Circus under cover. Whenever the Nazis would come for inspection, Adolf Althoff would distract them with expensive booze, delicacies and circus tales, while Irene and her family would hide in a secret corridor built especially for them in one of the circus wagons. Thus, the Jewish family survived.
Author Stav Meishar is a world expert on Jewish circus artists in Nazi Germany. She has presented her research in academic conferences, circus conference and Jewish institutions worldwide, and her writings were published in various academic journals, newspapers and magazines in the USA, Israel and UK.
With this book, the legacy of the Lorch Circus and the Lorch family will delight and fascinate readers worldwide. With this book, their lives won't be forgotten. With this book, you too can have the pleasure of going down the rabbit hole into the fascinating, little-known, death-defying world of the Lorch Family Circus.
Founded by Hirsch Lorch during the second half of the 19th century, the Lorch Circus enjoyed success touring all over Germany in the following decades. Even more successful was the family's Icarian troupe: An international sensation, they were so phenomenal that the Ringling Brothers Circus famously booked them for a higher salary than any attraction ever before, and the troupe toured the United States with the circus from 1909-1912.
Alas, the rise of the National Socialist Party in Germany, combined with its rabid anti-Semitism and a dreadful economic situation—rendered even tougher for Jewish enterprises which were systematically boycotted—made it impossible for the Lorches to continue to run their circus. They were forced into bankruptcy in 1930.
During the Holocaust, the Lorch family members spread in many directions and suffered a variety of fates. Between work camps and concentration camps, there was a branch of the family that benefitted from an incredible act of courage and generosity: In 1941 one of the Lorch family members, Irene, went to see the German Althoff Circus and fell in love with one of the circus clowns, Peter. Irene and Peter made their case to Adolf Althoff, the owner, to give Irene a job at the circus. Althoff agreed.
A couple of years later, as the noose started to tighten on Jewish people, Irene and Peter persuaded Mr. Althoff to welcome Irene's mother, father and sister into his circus. They spent the next few years performing at the Althoff Circus under cover. Whenever the Nazis would come for inspection, Adolf Althoff would distract them with expensive booze, delicacies and circus tales, while Irene and her family would hide in a secret corridor built especially for them in one of the circus wagons. Thus, the Jewish family survived.
Author Stav Meishar is a world expert on Jewish circus artists in Nazi Germany. She has presented her research in academic conferences, circus conference and Jewish institutions worldwide, and her writings were published in various academic journals, newspapers and magazines in the USA, Israel and UK.
