Magic at War

This two-part blog is published on the first anniversary of Werner Reich’s death (8 Jul 22). An amateur magician, he discovered magic during a chance encounter with a professional magician in the Auschwitz concentration camp. In this remarkable story, we learn how Reich survived the Holocaust and developed a lifelong interest in magic... Werner Reich (c1941) (Source: Werner Reich) Early years and arrest   Werner Reich was a German Jew. Born on 1 October 1927, he grew up in a suburb of Berlin. In 1933, when Werner was six-years-old, Adolf Hitler came to power. Regulations restricting Jewish freedoms followed, including the infamous Nuremberg Laws. Persecution led to Werner’s father losing his job, so the family emigrated to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in southeast Europe. The family settled in Zagreb and Werner spent his early school years there, free from anti-Semitism.  Werner Reich and his sister in Yugoslavia (c1934) (Source: Werner Reich) As World War Two took hold from...

As the festive season approaches, families around the world will be settling in to watch some classic Christmas movies. Among more modern selections, many will revisit It's a Wonderful Life . Routinely voted to be one of the greatest films of all time, this 1946 film stars American actor James Maitland Stewart (1908-1997).  James Stewart (c1948) (Source: Creative Commons Licence) When Stewart was growing up in Indiana (Pennsylvania, USA) he was good friends with Bill Neff. By his mid-teens, Neff was a budding magician and the pair developed a magic act. They built many of their own tricks and illusions, with help from Stewart's father who ran a hardware store. Stewart interned as Neff's assistant, later becoming a magician in his own right. The pair's magical career was helped, briefly, by magician Jack Gwynne. "He was my first director," Stewart later said. James Stewart (seated) with Bill Neff (Source: Public domain) Another photograph of James Stewart  (lef...

In this blog, Walt Williams, a non-magician serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps, is shot down over Germany. Captured and sent to Stalag Luft 17B, he makes a secret radio to keep his fellows POWs informed about the world outside the wire. Later, he discovers a magic book in the camp library, which inspires him to become a magician after the war, an interest in which he achieves notable success.  In July 1942, not long after America entered World War Two, Walter F. Williams, Jr. (1922 - 2013), joined the U.S. Army Air Corps.  After completing 14-months of training to qualify as an enlisted (or non-commissioned) aircrew-man for B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers, he  shipped over to England to join the fight against Germany and the Axis Powers. Assigned to the 324th Squadron of the 91st Bomb Group (Heavy), in the Eighth Air Force, Williams was part of a 10-man B-17 crew. His initial few months of bombing missions proceeded without significant incidents. Then, on 31st December...

Englishman Oswald Rae (1892-1967) made his first professional appearance as a magician in 1912. Three years later, d uring World War One, he joined the Royal Engineers. While on active service, Rae gave over 500 magic performances in France, boosting morale for thousands of worn-down troops. He was personally thanked and complimented by General Lord Plumer, commander of Britain’s Second Army on the Western Front. After the war, Rae served in Germany with the Army of Occupation until he was demobilised.    Oswald Rae (Source: Creative commons licence) On his return from Germany, Rae joined a concert party at Exmouth, England, and stayed with them until 1921 when he became manager of DeMond’s Concert Party Enterprises, Skegness. He continued with them in 1922, before going into variety theatre the next year. Often billed as  ‘ The Bewildering Humorist ’ his credits included performances before British and foreign royalty. Poster advertising Oswald  Rae (Source: Pu...