982 refugees from the Holocaust were brought from Europe to the Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter in Oswego, New York and stayed from August 1944 to February 1946. All refugees had agreed to return to their homelands after WWII ended, but by that time in 1945 there was nothing to go home to, or it was too dangerous to do so. They wished to remain in the United States and used various means to petition authorities to stay. One was to write an opera that told their story – life in Europe, the journey across the Atlantic, and their experiences at the Shelter in Oswego, referred to as “The Golden Cage.” All their physical needs were met, but they lacked freedom. Charles Abeles, an Austrian musician, composed the music, and Miriam Sommerburg, a German artist and author, wrote the text.