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Lives in the Yiddish Theatre

The Fischer Family
Warszawa, Poland
before World War II


Liza Barska Fischer

"My grandparents Liza Barska and Herman Fischer and their three children were very active in the Yiddish theatre in pre-war Warsaw. My father Boris, or Bruce as he was known in the United States, was one of their children. He was the only member of the family not to appear on stage. He managed to immigrate to the United States in September 1938, barely escaping the fate that befell many Jews not long after.

My father's parents, along with his sisters
Luba and Anka, all perished in the Holocaust. Herman and Liza met in Odessa while Herman was there on tour with the United Troupe, the first Yiddish troupe of Warsaw. They married a short time later and then moved to Warsaw where they made a name for themselves in the Yiddish theatre. Herman was a director of Yiddish plays, and Liza was a character actress. Herman was also one of the founders of the Hebrew Actors Union in Warsaw.

Their daughters Anka and Luba also acted in Yiddish theatre. Luba, who was married to the famous Polish actor Jacek Woszczerowicz, also appeared in films using the name Eliza Fischer or Luba Ditris. Anka, also known as Anna, appeared as a singer of American jazz songs in a Warsaw cafe in 1941, where just three days before, Wladyslaw Szpilman, the man whose story was told in the movie "The Pianist" had performed. My father Bruce didn't talk very often about his family because of the overwhelming sadness it brought. I always wished they too could have immigrated and had the opportunity to live their extraordinary lives here in the United States. I would love to have known them, spend time with them, surrounded by their love, and to listen to them tell stories about their experiences in Poland and the Yiddish theatre of Warsaw."
next, Luba Fischer
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Listen to the above text as told by Connie, Liza and Herman's granddaughter.

   

Listen to Liza singing "Wieg Lied von Joschke Muzykant (Lullaby from Yoshke the Musician)," followed by "...Jenke Dudel," cir 1913.

more fischer family photos


Liza Barska Fischer
in Solomon Ettinger's
"Serkele"
Warszawa, Poland

Liza Barska Fischer
in 'Rumanian' role

Liza and
Herman Fischer
cir early 1920s
Warszawa, Poland

Liza's husband Herman Fischer, seated far right, reading the newspaper, with the founders of the Hebrew Actors Union
Warszawa, Poland
cir early 1920s

daughter/performer
Anka (Anna) Fischer

Warszawa, Poland

1938


daughter/actress
Luba Fischer
Warszawa, Poland
1930s

 

 

 

 




 


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