Theater portrait Helga Deen

A penetrating performance, based on the diary and letters of this young Jewish woman in WW2.

After several successful performances in 2020, 2024 and 2025, theater portrait Helga Deen is coming to Oisterwijk! In 2007 the book 'Dit is om nooit meer te vergeten, dagboek en brieven van Helga Deen - 1943' was published under the editorship of the Regionaal Archief Tilburg. This publication paints a picture of this 18-year-old Jewish schoolgirl and her brief love affair with the Tilburg painter-to-be Kees van den Berg. The Deen family fled Germany at the rise of National Socialism in 1933 and sought refuge with relatives in Tilburg. The performance tells about the last period of Helga Deen's life. Through memories, thoughts and dreams the tragic history of 'the Anne Frank of Tilburg' unfolds in play and song. Helga Deen is about hope, desire and the power of love, because: 'If you don't love, your happiness is gone and you yourself are gone. By loving there is hope.' H.D.

In April 2025 Helga Deen's diary was added to the UNESCO list of documentary heritage, the Dutch Memory of the World list. A confirmation of the great historical value of her authentic diary.

Helga Deen often came to Oisterwijk. She was friends with Hanneke Gerritsen and went for walks with her and friends at the Belversven. Her grandparents and 3 generations before them are buried in Oisterwijk at the Jewish cemetery. Helga was murdered with her little brother Klaus and her parents in Sobibor on July 16, 1943.

This performance does not include an intermission.