Hitler remark stuns director’s young KDVP actors

PETER FELDMAN

Pelkowitz – a King David alumnus – was enraged with the unruly behaviour of his cast and exploded, shocking the pupils and their parents. Referring to the choreographer who is not Jewish and was not there at the time, he said that if they showed the same disrespect to the choreographer he would think “that Hitler was right”.

“We were horrified! We couldn’t believe he said that. It would have been much worse if he wasn’t Jewish, but it was still so ugly,” said one pupil who asked not to be named for fear of reprisal.

“He was furious, swearing and calling us names. He was upset out of frustration because we were certainly not on our best behaviour. I guess in the real world it is okay to behave like that and perhaps most actors and actresses are better behaved than we are.” 

King David Victory Park Headmaster Andrew Baker said: “Pelkowitz immediately realised what he had said and regretted it. But the words were already out. He agreed to step down as director of the production and we think it was the right thing to do. Words said in anger are not wise.”

Commenting on what happened, he said that Pelkowitz had been struggling with learners who were not co-operating with him. “It was late into the evening and he was frustrated and lost his cool,” Baker told the Jewish Report.

“He made a reference to the learners about how a non-Jewish outsider might perceive their unruly behaviour and then made the unfortunate reference to those who say Hitler was right.”

The headmaster contacted the parents, spoke to the children and explained the situation and apologised on behalf of the school for what had happened.

“It was a distressing situation because we aim to provide an environment that is safe for the children,” he said, “It was an unfortunate incident but things are now back on track and we’ve turned the corner.  Everything is going well.”

He added that Pelkowitz is a King David Victory Park alumnus and they were still very proud of his achievements.

In an e-mail, Pelkowitz stated that in his view the facts and circumstances concerning the events were dealt with between him and Andrew Baker.

“In my opinion, this matter was fully, finally and satisfactorily resolved,” he said, adding that he would not like to deal with this matter through the Press.

“However, should it become necessary to deal with the events in greater detail, I will do so at the appropriate time and in the appropriate forum.”