The Blumenfeld Family

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‎Epilogue

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Fumagalli

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‎See also

Fumagalli Video (2003)

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Created page with "Fumagalli & Daris, table entrée, at the 30th International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo (2003) — ''Document: FR3 – France Televisions'' {{#ev:vimeo|1224120521|..."

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Fumagalli & Daris, table entrée, at the 30th [[International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo]] (2003) — ''Document: FR3 – France Televisions''

{{#ev:vimeo|1224120521|740}}

==See Also==

* Biography: [[Fumagalli]]

[[Category:Video Archive|Fumagalli]]

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 [[File:Barnum_and_Bailey_-_Germany.png|thumb|right|300px|Barnum & Bailey Poster for its German Tour (1900)]]Meanwhile, [[Wilhelm Hagenbeck]], the son of German wild animal importer [[The Hagenbeck Dynasty|Carl Hagenbeck]] (1844-1913), the most important animal dealer of his time (he provided animals to zoos and circuses worldwide), had started a traveling circus in 1887 that included an important menagerie of exotic and wild animals&mdash;some of which were presented performing in the show&mdash;as well of exhibitions of exotic tribes from the "mysterious" lands of Africa, Asia, and even America (with tribes of Native Americans).
-Ten years later, in 1897, the giant American [[Barnum and Bailey Circus]] began an extended European tour that lasted until 1905. Its enormous menagerie impressed European audiences at a time when colonial expansion had intensified public fascination with everything exotic, particularly animals. It encouraged German circuses and traveling menagerie owners such as Carl Krone to follow Hagenbeck's example and develop into the circus-menagerie enterprises that would characterize the German circus industry until World War II.
+Ten years later, in 1897, the giant American [[Barnum and Bailey Circus]] began an extended European tour that lasted until 1905. Its enormous menagerie impressed European audiences at a time when colonial expansion had intensified public fascination with everything exotic, particularly animals. It encouraged German circuses and traveling menagerie owners such as [[Carl Krone]] to follow Hagenbeck's example and develop into the circus-menagerie enterprises that would characterize the German circus industry until World War II.
 The Blumenfelds were no exception to this trend. In 1912, the brothers added a menagerie to their previously equestrian circus and began to present animal acts other than horses. They acquired four elephants and a collection of exotic and wild animals that included a hippopotamus, but they refrained from presenting cage acts in their programs until 1936. Their important stables were still full, and their renowned equestrian acts remained their circus's main attraction.
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 [[File:Geb._Blumenfeld.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Alfons, Alex & Arthur Blumenfeld (c.1920)]]They purchased a large two-pole circus tent, 44 meters in diameter (approximately 144 feet) and with a capacity of 2,000 people. This made their circus a major enterprise&mdash;although it would soon pale in comparison to giants like [[Circus Krone|Krone]], [[Circus Sarrasani|Sarrasani]], [[Circus Gleich|Gleich]], and even the circus of their Strassburger cousins. Alex, Alfons, and Arthur Blumenfeld could rely on their large family for support: Their brothers, Fritz and Alfred, took care of the administrative aspects of the circus, and Eugen supervised the always important concessions department. Other family members were also available to help and perform in the show.
-The new Blumenfeld Circus made its debut in Dessau, not far from Magdeburg, on April 3, 1920. The show featured many family members: Alfons presented liberty acts with Amanda Lorch. Willy appeared in a high-school presentation with his sister-in-law and cousin Victoria (Arthur’s wife), and also doubled as the clown Kucki. Arthur, riding a horse, presented two trained bulls. Of course, there were also many hired performers in the show, including a team of acrobats and a motorcycle stunt act. In November,  the Blumenfeld brothers returned to their circus in Magdeburg for the winter season, which at long last returned to hosting circus shows.
+The new Blumenfeld Circus made its debut in Dessau, not far from Magdeburg, on April 3, 1920. The show featured many family members: Alfons presented liberty acts with Amanda Lorch. Willy appeared in a high-school presentation with his sister-in-law and cousin Victoria (Arthur’s wife), and also doubled as the clown Kucki. Arthur, riding a horse, presented two trained bulls. Of course, there were also many hired performers in the show, including a team of acrobats and a motorcycle stunt act. In November,  the Blumenfeld brothers returned for the winter season to their circus in Magdeburg, which at long last reverted to hosting circus shows.
 The years immediately following the war were marked by the Spanish flu pandemic, which claimed the lives of about fifty million people worldwide, and Europe was not spared. Yet, after a long and devastating war that killed around twenty million people, European audiences were eager for escapist entertainment. Pandemic or not, the interwar years proved to be exceptionally favorable for circuses and variety shows. The Blumenfelds, like other circus owners, benefited from this sudden enthusiasm. However, the interwar years also brought major economic problems.
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 During the war, Germany had experienced severe inflation, with prices doubling almost instantly. To address this problem, the Kaiser’s government abandoned its gold-backed currency, expecting that Germany would win the war. That was not the outcome however, and the postwar Weimar government had to pay considerable reparations to the Allies in gold-backed currency. This led to an economic domino effect resulting in hyperinflation: The Mark collapsed, and by 1922, prices had risen by 700%!
-[[File:Zirkus_Blumenfeld_in_Magdeburg.jpg|thumb|left|400px|Zirkus Blumenfeld in Magdeburg (1914)]]However, after years of successful touring and well-organized performances, the Magdeburg Blumenfelds had become relatively wealthy. Like most European traveling circus families, they didn’t keep all their money in the bank. They followed the traditional practice of converting their wealth into gold or diamonds, which they kept hidden in their mobile homes. But if the depreciation of the Mark didn’t affect their accumulated wealth, then the money they earned in Germany was worthless. For many German circuses, the solution was to travel abroad to replenish their coffers. Sarrasani went to South America, Krone and Gleich traveled throughout Europe...
+[[File:Zirkus_Blumenfeld_in_Magdeburg.jpg|thumb|left|400px|Zirkus Blumenfeld in Magdeburg (1914)]]However, after years of successful touring and well-managed enterprises, the Magdeburg Blumenfelds had become relatively wealthy. Like most European traveling circus families, they didn’t keep all their money in the bank. They followed the traditional practice of converting their wealth into gold or diamonds, which they kept hidden in their mobile homes. But if the depreciation of the Mark didn’t affect their accumulated wealth, then the money they earned in Germany was worthless. For many German circuses, the solution was to travel abroad to replenish their coffers. Sarrasani went to South America, Krone and Gleich traveled throughout Europe...
 Similarly, the Blumenfelds looked beyond Germany. They visited the Baltic States and rented out some of their animal and equestrian acts abroad. In 1925-1926, they even toured their animal acts in Russia's circus buildings. Since circuses, like all performing arts, were nationalized by the new Soviet government in 1919, Russia’s ten resident circuses&mdash;including two in Moscow&mdash;needed artists to fill their programs. With a shortage of Russian performers (the new State Circus and Variety College hadn’t yet produced many of them), the Soviet Committee for the Arts turned to Germany, one of the few countries with which Russia still maintained good relations. The Blumenfelds seized this opportunity.
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 Alfons Blumenfeld also emigrated to Paris in December 1938, together with his wife Olympia, née Könyot. Like his brother Alex, Alfons was there with his wife when the war broke out and Germany occupied France. They were immediately arrested by the French police; Olympia was interned in the camp of Rivesaltes, near Perpignan in southwestern France, and Alfons was interned in the concentration camp of Bram, near Carcassonne, and later transferred to Drancy. Both were finally sent to Auschwitz, where they were killed.
-Their daughter Ruth, who had married to [[The Berousek Family|Ludwig Berouzek]], scion of a famous Czech circus dynasty, was deported to Auschwitz, where she was killed in 1942. (Ludwig, whom she had divorced, had emigrated to the United States.) Before being arrested, Ruth had put their daughter, Vardia, in the care of a French family: Vardia survived the war.
+Their daughter Ruth, who had married [[The Berousek Family|Ludwig Berouzek]], scion of a famous Czech circus dynasty, was deported to Auschwitz, where she was killed in 1942. (Ludwig, whom she had previously divorced, had emigrated to the United States.) Before being arrested, Ruth had put their daughter, Vardia, in the care of a French family: Vardia survived the war.
 Arthur Blumenfeld and his wife Victoria (also born Blumenfeld) and his two daughters Rita and Eva, settled in Berlin in 1933. Playing with the unusual similarity of their family names, Victoria managed to register herself as an adopted child of unknown Aryan origin. Their union became therefore a "mixed marriage," which made the family safe from deportation, even though the German authorities subjected Arthur to the usual discrimination, like forced labor and the wearing of the Jewish yellow star. But they survived...
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 [[File:Circus_Arthur_Blumenfeld.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Circus Blumenfeld in Berlin (1946)]]At first, Arthur presented the circus’s only four horses, and the modest program featured a hand-to-hand trio, a perch-pole balancing act, and a magician&mdash;nothing exceptional, but fitting for the times. The circus was making money, however, and by December Victoria could report that they "already had four bears, six horses, and several buffalos." In September 1948, Arthur marked his fifty years in the ring, though there were no public celebrations: The Circus Blumenfeld of 1948 was no longer the eminent circus of the pre-Nazi era, and it performed primarily for Allied troops and charitable organizations such as orphanages.
-By then, there were already two resident circuses in Barlin: Paula Busch had just opened a circus in the old planetarium of the Zoological Gardens in West Berlin, and [[Harry Barlay]] had erected a large "construction" on Friedrichstraße, among the ruins of Berlin Mitte, then located in the Soviet zone of Berlin. Yet, the Blumenfelds, who were touring within the city&mdash;which didn't go without its share of problems&mdash;were very competent circus directors and could have prospered enough to take the road again.
+By then, there were already two resident circuses in Berlin: Paula Busch had just opened a circus in the old planetarium of the Zoological Gardens in West Berlin, and [[Harry Barlay]] had erected a large "construction" on Friedrichstraße, among the ruins of Berlin Mitte, then located in the Soviet zone of Berlin. Yet, the Blumenfelds, who were touring within the city&mdash;which didn't go without its share of problems&mdash;were very competent circus directors and could have prospered enough to take the road again.
 Unfortunately, the Blockade of Berlin started on June 23, 1948, and, in an already uneasy situation, major problems began to arise, notably to find food for the animals&mdash;for which the three circuses had to resort to a very expensive black market. Eventually, some animals had to be given away, and a few horses had even to be killed. The financial situation of the three circuses was dismal, even more so for the Blumenfelds, who had re-started from scratch and didn't have the resources of Paula Busch or Harry Barley.

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 ==New Videos==
 * [[Ariz_Bros_Video_(1983)|The Ariz Brothers]], banquine (1983)
 * [[Les_Chicky_Video_(1983)|Les Chicky]], clown entrée (1983)
 * [[The_Astoris_Video_(1975)|The Astoris]], Aerial Perch (1975)
 * [[Evelyn_and_André_Interview_(2025)|Evelyn & André]] Interview by the Fővárosi Nagycirkusz (2025)
 ==New Oral Histories==

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 * Video: [[Fuma_Boys_Video_(2001)|The Fuma Boys, comedy acrobatics]], at Circus Fumagalli (2001)
 * Video: [[Fuma_Boys_Monte_Carlo_Video_(2001)|The Fuma Boys, comedy acrobatics]], at the International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo (2001)
-* Video: [[Fumagalli Interview 2007| Fumagalli Interview]] with Dominique Jando, 2007
+* Video: [[Fumagalli_Video_(2003)|Fumagalli & Daris, table entrée]], at the International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo (2006)
-* Video: [[Fumagalli and Davis Little Bee BAC Video 2007|Fumagalli & Davis, "Little Bee" entrée]], in the Big Apple Circus production of ''Celebrate'' (2007)
+* Video: [[Fumagalli Interview 2007| Fumagalli Interview]] with Dominique Jando (2007)
-* Video: [[Fumagalli and Davis Table BAC Video 2007|Fumagalli & Davis, Table Act]], in the Big Apple Circus production of ''Celebrate'' (2007)
+* Video: [[Fumagalli and Davis Little Bee BAC Video 2007|Fumagalli & Davis, "Little Bee" entrée]], at the Big Apple Circus (2007)
-* Video: [[Fumagalli_Video_(2015)|Fumagalli & Davis, "Little Bee" entrée]], at the 39th International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo (2015)
+* Video: [[Fumagalli and Davis Table BAC Video 2007|Fumagalli & Davis, Table Act]], at the Big Apple Circus (2007)
-* Video: [[Fuma_Boys_Video_(2015)|The Fuma Boys, comedy acrobatics]], at the 39th International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo (2015)
+* Video: [[Fumagalli_Video_(2015)|Fumagalli & Davis, "Little Bee" entrée]], at the International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo (2015)
 ==Image Gallery==

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