Magic at War

Dutch magician and illusionist The Great Cortini got caught up in the war in the Far East and ended up a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese. He used his magic skills to boost the morale of his fellow POWs and to survive the brutal and harsh conditions of captivity and hard labour. Note: This blog was updated in October 2022 with additional information and images. Prisoner of the Japanese When the Japanese army overran vast areas of Southeast Asia and the Pacific during World War Two, they took almost 200,000 Allied soldiers, sailors and airmen captive. Thousands more died resisting the invasion. The war in Europe had weakened the commitment of Britain, France, and The Netherlands to the region. The Far East was wide open to Japan's dream of dominance throughout Asia. One of the captured servicemen was a Dutch entertainer known as The Great Cortini or Professor Cortini.  Born on 29 December 1912, Cortini (real name Johan Hubert Crutzen) came from Vaals in the south-eastern corner of ...

As war clouds loomed, foreign magicians performing in Europe had to gamble. Should they continue to fulfil their theatre contracts, or run for the border. If they stayed, they might find the borders closed, their act confiscated, and their company interred as 'enemy aliens'. These dilemmas also faced visitors to Germany in the months leading up to the war and magicians touring neighbouring countries. Most magicians decided to get out in good time, but some took this decision right to the wire.... Charles Larson Magic collector Charles H. Larson (1870-1950) ran the Larson Museum of Magic in New York City in the 1930s and 1940s. His collection contained nearly 40,000 items and he frequently made trips to Europe in search of magic. In autumn 1938, he visited magic shops and clubs in Berlin, Germany but suddenly realised he was the only person staying at his hotel: "I went to the American Counsel's representative,... and he said 'We are advising everyone to leave at on...