Peter Kien

Peter Kien (1919–1944) was a Czech Jewish artist, poet, and playwright whose creative voice emerged during one of history’s darkest periods. Born on January 1, 1919, in Varnsdorf, Czechoslovakia, Kien studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, where he developed as both a visual artist and writer. His life and work were tragically cut short during the Holocaust, but his artistic legacy—particularly from his time in the Theresienstadt (Terezín) ghetto—remains a powerful testament to resilience, imagination, and the role of art in the face of persecution.

Kien is best known for writing the libretto to The Emperor of Atlantis (Der Kaiser von Atlantis), a one-act opera composed by fellow inmate Viktor Ullmann while both were imprisoned in Theresienstadt during World War II. The opera is a bold and thinly veiled allegory of Adolf Hitler’s regime, portraying a tyrannical emperor who declares total war, prompting Death itself to go on strike. Its biting satire, philosophical depth, and modernist style were groundbreaking—particularly given the oppressive conditions in which it was created.

The opera was rehearsed in 1944 but banned by the Nazi authorities before it could be performed, likely due to its subversive themes and pointed criticism of totalitarian rule. Both Kien and Ullmann were deported to Auschwitz shortly after the ban. Peter Kien was murdered in Auschwitz later that year, at just 25 years old.

Beyond his work as a librettist, Kien was a prolific poet and visual artist. While imprisoned in Theresienstadt, he continued to produce drawings, paintings, and writings that chronicled the emotional and physical realities of life in the ghetto. His work—rich in irony, intelligence, and existential insight—reflects both his classical education and his fierce inner life.

Although Peter Kien’s life was brief, his contributions to art and literature endure. The Emperor of Atlantis was finally performed decades later and is now recognized as a powerful work of Holocaust-era creativity and defiance. Today, Kien is remembered not only as a victim of genocide but as a courageous and visionary artist whose voice, though silenced far too soon, still resonates through music and literature.