Art in Hiding

Germaine Tillion, a leader in the French resistance movement, wrote the operetta "Le Verfügbar aux enfers" (The Available One in Hell) as a prisoner of the Nazis in the concentration camp in Ravensbrück in north-eastern Germany.

The piece, which was never intended for performance, is a combination of folk music, operas, operettas and classical tunes and Tillion's original texts and choreography.

Staunchly against making any contribution to the Nazi war effort, Tillion was hidden by her fellow prisoners and wrote a large portion of the operetta's 104-page manuscript from her hideout in a box.

"Le Verfügbar aux enfers" deals with the humiliation of daily life in a concentration camp, where Tillion was brought in 1943. Its title, which incorporates the German word "Verfügbar" into the French, refers to the group of prisoners Tillion was placed in by the Nazis. She and her fellow prisoners weren't given set jobs, rather they were dubbed "available" and assigned to any task their captives needed.

Tillion celebrates 100

Tillion, who turned 100 this week, had made a name for herself as an ethnologist and was conducting research in Algeria when the war began. She returned to occupied France in 1940 and joined the resistance movement shortly thereafter.

She was arrested by the Nazis in 1942 and sent to Ravensbrück the following year along with her mother, who later lost her life in a gas chamber.

After the war, Tillion published numerous books and essays on the Ravensbrück concentration camp and the resistance movement. She has received multiple awards for her involvement in the resistance, including the Federal Cross of Merit in both France and Germany.