DENAZIFICATION AT OBERAMMERGAU

New Zealand Listener, Volume 19, Issue 484, 1 October 1948, Page 10

DENAZIFICATION AT OBERAMMERGAU

HE restoration of New Zealand currency to parity with sterling may offer something of an inducement to New Zealanders with sizable bank-balances to 'take a trip to Germany in 1950 | (if travelling is easier then) to see the ) first performance since 1934 of the fam- ;} ous Oberammergau Passion Play. Spec- | tators on that occasion will see actors | and actresses who have felt the impact | of Hitlerism and who have come through it in some cases with credit-in others | without it. The American Military | Government granted a licence on May | 19 last year for the resumption of the | play and the actor who received it on behalf of the company was Melchior Breitsammter, the Pontius Pilate of the last performance. . A cabled news-item from London the other day announced that Alois Lang, an Oberammergau wood-carver who has | already played the part of Jesus Christ in two performances, will qualify for this role in 1950-now that he has been "de-nazified." He was fined 1000 marks by a German court at Garmisch-Parten-kirchen for being a member of the Nazi Party. In his defence Lang protested that he had joined the Party in 1938 | only to save himself from financial ruin, but the court ruled that it was impossible to acquit him. The case of Anton ‘Presinger, who portrayed Lazarus in the production of 1934, was evidently looked on as more ‘serious, for on a _ similar charge he was fined 2000 marks, Filling the Gaps Casting for the play is reported to haye started already in the small Bavarian village and the producers are busy filling the gaps left by Hitler, war, hard times and old age. Alois Lang will be 59 years of age in 1950. New players for the parts of the Virgin and Mary Magdalene will have to be found. Tradition demands that these two important roles must be played by unmarried women under 35 years of age. Anni Rutz, who has twice played the part of the Virgin, is now 38 and Clara Mayr (who has played Mary Magdalene) has taken a husband. . Last year Hans Lang, an ex-Luftwaffe pilot (a cousin of Alois and his understudy in the last play in 1934) was mentioned in the village as the probable player of the Christus for 1950. But many of the villagers, it is said, argued that his array of medals and the worldliness of some of his habits would disqualify him. Angton Lang, who played the role of the Christus in 1900, 1910 and 1922 brought to his part a picture of a sad, merciful Saviour; Alois Lang played the role as King of the Jews-a firm, determined ruler. Judas Was Anti-Nazi One veteran expected to play his part again is Hans Zwink--Oberammergau’s Judas. And he, curiously enough, is noted for his firm stand as an anti-Nazi. When Hitler took over Germany, Zwink retired from village life and kept to his house. He defined himself as an anti-Nazi "with a clear conscience," which prompted local jokes about the paradox of his anti-Nazism and his role as Judas. And Judas of Oberammergau is a singularly unfortunate individual

just because he has to play that part. Many people have refused to stay under the same roof with him. The Oberammergau Passion Play is probably the most important survival of the miracle plays which were popular from the 13th to the 16th Century. Contrary to the general belief, the production is not a portrayal of the life of Christ, but only of the events of His last few days on earth, known as Passion Week. In 1633 the village was stricken with the Black Death and as an expression of gratitude for the cessation of the

scourge, the inhabitants vowed to enact the Passion and death.of Christ every 10 years. In Oberammergau 400,000 people representing almost all the nations and creeds of the world rubbed shoulders in the special jubilee year of 1934 when 73 performances of the play’ were given, That series marked the 300th anniversary of a tradition dear to the villagers who have lived"in intimate daily contact with it. World War I. took 70 men permanently from the ranks of the population (then 2,600), and in 1920 there were too few players and no provisions. But in 1922 the play was staged again. Seven-Hours’ Spectacle The thousands watch the performance on the central stage from 8.15 a.m. to 5.25 p.m. with a break of two hours for lunch. In front of the stage, flanked by the House of Pilate and the palace of Annas, is the proscenium, 140 feet wide. On this stage, in, rain or sunshine, the mass scenes take place. The 47 members of the chorus are led in and out by the Speaker of the Prologue, whose task is to introduce each act. There are 24 sets irregularly scattered among the -16 acts and representing scenes both from the Old Testament and the New. For each season of performance, 24 men appointed by the village form the Passion Play Committee, and the only outsider allowed is the donkey which carries the Christus into Jerusalem, and which is usually imported from Austria. All (continued on next page)

(continued from previous page) amusements are prohibited in the village during the preparation of the play. No one may participate in the spectacle unless he or she is of unimpeachable moral character and dramatically suited to enact the role for which he is chosen. But actors and actresses, even in a deeply religious theatrical performance, must live, and so the box-office receipts from the 309,000 to 400,000 spectators each season are divided into four parts-one part is spent in preparation of the play, one goes to provide accommodation for visitors, one is for the church and one for the players. So far the Oberammergau Passion Play has. not been filmed. Though they may have been tempted, the producers have declined to have anything to do with the

motion picture or television.

E.R.

B.