International Day of Holocaust Remembrance and Prevention of Crimes Against Humanity

In honor of the International Day of Holocaust Remembrance, U.S. Embassy Zagreb presents the film Lea & Darija.  The film involves two young girls – Lea Deutsch and Darija Gasteiger - who were popular theater stars before World War II.  

This film shows the glory days of theatre in Croatia before the war, with the joy of the two girls as they studied tap dance.  Unfortunately, their lives and careers were interrupted by the War.  Lea, who was Jewish, was banned from both her school and her theatre because of anti-Semitic policies in Croatia.  Lea, her mother, and her brother were deported.  They died on the train to Auschwitz.  As Darija's family were Germans, they left Croatia and never worked in theatre or danced again. 

This film tells the story of these two girls, whose dancing was inspired by Fred Astaire, and whose own dancing inspired countless others to tell their story.  The film will open in Croatian cinemas on February 2, 2012.