By Maggie Downs
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Each speaker placed a rose into a glass vase in the center of the stage. It was for all the roses never sent, all the roses never received.

Deborah Netanel and Andrew Miller perform on cello and piano during the Forbidden Sights and Sounds: Nazi Suppression of Art and Culture multimedia performance at the Cincinnati Art Museum Sunday afternoon. (Steven M. Herppich photo)

The show Forbidden Sights and Sounds: Nazi Suppression of Art and Culture, at the Cincinnati Art Museum on Sunday, was a multimedia performance of banned art and music during the Nazi regime in World War II Germany.

The program included selections from composers Gideon Klein, Erwin Schulhoff, Arnold Schoenberg, Wilhelm Grosz and Billy Strayhorn - all "degenerate music," according to the Nazis.

Music was performed by faculty and student musicians at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Guest narrators were from throughout the community.

The event, a highlight of Holocaust Awareness Weeks, was put on by the Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Clifton.

It was a particularly moving event for Dick Weiland, president of the center, especially on the 60th anniversary of D-Day.

"When you think about what the war meant ..." he said, trailing off. "I was crying. A few times."

This year's theme for Holocaust Awareness Weeks, which began April 12, was "Facing Prejudice," since prejudice was at the heart of the persecution of millions during the Holocaust.

It was an educational event for jazz musician William Menefield, one of the guest narrators.

"I was interested to see that the oppression wasn't limited to the Jewish people. The discrimination was so deep, it penetrated to music as well. I had no idea it was so intricate," he said.

The show addressed the censorship of many kinds of art, from book burnings and banned visual art to the many songs and compositions that were silenced. More than 100 people turned out to see what was once ignored.

"I'm interested in politics, and I'm interested in art and the relationship between art and politics," said Mel Cohen of Clifton. "I'm interested in what politics can do to art and how art can respond to politics. That's what brought me here."

The original concert was done in honor of Henry Meyer, a former member of the La Salle Quartet and an Auschwitz survivor. He was recently inducted into the Classical Music Hall of Fame.

During a standing ovation, Meyer received the bouquet of roses on stage at the end of the show.

Other activities

• Facing Prejudice exhibit opening

When: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 21 to July 31.

Where: Tangeman University Center on the University of Cincinnati main campus, Clifton.

Information: (513) 556-1700.

• Mapping Our Tears permanent exhibit

When: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday or by appointment.

Where: Mayerson Hall, Skirball Museum, at Hebrew Union College, Clifton.

Information: (513) 221-1875, extension 355.

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E-mail mdowns@enquirer.com