Tihany's Illusion: The Search for Franz Czeisler

Introducing Tihany's Illusion: The Search for Franz Czeisler

Tue, 25 Jun 2024 21:49:18 +0000

The captivating true story about a man who used his illusions to survive and escape Nazi-occupied Europe only to become one of the Greatest Showmen the world had ever seen.

Tihany's Illusion: The Search for Franz Czeisler is coming soon to wherever you get your podcasts.

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Born as a Showman

Sat, 29 Jun 2024 04:01:00 +0000

The Great Tihany was one of the most successful showmen in all of South America. But how did he get there? Take a peek behind the curtain of the Great Tihany to learn the exciting and often dark history behind the man who used his power of illusion to survive the Holocaust.

For more information about this episode, please see the sources below.

It Happened at the Fantastic Circo Tihany

Population and casualty data from WWI - Census.gov

Ludovic’s Records - Rendeleti Közlöny a Magyar Királyi Honvédség számára - Személyes Ügyek, 1917 (44. évfolyam, 86-172. szám)1917-12-08 / 162. szám "Czeiszler Lajostartalékos hadnagynak" (Czeiszler, Lajos, reserve lieutenant)

Ludovic/Lajos Czeisler’s grave in Gyula Jewish Cemetery

Gyula Jewish Cemetery - Photograph

Dallas Michelbacher’s Jewish Forced Labor in Romania, 1940–1944

“Boy Missing Article”

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Everything is a Show

Sat, 13 Jul 2024 04:00:00 +0000

Franz's adventure continues as he learns how to put on a show.... on both sides of the world.

For more information about this episode, please see the sources below.

Britannica - Transylvania

Britannica - Roma

Kenrick, Donald (2007). Historical Dictionary of the Gypsies (Romanies) (2nd ed.). Scarecrow Press. Online version.

Achim, V. 1998. Chapter III. Emancipation. In The Roma in Romanian History. Central European University Press. Retrieved from http://books.openedition.org/ceup/1551

Romani children stand near a caravan, as adults look out from the doorway.

Three Romani brothers sit outside in front of a caravan reading a newspaper.

Roma/Sinti caravan in Russia

Cap Norte, Hamburg-South American Line postcard

Photographs of the Cap Norte

HMS Belfast on Northern Patrol captures the German blockade runner 'Cap Norte' 13,615 tons 9th October 1939

1930s Montevideo, Getty Images

Montevideo Postcard

“The Creole Circus and Popular Entertainment in 19th Century Argentina and Uruguay,” William G. Acree Jr., Harvard University Press. Online here.

The Western Mail (Perth, Australia), 7 November 1929, and printed in The World’s News (Sydney, Australia) as well.

The Canberra Times, 14 January 1930

The Telegraph

Variety, May 1928, p. n64

Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus. Blacaman Hindu Animal Hypnotist.

Franz Czeisler’s Obituary in The Telegraph

Teatro Artigas - Archival Photographs

Teatro Artigas - Archival Photographs (continued)

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Everyone Has Their Act

Sat, 27 Jul 2024 14:01:00 +0000

Franz returns to a Europe that looks very different than the one he left behind.

For more information about this episode, please see the sources below.

“Henry Coston Obituary” the Independent, 27 August 2001

Le Libre Parole headlines

Le Libre Parole - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

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Living On Love

Sat, 10 Aug 2024 04:00:00 +0000

As Franz's family grows, so do the dangers in Europe.

For more information about this episode, please see the sources below.

The Wiener Holocaust Library: The Iron Guard

Pogrom in Bucharest Synagogue, Romania, January 1941 - Yad Vashem

The Bucharest Slaughterhouse

Axis Powers in WW11 - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Hungarian Expansion - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Hungarian policemen and soldiers standing over murdered Jews in Novi-Sad, Yugoslavia, 23 January 1942 - Yad Vashem

Novi Sad in modern-day Serbia - Britannica

The New York Times, 9 Nov. 1936

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Another Body

Sat, 24 Aug 2024 04:00:00 +0000

Following the events of Novi Sad, Franz struggles to find safety for him and his family. As the dangers in Europe continue to grow, the stakes grow with them.

For more information about this episode, please see the sources below.

Remembering Cold Days: The 1942 Massacre of Novi Sad and Hungarian Politics and Society, 1942-1989, Arpad von Klimo

Hungarian policemen and soldiers standing over murdered Jews in Novi-Sad, Yugoslavia, 23 January 1942 - Yad Vashem

Novi Sad in modern-day Serbia - Britannica

The New York Times, 9 Nov. 1936

Novi Sad Massacre

Sandor Kepiro

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