Jewish Ghettos were created by Nazi Germany during World War II to exploit, persecute and terrify Europe's Jews. The Chinese version of a play that catalogs their grisly legacy has been staged in China. 

The play is about a theater established by Jews who were pushed into a small ghetto by German soldiers. It was used to stage various shows, including operas, dance performances and plays. Everything in "Ghetto" is based on real events. After the invasion of Poland in 1939, the Nazis set up ghettos to segregate Jews.

Under the policy of extermination, which the Nazis called the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question," most of the inhabitants were sent to their deaths. 

By the end of the war in 1945, nearly 6 million Jews were killed by mass shootings, gas chambers, forced labor or starvation. When Israeli playwright and director Joshua Sobol came across the diaries describing life in the ghetto of Vilna, in Lithuania, he realized that there had been a theater.

After very hard days of work in the ghetto, Jews there put on their best clothes to go to the theater to meet friends. It reminded them that despite their privations, they remained human beings. Sobol felt the urge to adapt the story into a play. 

"Every day some of them would be taken from the ghetto to somewhere about 12 kilometers away to be murdered. But I found more than 400 songs they created in the dairies. Under such circumstances, their music was so joyous, which was incredible. That's light in the darkness. We're now living in a peaceful era though, we should still learn from their creativity for joy and life's value," said Sobol. 

“Ghetto” has been translated into more than 20 languages and staged in about 25 countries since its 1984 premiere. 

In 2017, Sobol was invited to join the production of the play's Chinese adaptation. The 80-year-old came to Beijing to direct the play and work with Chinese and international actors.

"During the first two or three weeks' rehearsal, the director told us about the true stories behind the play and he said the roles we played were all real persons recorded in the dairies. We could not stop weeping. The pains are so real," said actress Anaistamo Martane. 

Despite the play's grim subject matter, not much crying or sadness is found on the stage. Instead, happiness and warmth carry the show. 

Sobol uses a range of songs and dance pieces throughout the production based on the 400 songs and notes he found from different ghettos around Europe. 

It's unbelievable that people, under those circumstances, could create this beautiful music. As Sobol noted, the function of art, or the theater in the ghetto, was as a means of spiritual resistance. 

"It's about how people choose to face the limited time they have left to live while under the constant threat of violent death. Different from our usual understanding, it shows an attitude of tackling life with composure and dignity. The play is something more than a classic. It's a tale of great vigor and power," said producer Wang Keran.