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Looking for a Monster - The Documentary


Hanus Hachenburg was a prodigal poet and writer in wartime Czechoslovakia. In 1943, while a thirteen year old prisoner in Theresienstadt (Terezin) concentration camp, he wrote a puppet play, 'We are Looking for a Monster', but it was never performed.

Hanus was born in Prague on 12 July 1929. He is described as a thin, timid, brilliant boy who wrote poetry daily. He began writing while still at school. Hanus attended the Yachymova Ulitze (Jewish School) in Prague. When the Munich Accord was instituted in 1938 and Jewish movement was severely restricted, his mother moved nine-year old Hanus into the Jewish Orphanage in Prague, with hopes for a better life for him. He lived in the Belgicka Orphanage for five years before being deported to Terezin, an ante-chamber to Auschwitz. His short life ended in the Family-Camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau on 12 July 1944, the day he turned fifteen.

Puppeteer and filmmaker, Gary Friedman discovered Hanus’ play in a Jerusalem archive in 1999 and two years later, fulfilled a pledge he had made to Hanus. He mounted an acclaimed stage show in Cape Town, South Africa, performing the play for the very first time.

The puppet play was filmed in Sydney in 2008 and is part of a documentary film based on the project. 
To browse our 'Looking for a Monster' website click here!
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