Paris to Auschwitz

In his twilight years, Michel is faced with the painful loss of his parents, severing his last living link to his family's history - a history steeped in the horrors of the Holocaust. His grandparents, victims of the infamous Vel' d'Hiv Roundup, alongside aunts, cousins, and countless others, were swallowed by the Shoah's abyss, their absence a constant, silent reminder of a past devastated.

Driven by a deep longing to understand and reconnect with his lost family, Michel embarks on a painstaking endeavor to reconstruct their final journey. This task extends beyond retracing a path - it involves imagining their lives and experiences during the ominous months leading up to their eventual disappearance.

Accompanying Michel is Claude Rosen, a famous producer, who, like Michel, is haunted by his own specters of the Holocaust. Claude's mother was arrested in a brutal raid, but not before she managed to hide her son, her courageous defiance serving as a diversion.

Their journey of discovery and remembrance is portrayed on a theatre stage, symbolized by a dilapidated boxcar. This poignant set mirrors the dehumanizing transportation used to ferry victims during the Holocaust. Through clever use of lighting, the audience is transported into the boxcar as it makes its harrowing three-day journey from Paris to Auschwitz. They bear witness to the fragile and deeply human moments of Michel's family members and fellow passengers.

The raw emotions, haunting experiences, and heartfelt testimonies of these lost lives, accompanied by the incessant cacophony of the moving boxcar and desperate cries of survival, leave indelible imprints on the soul, much like the tattooed numbers etched on the arms of the victims of the Holocaust.

However, the play serves not just as a tearful memorial of past atrocities, but also as a powerful commentary on contemporary societal prejudices. It underscores the resurgence of hate in various forms - racism, antisemitism, homophobia, ageism, ableism, and more. The Wagon, a symbol of persistent discrimination and intolerance, is regrettably still in motion within humanity's heart, emphasizing the urgent need for recognition of our shared history and the pursuit of a more empathetic, inclusive future.