Houses by the Lakes – A Holocaust Memorial Day Concert

This Holocaust Memorial concert marks a double anniversary. It is 85 years since the pivotal meeting to discuss the logistics of the ‘Final Solution to the Jewish Question’ took place, in a palatial building on the banks of Lake Wannsee, and 100 years since The Alexander Haus, a more modest but equally significant property a few miles further north, was built. The narrative of the concert weaves the stories of these two historic lakeside buildings. The Alexander Haus on the banks of the Gross Glienicke lake, was the summer retreat of a prominent Jewish medical family. Forced to flee their homeland, the house fell into the hands of the Gestapo and was subsequently the residence of a varied cast of characters. The author, and descendant of the Alexander family, Thomas Harding wrote a bestselling account of this story entitled The House by the Lake. In 2013 he led a project to save the abandoned building from demolition and instigated a remarkable renovation to the property that has seen it recognised as an official monument by the State of Brandenberg and is now a vibrant centre for education and reconciliation.