Let's break out! The Justman Project

Timna Brauer and her musicians, together with two actors from the ensemble, explore the incredible survival story of the Polish Jew Leokadia Justman.Born into a Jewish family in 1922,Justmanescaped the Warsaw Ghetto, made her way to Innsbruck, and worked under false identities, but was eventually betrayed and imprisoned. Her father Jakob was murdered in the Reichenau camp in 1944; Leokadia managed to escape from the police prison near the train station—which had been partially destroyed by bombs—in January 1945. She survived the war and the Holocaust and later emigrated to New York.

As early as 1945 in Innsbruck, Leokadia wrote down her memoirs in Polish; it was not until January 2025 that “Brechen wir aus!” was published in German. A major collaborative research project at the University of Innsbruck reconstructed Justman’s story, made the publication possible, and culminated, among other things, in an exhibition at the Tiroler Landhaus. The text itself is significant not only for its numerous and multifaceted connections to Tyrolean history but also as an impressive literary work that challenges us anew today with regard to democracy and human rights.

This joint project by the Tiroler Landestheater and musik+ in collaboration with the University of Innsbruck addresses this important issue through the medium of theater and music. A staged musical reading on February 19, 2026, at the Kammerspiele, bringing together members of the theater ensemble with musicians from musik+, is just the beginning of a series of joint events at various locations that will bring Justman’s life and work to life and ensure we never forget them.

Cooperation between the University of Innsbruck and musik+