About

Behind the battles of the Second World War are extraordinary stories of magicians who entertained troops, fought on the frontlines, helped on the Home Front, endured captivity and found unexpected uses for their skills.

Magic at War explores those stories. From makeshift stages near the front line to theatres behind barbed wire, it follows professional performers and amateur conjurers whose lives were transformed by war. Some brought laughter and relief to exhausted servicemen and women. Others used magic to build friendships, preserve hope or help them survive.

Drawing on contemporary accounts, photographs, memoirs and historical research, the blog examines both celebrated names and people whose stories deserve to be better known. Its main focus is the Second World War, with occasional journeys into earlier conflicts and the lasting influence of wartime magic.

The aim is to tell compelling human stories while distinguishing documented events from the myths that sometimes surround them.

New here? Visit the article index to explore the collection.

If you have a photograph, programme, family memory or correction that could add to these histories, please get in touch using the blog’s contact form.

If you want to use any of the images or text, please ask permission first.

Popular posts from this blog

Entertaining Hitler: Gogia Pasha, the gilly-gilly man (and war worker)

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Gogia Pasha (1910-1976) fooled the world by pretending to be an Egyptian for most of his career. In fact, he was born Danpat Rai Gogia in British India.  Gogia originally trained as a doctor and had studied medicine in Cairo and Edinburgh. But, he abandoned medicine to turn to the stage. Donning a turban and a set of brightly coloured robes, Gogia adopted the persona of a 'gilly-gilly' (or ‘gali-gali’) man, after the Egyptian slang for magic.    He became an established act, touring internationally with a large troupe, mostly his family; and even appearing in several movies.   According to historian John Zubrzycki: “ Gogia’s shows combined comedy, comment and humorous patter with tricks, and incorporated dancers between sets. His signature acts included cups and balls, producing live chickens from his mouth and a levitation feat where his assistant was placed upon the points of three swords, two of which were removed, leaving only one under her neck to supp...
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Magic at the movies

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During wartime, cinema remained an extremely popular pastime. In Britain alone, between 25 and 30 million cinema tickets were sold each week.  Movies provided war-weary audiences an escape from the turbulence and sacrifice of war, while also providing an opportunity for nations to boost morale, through government-funded propaganda films.  The epic American film  Gone With The Wind  (1940) was the smash hit of the war, but British films such as  In Which We Serve  (1942) and  Millions Like Us  (1943) were also highly successful.     Magic-related plots, scenes, or magician characters were a steady feature in films released during World War Two. Here's a selection : The Magician's Daughter (1938). Playing in British cinemas in the summer of 1939, as war was breaking out across Europe, The Magician's Daughter is a 'movie short' made by MGM Pictures.  Billed as a "miniatu re musical" the title character falls in love with a magaz...
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The Magician of Stalag Luft III (Part 3)

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Part 3 of a three-part blog telling the compelling story of John Casson, magician, navy pilot, and Stalag Luft III prisoner-of-war. His part in The Great Escape and how magic and performing helped him and others survive captivity. In this part, Casson's arrives at Stalag Luft III, where he becomes a leading producer of camp entertainment, continues sending coded messages to M.I.9 and supports The Great Escape. The Stalag Luft III commandant provides an additional introduction to this blog, with this quote: “The [POWs] were always pitting their brains against our camp systems, more or less on the lines of each man being an individual magician working out a trick to escape. This meant that in the camps we were faced with a lot of brainy young conjurors who had plenty of time in which to work out their various tricks against us…”  Showtime   In early April 1942, Lieutenant Commander John Casson was transferred to Stalag Luft III, a newly built  Luftwaffe -sponsore...
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Miss Blanche: 'The Lady Magician' uses magic to survive Nazi experiments

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This is the amazing survival story of Miss Blanche (aka Ruth Iris Wachsmann) who was one of the leading female magicians in pre-war Europe. An expert manipulator, she headlined in venues across the continent, until war intervened... Ruth Iris Wachsmann was a German Jew. Born in Berlin on 1 September 1910, she first trained as a ballerina. In her mid-teens, after seeing a performance by Austro-Hungarian magician Larette (Cornelius Hauer), she switched from dancing to magic. Wachsmann became Larette's student, and she learned the art of manipulation. She could manipulate billiard balls and playing cards, but showed special aptitude for cigarette manipulation. Miss Blanche, performing cigarette manipulation, 1936 (Source: Artefake) Inspired by a brand of cigarettes designed to appeal to female smokers by the Rotterdam-based Vittoria Egyptian Cigarette Company, she adopted the stage name Miss Blanche. Larette was sponsored by Miss Blanche cigarettes and helped promote Wachsmann as anot...
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Punx: A POW magician in Wales (and the story of the friendship clock)

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A German magician in a Welsh prisoner-of-war camp discovers how the brotherhood and art of magic can transcend war. Some of the magicians who served as sailors, soldiers and airmen in World War Two, inevitably became prisoners-of-war (POW). Those serving with the Allied Powers ended up in the hands of the Axis Powers led by Nazi Germany, the Empire of Japan and Fascist Italy, or vice versa. The majority of POWs from the Axis Powers were captured by the Soviet Union, who held 3 million POWs in thousands of camps. Others were captured and held by the Western Allies and dispersed throughout the world. In Britain, at its peak, there  were 390 major POW camps  to house half a million POWs or surrendered enemy personnel (SEP).  Another 400,000 prisoners were sent to the U.S.A.  Countries in the British Empire, such as Australia, Canada and India, also took in POWs. On e Axis soldier to end up incarcerated in Britain, was a German magician called Ludwig Hanemann. Ludwig Fra...
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"Don't be fright!": radio magician's catchphrase helps reassure the nation

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Sirdani was the most popular magician to entertain on British radio during World War Two.  Over the airwaves, he entertained millions of people, bringing  light   relief  to dark times. Although he played the role of an Egyptian gilly-gilly man, Sirdani's real name was Sid Daniels. He was born in Mile End, London in 1899. World War One broke out when Daniels was 16 years old.  Like many others, he enlisted by falsifying his age. He went on to serve in three campaigns, in West Africa, German East Africa and France.  A keen amateur magician, Daniels used to mystify his fellow soldiers in the trenches with his tricks. It was when shells came whining over just as he was in the middle of a particularly interesting bit of magic that he originated his famous phrase, "Don't be fright" . After his discharge from the army, Daniels took up magic full-time. He adopted the name Sirdani and the persona of an Egyptian gilly-gilly man.   Early in his career he perform...
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Paul Potassy: "Magic saved my life"

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In this incredible  personal  story, magician Paul Potassy gives a thrilling first-hand account of how magic literally saved his life during winter operations in World War Two...  Austrian by birth, Paul Potassy (Paul Ludwig Alexander of Potassy) (1923-2018) developed an early interest in magic and was performing in cabaret and other public venues before he finished high school. With the German annexation of Austria in 1938, the family was relocated to Berlin, where Paul got to see many top magic acts of the day. He went on to university to study engineering. But, he wanted to become a professional magician and, in 1940, he joined the German Magic Circle as its youngest member.  Soon after, World War Two intervened to halt his plans. He was conscripted into the Germany Army in November 1941 and sent off to complete his basic military training on the Eastern Front. Paul Potassy in military uniform (1942) (Source: 'Heroes of Magic' by John Fisher) Fifteen months later,...
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The Magician of Stalag Luft III (Part 1)

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In my longest blog so far, the compelling story of John Casson, magician, navy pilot, and Stalag Luft III prisoner-of-war. His part in The Great Escape and how magic and performing helped him and others survive captivity ... Early life Born in 1909, John Casson was the eldest son of Lewis Casson and Sybil Thorndike. His father was an English actor and theatre director, who earned a Military Cross in World War One. Sybil Thorndike was a legendary English actress. Both parents enjoyed tremendous success as dramatic actors, with Lewis knighted and Sybil becoming a dame for their services to the arts. During World War Two, Lewis Casson served as president of the British Actors' Equity Association and drama director for the Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts (C.E.M.A., later to become the Arts Council). In sum, John Casson came from strong acting stock. But, he showed no interest in acting or performing until, a ged 20, when his uncle taught him a few simple magic trick...
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