We Will Never Die

We Will Never Die was a dramatic pageant staged before an audience of 40,000 at Madison Square Garden on March 9, 1943, to raise public awareness of the ongoing mass murder of Europe's Jews. It was organized and written by screenwriter and author Ben Hecht and produced by Billy Rose and Ernst Lubitsch. The musical score was composed by Kurt Weill (1900-1950), and staged by Moss Hart (1904-1961), a leading Broadway producer. The pageant starred Edward G. Robinson, Sylvia Sidney and Paul Muni and subsequently traveled to other cities nationwide.

"Out of frustration over American policy and outrage at Hollywood's fear of offending its European markets," screenwriter and author Ben Hecht, in January 1942, held a dinner with numerous Jewish writers and others in the arts to focus attention on the plight of Europe's Jewish population which was then being decimated by Germany's Nazis. Composer Kurt Weill and producer Moss Hart immediately volunteered to help in any way they could, with Weill stating, "Please count on me for everything."

They first tried to produce a show called Fight for Freedom but gave up due to lack of funds. Finally, a pageant was produced, We Will Never Die, which was performed on March 9, 1943, in front of 40,000 spectators at Madison Square Garden. As part of the performance, "hundreds of voices were raised in prayer and song" to remind people about what was then happening to Europe's Jewish population, writes author Steven Bach. Two hundred rabbis and two hundred cantors invoked various prayers on stage. There were narrations and performances by Jewish stars, including Edward G. Robinson, Paul Muni, Sylvia Sidney, and John Garfield, and by non-Jewish stars such as Ralph Bellamy, Frank Sinatra and Burgess Meredith.

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