Forgotten Cosmopolitans

Life Stories

Life Stories

Jacques Queyrois:  Political Activist and Owner of the Circus Karmah. From Fakir Acts to the French Resistance 

February 3, 2020February 3, 2020 admin Comments Off

Albert Queyrois, a Frenchman also known by the stage name Karmah, lived a life full of eclecticism and change. He also possessed an uncanny ability to incite political provocation. Born in Bordeaux in 1893, he was originally a cabinetmaker by trade, working in Faubourg Saint-Antoine in Paris. His father, Jean Queyrois, earned his living as a carpenter. His mother, Catherine Despéries, was Read More…

From circus acrobat to Resistance fighter: the story of Raymond Gurême

November 25, 2019December 4, 2019 admin Comments Off

The escape of the Schauerjans family to Switzerland in 1943

July 10, 2019August 19, 2019 admin Comments Off

The Esther family and its strategy to survive WWII

March 29, 2019March 29, 2019 admin Comments Off

Dark Stars: An Arab-German Circus Family during the Third Reich

February 25, 2019February 25, 2019 admin Comments Off

Project Description

Project Description

October 28, 2018April 9, 2019 admin Comments Off

The aim of this project is to collaborate with members of the circus community to achieve new knowledge about the impact of WWII – the political climate leading to the war, the war itself and its aftermath – on the fates of Europe’s circus people. These people who not only pursued an itinerant way of Read More…

Historical Context

Historical Context

October 28, 2018February 25, 2019 admin Comments Off

Even in times of crises and war, circuses have remained a popular form of amusement. Likewise, in the Nazi era circuses also attracted audiences hungry for entertainment. Moreover, within the Nazi sphere of control in Europe, circuses as cosmopolitan and mobile spheres could also offer refuge to those persecuted by the Nazi Regime and their Read More…

Virtual Museum Exhibition

Virtual Museum Exhibition

October 28, 2018February 25, 2019 admin

At a first preparatory meeting concerning the conceptualizing of the

Project Diverging Fates

Projekt Diverging Fates

October 28, 2018February 26, 2019 admin Comments Off

The project ‘Forgotten Cosmopolitans’ is based on a two-year pilot project (2017-2018) entitled ‘Diverging Fates: Travelling Circus People in Europe during National Socialism’. From this first scientific encounter the utilization of a biographical approach has resulted in a collection of short life stories, visible on the project’s website: www.divergingfates.eu. The follow-up project ‘Forgotten Cosmopolitans’ will Read More…

Project Preparation

First preparatory project meeting with members of the circus community at the circus archive Winkler in Berlin, 3.11.2018

March 26, 2019March 26, 2019 admin Comments Off

At a first preparatory meeting concerning the conceptualizing of the exhibition, the project members explored together with members of the circus community, including representatives of the German Society of Friends of the Circus and the European Circus Association, the limits and consequences of sharing in-group knowledge, information that may carry symbolic or social weight within Read More…