Oak and angora

Oak and Angora is a play by Martin Walser that was first published in November 1962 in the magazine Theater heute . The play was premiered on September 23rd of the same year in the Berlin Schillertheater and met with divided opinions from viewers and critics.

Oak and Angora takes place in 1945 as well as in the post-war years 1950 and 1960 and shows the story of Alois Grübel, who cannot adapt quickly enough to the current circumstances and thus always falls short of his time. The defining themes of the piece are the post-war coming to terms with the past and the question of the guilt of the German population.

Emergence

Walser's Oak and Angora is the second play he has published after The Detour . The first records in the form of a list of the characters appearing can be found in a diary entry at the end of 1961. A short time later he began taking notes on his two other stage works, larger than life, Herr Krott and The Black Swan . Walser himself reports in an interview with Henning Rischbieter that he wrote down his first notes on Eiche and Angora as early as 1960 after the publication of his novel Halftime , but shortly afterwards started his first play The detour , which served him as an exercise, and Eiche and Angora put aside for now.

Oak and Angora is the first of three pieces that Walser wanted to publish under the title Deutsche Chronik . While The Black Swan was published and premiered in Stuttgart in 1964, A Horse from Berlin was never realized. Instead, the play Kashmir in Parching , written in 1994/95, formed the third part of the Deutsche Chronik , the plays of which, however, do not form a trilogy. "They are related to the contemporary history that provided the occasion."

According to Walser, the idea for oak and angora came from a story from 1945 that happened in the area around Lake Constance : In the middle of the idyllic landscape around Lake Constance, a Polish prisoner who had a relationship with a German was hung up Had had girls. However, since this Pole Walser was not familiar enough, he created another main character, Alois, for his play.

action

Scene 1 to 5 - 1945

In April 1945, district leader Gorbach and the former communist Alois Grübel, who was “politically successful retrained” in the concentration camp , march to the hill, the Eichkopf. The future headquarters will be located on this. Alois is responsible for showing Gorbach the way up. In the conversation between the two it becomes clear that Alois was castrated in the concentration camp and is therefore no longer able to father children with his wife Anna. In the village he breeds Angora rabbits , which he has given Jewish names on the orders of an SS officer from the concentration camp.

The former waiter Maschnik, now in the service of the National Socialists , leads the two prisoners Maria and the Pole Jerzy, who Alois' wife Anna caught red-handed, towards the headquarters. The Pole is now facing the death penalty for "racial disgrace". Anna steps in to inquire about the punishment for the two and speaks out in favor of a milder sentence. The SS doctor Dr. Zerlebeck, also on the way to the Eichkopf, uses the meeting with Anna to ask her about the health of her husband, since the examinations after Alois' castration are not yet completed. Anna is noticeably uncomfortable with the conversation. The Jew Woizele, wearing concentration camp clothing, joins the scene, apparently looking for his three sons.

Senior teacher Potz appears at the headquarters to complain about Professor Schmidt, who is responsible for the fortification work, who came across Alemannic royal graves during the securing work and therefore wants to relocate the trenches. Gorbach instructs Potz to arrest Schmidt and assigns him the vacant position to manage the digging work.

Shortly after Gorbach charged Schmidt with insubordination, it became clear that the French marched past the neighboring town of Kretzenberg and were just before Brezgenburg. Schmidt expresses his knowledge of warfare and is initially acquitted by Gorbach as a result. In the meantime, Alois receives permission from Gorbach to look after his rabbits in the village.

The fifth scene takes place after the surrender of Brezgenburg, which Alois brought about by selling angora skins to the citizens who hoisted them as a sign of surrender. When Alois now returns to the Eichkopf, he is sentenced to death for having committed high treason. Although he is aware of the consequences of his unskillful act, he did not consciously want to bring about the surrender; he describes his act as a "relapse". A discussion ensues about the execution of Alois' hanging, since Dr. Zerlebeck Alois would like to have received as an object of investigation. When Gorbach grants Alois his last wish, he wants to join the choral society - a long-cherished dream. Alois gets the opportunity to sing something, which seems to touch the director of the choir, Potz, despite his initial plea for Alois's death. When shots ring out, the discussion about Alois is put down in order to devote himself to the rescue of everyone on the Eichkopf. Alois explains to the others his plan to tie each other up in order to create the appearance of being attacked by the opposing side (SS or French) - nobody knows whether the SS or the French will be there first. This is being done.

Scene 6 to 7 - 1950

Five years after the liberation from National Socialism , the citizens of the Eichkopf celebrate a festival at which the new singer of the choral society, Alois Grübel, is supposed to have his first solo appearance. To commemorate the capitulation, a commemorative plaque is attached to the Eichkopf with the following words: "Whoever defends his homeland with weapons destroys it." In an initially polite tone, Potz and Anna talk about Alois' upcoming appearance. Anna tries to convince Potz not to give Alois a solo performance because she fears a catastrophe, but comes across a stubborn and incomprehensible counterpart. While Anna is destroying the decoration of the song festival, she meets the seemingly confused Woizele, who is talking again about his sons.

Alois suffers another relapse during his address: the names of SS officers and the use of a Nazi-influenced language that was drummed into him in the concentration camp alienates the audience. At the end of the scene he is led away and taken to an institution, so that his first appearance as a member of the choir is denied.

Scene 8 to 11 - 1960

Same place, 15 years after the surrender of the residents of Brezgenburg: Woizele is the only guest in the Teutach-Blick restaurant and is talking to the owner Gorbach and Anna, who is washing chairs. It becomes clear that Woizele is plagued by memories of the Nazi era and is saddened by the fact that his sons have left. In addition to Woizele, Anna also seems to miss the presence of children that she will never have with Alois. Woizele resigns, Alois appears, and the preparations for the song festival go ahead. Gorbach causes Alois to kill his rabbit, as their stench would keep the guests away. The board - now referred to as the "scandalous board" - is dismantled so that it no longer reminds of the past.

Potz and Semper of the local choir make final arrangements with two singers from the clubs from the neighboring towns of Kretzenburg and Bremberg; Demands are loud: The former SS doctor Zerlebeck is required to stay away, “because a Jewish supporter of male singing could be offended.” Thanks to the protest by Potz and Semper, they only agree on Zerlebeck's reluctance to attend the singing festival. Alois exclusion, however, becomes a compromise: “After everything that is known about the Brezgenburg nightingale. Everyone thinks of concentration camps, of the inhuman years. "

Alois is painfully aware of his exclusion from the singing festival. “Angry, he nails the skins of his dead Angora rabbits on the club flags that are set up for the singing festival.” Due to his third relapse, Alois is again admitted to the St. Fazzen institution. For the first time, Anna is also brought to a home because of her alcohol addiction.

Person overview

Alois Grübel

The main character of the drama, Alois Grübel, was imprisoned as a communist at the time of National Socialism and re-educated in the concentration camp. His big hobby is breeding angora rabbits, which he started in the concentration camp and continued outside. His rabbits bear the names of Jews who were killed in the camp.

Alois served as a "guinea pig" in the concentration camp: he was neutered and, even after his release, placed under strict observation by SS doctor Zerlebeck. His naivety as well as his unclouded belief in the National Socialist ideology lead to Alois exposing himself to the penetrating interrogations of Zerlebeck despite his discomfort: "Doctor Moser said, it is for the whole of humanity that a race is getting better and better." Alois' successful retraining to become a loyal National Socialist is not only proven by the fact that he is "unreservedly in the service of the district leader Gorbach" and thus under the command of a leading National Socialist. Alois' speeches clearly show the successful indoctrination of the National Socialist ideology, which to this extent is not evident even with other SS functionaries in the play: “The German person, Mr. Kreisleiter, is at stake. Because otherwise the race is finished when the subhumans overcome us. But the Unterscharführer Schöck said to us: Alois his Angora rabbits, they are as high above a normal rabbit as the German man above the sub-human. "

In the first scene of the play, the juxtaposition of Kreisleiter Gorbach and Alois emphasizes his positive character traits: Alois, as a simple man in a lower hierarchical position than Gorbach, takes over the route to the new headquarters, which he has chosen because of its favorable location. Carefree and brave, he even enters the competitor's area, which is on the fastest route to the Eichkopf. Unlike Gorbach, in the first scene Alois not only takes responsibility for their two fates, but also for those of the residents of Brezgenburg, since the Eichkopf, as headquarters, is an important strategic point in defense.

The fourth scene in which Alois is given the task of shaving the hair of Maria, who has become guilty, shows that Alois is still regarded by Gorbach as a factotum; a duty that he is reluctant to take on.

With his ill-considered deed - he sells his Angora skins to the Brezgenburgers - Alois ensures the surrender of the city. When confronted with the charge of high treason, he pretends to be ignorant, but takes the blame on himself: “It must have been a relapse.” Not only his party friends, Alois himself attributes his actions to a suddenly reappearing communist sentiment .

Shortly before his execution by hanging, Alois' last wish is to be fulfilled: his long-cherished wish to join the choral society seems near. This is not granted to him, but he gets the chance to sing a song to the club manager Potz, who is overwhelmed by the enchanting voice. Ultimately, Alois 'death can be prevented because Alois' act is forgotten; other occurrences come to the fore.

Five years have passed and Alois seems to have succeeded in getting a little closer to his wish, because his first appearance as a member of the choral society is imminent. He is certified as having a voice like a nightingale, a beautiful tenor - the side effect of his castration in the concentration camp. What is a wish for Alois, arouses displeasure in Anna: She wants to keep Alois from his appearance, who, however, lets himself be taken by Potz's warm words and sends his wife away. Before Alois can even prove his voice, however, he suffers another relapse: While the liberation from National Socialism is being celebrated, memories of the Nazi era come to Alois' memories, which he lets residents of Brezgenburg participate in in his speech and thus for alienation ensures: “The Unterscharführer Schöck said: Alois, if you get the idea, you will get through. And then he said to the others: Look at Alois, a simple person, but he understood the idea. "Alois is led away and taken to the St. Fazzen Clinic before he can celebrate his big performance as a singer. where he is made "an advocate of the free market economy and also a staunch anti-communist."

At the same place, ten years later, Alois should now have the chance to perform at this year's singing festival. He seems to have recovered during his stay in the clinic, continues to breed rabbits and is at Gorbach's service. Good-natured and altruistic as Alois is, he lets Gorbach destroy his beloved rabbits for the sake of Gorbach, since he doesn't want to be responsible for the latter's bankruptcy - the guests in Gorbach's restaurant would be disturbed by the rabbit stink. Alois' apparently acceptable life is suddenly destroyed: He is banned from participating in the singing festival. "This renewed exclusion triggers Alois' third relapse: he hangs the bloody skins of his Angoras, which his wife Anna slaughtered, on the traditional flags of the choral societies." The result is his renewed admission to the clinic.

Alois Grübel “is trampled on, a person whose backbone has been broken by the ruling society.” In contrast to the figures who belong to the higher hierarchical class, Alois does not manage to adapt to the realities of the present time. “In this way, he becomes the embodiment of the guilty conscience of the Brezgenburg upper class. But these people have practice in silencing their conscience ”and have Alois admitted to a clinic several times. Similar to Anna and the Jew Woizele, Alois is portrayed as a victim of the National Socialists who was not only physically and mentally injured during his time in the concentration camp, but was also tortured by these former officials after 1945. The third relapse in particular points to Alois 'victim status: "The Jewish family tree of Alois' rabbits ends with the endless loop of his own name, Alois is thus incorporated into the group of victims of the Holocaust ."

Martin Walser himself sees in Alois the representative of the people who, like the latter, have difficulties in accepting the prevailing ideology: “Yes, of course it should come out in the individual stages of this piece that this very simple person, who is a kind of representative - if you allow me - the great anonymous people's body is that it is much more difficult for this body of the people to lag behind the individual changes that are politically required of it than the agile, agile designers of the new turns. "

Anna Grübel

Anna is Aloi's wife. She works as a waitress, but is a trained midwife. Already at her first appearance she looks desperate: “Tell him I have unsteady hands. I have glasses under control. I could drop children. Tell him: Anna is afraid. ”For this reason she is no longer willing to work as a midwife. She feels guilty for the arrest of Jerzy and Maria, even though she denies it. She feels condemned by the residents of Brezgenburg for making the affair of Maria and Jerzy public.

When she meets the doctor Zerlebeck, her disgust for him becomes clear: She condemns him for his dealings with her husband and does not want to be exploited like him. With that she stands above Alois and suddenly demonstrates strength. Potz, too, confidently confronts her in 1950, is aware of the manipulative nature of the former Nazi functionaries and thus also Alois' naivety and weakness: “First I am made a rabbit breeder with Alois. Then you train him to sing. As it suits the gentlemen. ”For Anna, singing does not ostensibly represent Alois' greatest wish, but is the sign of the renewed influence of the mighty on the trampled Alois.

In 1960 Anna witnessed Alois Gorbach promise to kill his Angora rabbits. Anna, for whom the rabbits were always a sign of Alois' transformation in the concentration camp - he had started breeding rabbits in the concentration camp and then continued it - was disappointed that Alois did not kill the rabbits because of them, as she had for a long time had longed for. Nevertheless, or possibly precisely because of this, Anna takes over the slaughter of the rabbits. At the end of the piece, Anna shows paranoid features: She feels persecuted and threatened by the crows that appear before her eyes. Anna and Alois seem to have swapped roles in their relationship: For the first time, Alois shows himself as the one who seems to be mentally above his wife and protect her. In the end, she is taken to a clinic because of her alcohol addiction. Anna too became a victim of National Socialism, "because she remained childless due to Alois' mutilation and became an alcoholic in her grief."

Gorbach

District leader Gorbach is officially responsible for the defense of the city as a commander with a staff of the Brezgenburg district. Clumsy as he is, he only manages the way up to the Eichkopf in a strenuous state. He thinks very highly of himself and always puts himself in a good light towards others. The fact that he lacks the skills to manage his employees and, in particular, military knowledge, will lead to a. expressed by the fact that other characters appearing are those who submit military plans for approval without the latter having to work himself. His clumsy way of formulating orders or making final decisions, e.g. B. in the case of Alois' indictment, reinforce this impression. When Brezgenburg surrendered, Gorbach withdrew from all responsibility and did not want to be declared the culprit who did not prevent Alois from doing wrong.

Five years later, on the other hand - Gorbach is now mayor of the city - he not only finds words of praise for Alois' courageous and saving act in 1945, but also presents his behavior at that time as a conscious intervention in the events through which Brezgenburg could be liberated. In 1960, Gorbach appears as the owner of the Teutachblick mountain restaurant, who entertains guests and prepares his restaurant for the Whitsun song festival .

Potz

The SA leader Potz appears to the district leader Gorbach full of self-confidence, draws his attention to his misconduct and convinces him with technical arguments to transfer responsible tasks to him. In contrast to his initial opponent Schmidt, Potz is initially full of energy for the final battle with the French. At a later point in time, both have a verbal argument about how to proceed further in defense, in which they want to come up with arguments and thereby highlight Gorbach's ignorance in particular. Self-confident and driven by anger, Potz Gorbach reproaches for letting Alois into town and not preventing the extradition to the French. He sarcastically rejects Gorbach's excuses: “And then he goes and delivers the city to the enemy, the deeply religious National Socialist.” He accuses Gorbach of failure across the board and exposes him by not acting helplessly - in contrast to Gorbach , but provides ideas on how to proceed. When Potz hears Alois' singing voice, the latter falls completely out of his dominant role as a functionary and driver in the defense of Brezgenburg and instead lets himself be completely taken over by music, his specialty. He is no longer the leading person who demands Alois' death, but even contributes to his acquittal.

In 1950, the choir director Potz did not have to lose any self-confidence. Unlike five years earlier, he advocates Alois 'appearance - but not ostensibly to make him happy, as he claims, but to be able to present Alois' unique voice and thus benefit himself as the person responsible. When Anna tried to get Alois to cancel the performance, as already described, Potz suddenly confronted her with her alcohol addiction. With flattering words, however, he can win Alois over to himself: “That is precisely the miracle of such a voice that it makes us forget everything. All earthly inadequacy. Isn't that right, Alois? "

15 years after the liberation of Brezgenburg, shortly before the annual singing festival, Potz shows his true face in conversation with representatives of other choral societies and Schmidt, now a singing colleague: “But what choice did a man like Zerlebeck have. Red or brown, Mr. Hartstern, that was our choice. Your luck, our luck, Herr Hartstern, that today we have a state that knows how to help itself against the red threat. National Socialism has become superfluous. An anachronism . "Potz not only takes the former SS doctor Zerlebeck under protection, but also defends himself:" Yes, I was such a stupid, blind, poor follower. But I have paid. No more choir for five years. For that, stable work. ”With this he pleads for the relief of all functionaries and accomplices working under National Socialism and frees himself from all guilt. He sacrifices Alois by excluding him from the singing festival and is therefore jointly responsible for another relapse in order to achieve the ultimate goal, the suppression of "the inhuman years".

Schmidt

Professor Schmidt was commissioned to dig defensive trenches, but he came across Alemannic royal graves and decided "to put his local history interest in the exploration of the graves above the 'total' endeavor". Because of this, he is arrested and taken to the Eichkopf. Schmidt knows how to convince with his expressiveness and his technical vocabulary, so that Gorbach acquits him in order to be able to use him for the defense of Brezgenburg.

In 1960 Schmidt, like Potz, appeared as a representative of the choral society and, although he did not argue with arguments, he advocated that Zerlebeck tolerated the singing festival while Alois was excluded. By abstaining, he evades any responsibility.

Dr. Zerlebeck

The "SS officer and medical officer" Dr. Zerlebeck is responsible for 'his case' Alois Grübel: Since his castration in the concentration camp, Zerlebeck has been leading “meticulously, to the higher glory of value-free science, about the physical and psychological consequences of the emasculation of Alois Buch”. He keeps asking questions that concern the intimate sphere and the sex life of the Grübel couple and thus ensures that not only Alois but also Anna feels uncomfortable. Zerlebeck constantly legitimizes his actions with statements such as: “I cannot force you. But science, Alois. ”, Whereby he succeeds in convincing the naive Alois to cooperate.

With the design of this figure, Walser unmasked a typical phenomenon in National Socialism: "The myth of a scientific approach that sacrifices ethical action to an apparently progressive rationality."

Machine technology

The former waiter Maschnik was entrusted with the task of bringing prisoners to the Eichkopf. He is wearing an armband belonging to the Volkssturm man. He struggles with not being able to follow his real passion, preparing a meal. Several times he offers his services to those passing by - including Jews in concentration camp clothing - but they refuse. He draws the motivation to carry out his assigned, unloved tasks solely from the fact that he has to obey an order. He is loyal to National Socialist customs: “Heil Hitler, Herr Doktor.” However, when Maschnik is supposed to knock over the table in order to hang Alois, who is standing on it, he replies: “As someone who has always set the table and tried hard not to knock over anything, he cannot willfully knock over a table - that goes against his professional ethos. ”Even in the years after the liberation, Maschnik is responsible for auxiliary work and continues to be of service to Gorbach.

Josef Woizele

Josef Woizele appears as a Jew in convict clothing. After the Tottlach concentration camp, in which he was apparently imprisoned together with his three sons, was liberated, the father searches for his dead boys in the forest. “His profession [before imprisonment] is described by Walser as 'flowers, vegetables, grave care'.” Even after the liberation by the French, Woizele is tormented by memories of the horrors in the concentration camp, especially the smells of the burning of Jews in crematoria . Until the end he does not seem to have understood that his sons died before the liberation.

Maria

The waitress Maria had an affair with the Pole Jerzy and was caught by Anna Grübel, who made this incident public. Mary herself rejects all guilt for her and Jery's arrest. She thought Anna was more trustworthy and was disappointed and angry about her report. After Maria's arrest, she is brought to the Eichkopf. After she received her sentence - Alois shaved her hair - she was allowed to return to the village.

Jerzy

The Pole Jerzy had an affair with the waitress Maria and is therefore accused of "racial disgrace". Anna, who caught Maria and Jerzy together, campaigns for his release, which she seems to have succeeded in the end.

Blab and Semper

Blab and Semper, members of the Bremberg and Kretzenberg choirs, meet for a meeting with representatives of the Brezgenburg Choral Society, Potz and Schmidt, in order to establish the conditions for the singing festival on Whitsun in 1960. At first appearing self-confidently, they demand the exclusion of the former SS doctor Zerlebeck, since their Jewish sponsor, Director Hartstern, is "almost pathologically sensitive" on this point. The excuses of her counterparts for complicity Dr. Zerlebecks under National Socialism both accept unquestioningly and are content with Zerlebeck's reluctance at the festival. There is no such big discussion about the exclusion of Alois, however: It is enough that Semper brings the argument that Alois' voice stimulates remembrance of "the inhuman years". Blab and Semper, as well as Potz and Schmidt, are representatives of the majority of the population in the years after the liberation: not remembering and thus suppressing the National Socialist past is the top priority.

Zenker

Zenker is a Hitler Youth without much speaking in the play, who appears to do auxiliary work at the headquarters.

Historical context

Walser intensified his work on the play at the end of 1961, at a time when Germany was being shaped by its economic rise. From today's perspective, two events in this year appear to be of particular relevance: On the one hand, the year 1961, with the construction of the Berlin Wall, was the year of the division of Germany, which will not be discussed further below. Furthermore, through the trial of Adolf Eichmann in Israel, the extermination of the Jews during the National Socialist regime was brought up publicly to this extent for the first time. Adolf Eichmann was sentenced to death and executed in June 1962. Hannah Arendt , who followed the trial as a press correspondent in Israel and characterized Eichmann's “crimes as the ' banality of evil '”, also caused discussions in Germany . "By coining the term Arendt wanted to draw attention to the phenomenon that 'evil' can be part of an inconspicuous normality: a mass murderer could be a decent official and a loving father at the same time."

At the beginning of the 1960s, the opinion of the German public also changed: while only a third voted in 1958 to draw a line under the coming to terms with the past, the percentage rose to more than 50 percent in 1963–1965. The reason was: "Because we Germans [...] should finally stop polluting our own nest '." Despite broad public interest in the Eichmann trial and the Auschwitz trial that followed in the mid-1960s, popular approval fell in the “continuation of the criminal prosecution of Nazi perpetrators.” During this time of change in mood, Walser brought his play Eiche und Angora on stage.

Work context

Location 'Am Eichkopf'

The Eichkopf, the main location of the play, actually exists. It is located in the Wetterau district and thus in the Darmstadt administrative district in Hesse. On the grounds of the Eichkopf there is a small fort that was used as a military location in Roman times. Not far from this fort is a transmission bunker that belonged to the ' Führer Headquarters Adlerhorst ' bunker complex and that was built for leading National Socialists and temporarily served as the Führer headquarters.

Germany after the surrender in 1945

When the Reich government signed the unconditional surrender of Germany on May 8, 1945, the fighting in the French occupied territory had already ceased in April. “In political, constitutional and international law [Germany] initially ceased to exist as a sovereign member of the international community. As an area of ​​occupation completely subject to foreign or foreign sovereignty and violence, the German population now experienced for themselves what had been done to so many other peoples in their name and with their participation. "

After several years of war, the country had to live with numerous consequences: the loss of millions of war victims and life with and as displaced persons , housing shortages, food shortages and basic services deficits shaped everyday life in Germany. “Under the weight of the war defeat, the rubble, material hardship and denazification , millions of Germans saw themselves as victims.” The focus was on their own suffering, and hardly anyone spoke about the mass extermination of Jews or other atrocities of the National Socialist regime. The German population was initially skeptical of the occupation by the Allies and thus of the attempt to introduce democracy: “Before and around 1945, a political striving for democracy and political freedom did not dominate the thoughts of the majority.” This can be attributed to this, among other things that numerous Germans had supported the NSDAP. "Too many believed after 1945 and even longer that it was not National Socialism itself, but its so-called 'exaggerations', the racially-based attempt at extermination and the mass murder of millions of European Jews or the war of conquest and extermination in Eastern Europe that were the problem." When asked when Germany was best off in the 1950s, almost half of those questioned named the time of National Socialism. Approval for democracy only rose at the end of the 1950s, when people's individual living conditions improved thanks to the 'economic miracle'.

A fixed goal of the Allied politics was denazification, "which meant a kind of 'deep cleansing' of German society from those who had compromised by openly sympathizing with the National Socialists." The denazification processes were extremely different in the respective occupation zones, but they became around 1948, starting in the Soviet zone, gradually ending. The result was that numerous former Nazi officials returned to higher positions in the public service or in the private sector.

Shortly after Germany's surrender, 22 major war criminals were tried in the first Nuremberg trial , who had been indicted by the victorious powers. In October 1946 the verdict was pronounced: "Twelve defendants were sentenced to death, three to life imprisonment and four to long prison terms." The extent of the crimes committed by the National Socialist regime became clear in follow-up trials that lasted until 1949. "They neither knew nor wanted that, it was said again and again." The focus of the trials, however, was in particular the war crimes of the Germans, while the crime against humanity, the murder of millions of Jews, "hardly as an independent criminal complex of the National Socialist Weltanschauung “Was not considered a single criminal offense.

The theme of the play - dealing with guilt and responsibility

First of all, it is worth taking a look at the people of Brezgenburg, who in Martin Walser's work do not appear in the direct form of characters: This makes its greatest appearance between scenes four and five - in a dialogue the actions of the people are discussed afterwards - when it makes the decision to hang up the white furs received from Alois as a sign of surrender. It is thus the people who express their desire for peace and at the same time symbolize that the belief in the final victory by the National Socialists is not predominant in the population.

As Walser emphasized in an interview, the main character Alois stands as a representative of the Brezgenburg people and thus at the same time "representative of ordinary Germans". In order to be able to classify this statement, a detailed analysis of Alois, especially of his relapses, is helpful. Alois belongs to the "serving people" and thus has the lowest rank of the hierarchy presented in the play. “As a servant, Alois is not only exploited in a socially restricted circle by the men named above.” Alois suffered his first relapse at the time of National Socialism in 1945, when the idea of communism appeared to be evident in his actions. Five years later, his second relapse made it clear that he had not yet internalized the currently prevailing pacifism and had not yet overcome the ideology of National Socialism when he waved the slogans of Nazi functionaries in a speech. In contrast to the former party functionaries who appeared, Alois also fell out of the majority in 1960, who tried to suppress the past as much as possible, when he remembered the Holocaust by hanging up the angora skins. Martin Walser “wants to show the tragicomic situation of a simple man who cannot adapt himself as quickly as his superiors, who reminds of yesterday's convictions when the superiors are practicing the vocabulary of a new one. Grübel doesn't understand how to adapt quickly enough. "

In doing so, he not only differentiates Alois, but also the entire national body as a whole from these superiors, who can relatively easily distance themselves from the ideology that has been declared to be wrong. The characters Gorbach, Zerlebeck, Schmidt and Potz do not appear as changeable, but as adaptable people. With this distinction between the leading personalities and the common people, Walser stipulates that the “seduced people not only remained decent, but also became victims of the circumstances.” “Also the references to the Holocaust by Woizele's sons and that The bloody end of the Angora rabbits with Jewish first names do not change anything, they only serve to balance German and Jewish fate. The indirect references to the murder of the Jews are superimposed by the description of the poor - specifically: the politically betrayed - German who, in the figure of Alois, becomes the victim of history. If one takes up the metaphor of the play, one recognizes the German people as guinea pigs of ideologies; Alois' emasculation stands for the incapacitation of the 'common people'. "

In doing so, Walser is making a contribution to the support of the “collective excuse of the 1950s” and thereby symbolically blaming the entire population of Germany for the atrocities during the Nazi era. In order to check to what extent the functionaries of the play are portrayed as the culprits, a detailed look at their character traits, their behavior and the power constellation in the play is necessary. If one looks at those people who appear as officials in 1945 and thus belong to the "group issuing orders" with those of the following years, no change can be determined: While the political systems are constantly changing, the figure as a power constellation remains the same. "The leading staff has adapted: Gorbach was elected mayor, the teachers are still in school service, Dr. Zerlebeck is rehabilitated in the course of the scene, Potz was only downgraded from the senior teacher to the teacher. ”There can be no question of coming to terms with the past, which comes to terms with the experience and the consequences, such as the exclusion of fellow travelers and perpetrators : "The structure of society remained unchanged after the collapse of the dictatorship and the establishment of democracy."

Three of the leading National Socialists in the play, Potz, Schmidt and Zerlebeck, are not characterized solely by their function in the system, but also have independent interests and strengths that play a central role in the discussion about Aloi's execution. Both SA leader Potz and SS doctor Dr. Zerlebeck prevent the death of Alois, motivated by their respective interests. While Zerlebeck is committed to keeping Alois alive because it is his 'case' and the investigation of Alois 'benefits science and thus everyone, Potz lets himself be distracted by Alois' beautiful singing, which means that he does not advocated his execution more vehemently. Before that, Schmidt, with his interest in the Alemannic royal tombs, contributed to the insufficient preparation of the city of Brezgenburg for the defense against the French. The specialization in oak and angora ensures that the destruction of other people is avoided.

With this arrangement by Walser, the thesis “that 'oak and angora' brought the subject of the Eichmann trial of 1961 to the stage” - at least as far as the aspect of specialization is concerned - can be rejected. During the Eichmann trial, the following became clear: “The specialist knowledge of desk criminals had emerged as one of the reasons for the smoothly organized mass murder. Hannah Arendt coined the well-known formula for the 'banality of evil'. In 'Eiche und Angora', Walser reacts to the negative occupation of the property of specialization accused of the Germans [...]. Eichmann's specialism claimed countless lives, Schmidt, Zerlebeck's and Potz's specialty saved human lives. "

Reception and effect

Performances

Walser's play Eiche und Angora premiered on September 23, 1962 in the Schillertheater Berlin under the direction of Helmut Kräutner. The audience that attended the premiere reacted split. The first version of oak and angora formed the basis for the staging . In addition to Berlin, other houses in both West and East Germany and other major European cities brought the piece to the stage. By 1988, Eiche und Angora had "been staged at least sixteen times [sic!] In German-speaking countries and had 288 performances."

criticism

Similar to the premiere audience, the opinions of the critics were mixed. In addition to words of praise from numerous critics, Walser also received the Gerhart Hauptmann Prize for oak and angora in the year of the premiere . Trommler described Walser's work as an important “contribution to the German-language theater of the post-war period”, as it was “the first German theater play that“ looked at the continuities between the Nazi past and the West German present ”. In his criticism, Hellmuth Karasek places the focus in particular on Walser's skill in bringing "the provocative but important insights of Hannah Arendt onto the stage": "Jokes were made here with horror, the Nazis who appeared had little resemblance to Frankenstein, they were rather satirized national average, nobody asked for tragic decisions on the stage, in short: German fate was not presented as Götterdämmerung, but as a shabby Schwank. Such a shock is in this country. "

It was suggested that numerous viewers were confronted with the feeling of being attacked and that they rejected the play for precisely this reason. The theater critic Ernst Schumacher , who temporarily lived in the GDR , expressed this assumption : “And as far as the distance is concerned, it was so great at the premiere of the play in West Berlin's Schillertheater [...] that a large part of the audience simply saw red. It was probably the people who resented Walser that he actually did not limit himself to simply looking at 'man', but meant very local, very contemporary people, namely those who fell from the Third to the Fourth Reich as soft as cow dung on the dung heap. ”In addition to Ernst Schumacher, other GDR critics were happy“ z. Partly for recognizable ideological reasons, about any exposure of the ongoing 'fascist tendencies' in the FRG . "

Johannes Jacobi, in particular, found negative words regarding the world premiere of Eiche und Angora , whose criticism also formed the basis for Walser's second version: “Only radical trimming of the atmospheric tendrils would help, concentration on the 'roles' of Alois, Gorbach and Anna [...]. That would result in two people who were beaten by the same fate and drifting apart in opposite directions as suffering opponents of a phrase-thrown who stays 'on top'. All other figures should be reduced to feeder services, to keyword batches. "

The reduction of the piece "to the representation of the 'German misery' based on the figure of Alois Grübel is thus an improvement over the first version."

Henning Rischbieter titled his criticism of the Berlin premiere in the magazine Theater heute , which Eiche und Angora published for the first time in the same issue, with the rhetorical question “Was the fiasco necessary?”. Rischbieter did not see the problem in Walser's text, which he thoroughly appreciates, but led to the failure of the premiere and the like. a. due to the director's lack of dedication, insufficient preparation time, and poor set design. His conclusion on the evening at the theater: "The Berlin performance of Eiche and Angora did more harm than good to the play."

expenditure

Since the audience and the critics were divided on his work after the premiere, Martin Walser made corrections to his first version and published a second version of Eiche und Angora in 1963 . Walser not only shortened his piece by two scenes, but also emphasized the person Josef Woizele and his story. “The basic dramatic structure was not touched, only the theme of the piece was consistently linked to the figure of Alois. Since the fate of the Jewish people is no longer directly linked to the 'German misery', but only called in the metaphor of the Angora rabbits or their fur, the practical consequence of this appears all the more clear. "

In 1966/67 Martin Walser wrote the fragment The Liberation , which was a new version of the second part of the previous edition. In 1968 this fragment was published "in the volume Aus Abaufgabeen Werken [...] edited by Siegfried Unseld ."

Individual evidence

1. ↑ See Martin Walser: Life and Writing. 1951-1962. Reinbek near Hamburg 2005, p. 564.
2. ↑ See ibid., P. 638f.
3. ↑ See Henning Rischbieter: "Conversation with Martin Walser". In: Theater Today. 1962/11, S. If.
4. ↑ Cf. Gerald A. Fetz: Martin Walser. Stuttgart 1997, p. 89.
5. ↑ Cf. Matthias N. Lorenz: 'Auschwitz pushes us into one spot'. Representation of Jews and Auschwitz discourse with Martin Walser. Stuttgart 2005, p. 286.
6. ↑ See ibid., P. 278.
7. ↑ Ibid., P. 288.
8. ↑ Rischbieter: "Conversation with Martin Walser.", S. If.
9. ↑ Johannes Jacobi: "Walser's first great attempt". In: Thomas Beckermann (ed.): About Martin Walser. Frankfurt am Main 1970, p. 101.
10. ↑ Henning Rischbieter: "Change of the unchangeable". In: Thomas Beckermann (ed.): About Martin Walser. Frankfurt 1970, p. 278.
11. ↑ Cf. Martin Walser: “Eiche und Angora. German Chronicle I ”. In: Helmuth Kiesel (ed.): Martin Walser. Works in twelve volumes. Pieces. Vol. 9. Frankfurt am Main 1997, p. 130.
12. ↑ See ibid.
13. ↑ See ibid., P. 131.
14. ↑ See Martin Walser: "Eiche und Angora". In: Theater Today. 1962/11.
15. ↑ Cf. Walser: "Eiche und Angora", p. 138.
16. ↑ See ibid., P. 149.
17. ↑ See ibid., P. 145.
18. ↑ See ibid., P. 148.
19. ↑ See ibid., P. 150.
20. ↑ See ibid., P. 153.
21. ↑ Ibid. P. 152.
22. ↑ See ibid., P. 158.
23. ↑ See ibid., P. 161.
24. ↑ Ibid., P. 167.
25. ↑ Cf. Walser: "Eiche und Angora." In: Theater heute.
26. ↑ See Walser: "Eiche und Angora", p. 170.
27. ↑ Cf. Martin Walser: "Eiche und Angora." In: Theater heute.
28. ↑ See Walser: "Eiche und Angora", p. 172.
29. ↑ Ibid., P. 174.
30. ↑ Cf. Rischbieter: "Alteration of the unchangeable", p. 279.
31. ↑ Jacobi: "Walser's first great attempt", p. 102.
32. ↑ Walser: "Eiche und Angora", p. 180.
33. ↑ Jacobi: "Walser's first great attempt", p. 102.
34. ↑ See Lorenz: 'Auschwitz urges us to one spot', p. 289.
35. ↑ See Walser: "Eiche und Angora", p. 127.
36. ↑ Jacobi: "Walser's first great attempt", p. 101.
37. ^ Walser: "Eiche und Angora", p. 147.
38. ↑ Ernst Schumacher: "Martin Walser: 'Eiche und Angora'." In: Thomas Beckermann (ed.): About Martin Walser. Frankfurt am Main 1970, p. 105.
39. ^ Walser: "Eiche und Angora", p. 134.
40. ↑ See ibid., P. 125.
41. ↑ Cf. Rischbieter: "Alteration of the unchangeable", p. 277.
42. ↑ Cf. Walser: "Eiche und Angora", p. 141.
43. ↑ Ibid., P. 153.
44. ↑ See ibid., P. 157.
45. ↑ See ibid.
46. ↑ Cf. Rischbieter: "Alteration of the unchangeable", p. 277.
47. ↑ See Walser: "Eiche und Angora", p. 167.
48. ↑ Ibid., P. 169.
49. ↑ See ibid., P. 170.
50. ^ Anthony Edward Waine: Martin Walser. Munich 1980, p. 137.
51. ↑ See Walser: "Eiche und Angora", p. 172.
52. ↑ See ibid., P. 182.
53. ↑ Lorenz: 'Auschwitz pushes us into one spot', p. 290.
54. ↑ Werner Mittenzwei: "The playwright Martin Walser". In: Ders .: Three pieces. Berlin 1965, p. 291.
55. ↑ See Waine: Martin Walser, p. 139.
56. ^ Mittenzwei: "The playwright Martin Walser", p. 291f.
57. ↑ Lorenz: 'Auschwitz pushes us into one spot', p. 292.
58. ↑ Ibid., P. 293.
59. ↑ See Walser: "Eiche und Angora", p. 124.
60. ↑ Ibid., P. 129.
61. ↑ See ibid.
62. ↑ See ibid., P. 132.
63. ↑ Ibid., P. 165.
64. ↑ See ibid., P. 172.
65. ↑ See ibid., P. 173.
66. ↑ See ibid., P. 183.
67. ↑ See ibid., P. 184.
68. ↑ See ibid., P. 187.
69. ↑ Lorenz: 'Auschwitz pushes us into one spot', p. 291.
70. ↑ Cf. Walser: "Eiche und Angora", p. 123.
71. ↑ See ibid., P. 145.
72. ↑ See ibid., P. 153.
73. ↑ See ibid., P. 150.
74. ↑ See ibid., P. 167.
75. ↑ Cf. Rischbieter: "Alteration of the unchangeable", p. 279.
76. ↑ Cf. Walser: "Eiche und Angora", p. 138.
77. ↑ Cf. Rischbieter: "Change of the unchangeable", p. 278.
78. ↑ Cf. Walser: "Eiche und Angora", p. 144.
79. ↑ Ibid., P. 150.
80. ↑ See ibid.
81. ↑ See Lorenz: 'Auschwitz urges us to one spot', p. 295f.
82. ↑ See Walser: "Eiche und Angora", p. 166.
83. ↑ See ibid., P. 167.
84. ↑ See ibid., P. 166.
85. ↑ Ibid .; in the first version he expresses this argument to Anna, cf. Martin Walser: "Eiche und Angora." In: Theater heute. 1962/11.
86. ^ Walser: "Eiche und Angora", p. 178.
87. ↑ Ibid., P. 178.
88. ↑ Ibid., P. 180.
89. ↑ Rischbieter: "Change of the unchangeable", p. 278.
90. ↑ Cf. Walser: "Eiche und Angora", p. 145.
91. ↑ See ibid., P. 181.
92. ↑ Rischbieter: "Change of the unchangeable", p. 278.
93. ↑ Ibid.
94. ↑ Cf. Walser: "Eiche und Angora", pp. 131, 147.
95. ↑ Ibid., P. 182.
96. ↑ Werner Brändle: The dramatic pieces of Martin Walser. Variations on the misery of the bourgeois subject. Stuttgart 1978, p. 51.
97. ↑ See Walser: "Eiche und Angora", p. 128.
98. ↑ See ibid.
99. ↑ See ibid., P. 129.
100. ↑ See ibid., P. 130.
101. ↑ Ibid.
102. ↑ Lorenz: 'Auschwitz pushes us into one spot', p. 297.
103. ↑ See Walser: "Eiche und Angora", p. 174.
104. ↑ See Lorenz: 'Auschwitz pushes us into one spot', p. 290.
105. ↑ Ibid.
106. ↑ See ibid.
107. ↑ Cf. Walser: "Eiche und Angora", p. 129.
108. ↑ See ibid.
109. ↑ See ibid., P. 148.
110. ↑ Henning Rischbieter: "Change of the unchangeable", p. 278.
111. ↑ See Walser: "Eiche und Angora", p. 151.
112. ↑ Ibid., P. 179.
113. ↑ Ibid., P. 180.
114. ↑ See ibid., P. 139.
115. ↑ See Federal Agency for Civic Education: "60 x Germany - The Year 1961." URL: http://www.bpb.de/mediathek/140325/60-x-deutschland-das-jahr-1961 (last viewed on 15 September 2015).
116. ↑ Federal Agency for Civic Education: “50 Years of the Eichmann Trial.” URL: http://www.bpb.de/politik/grund-aktuell/68641/50-jahre-eichmann-prozess-15-12-2011 (last viewed on September 15, 2015).
117. ↑ Ibid.
118. ↑ Ulrich Willems (ed.): Democracy and Politics in the Federal Republic 1949–1999. Opladen 2001, p. 55.
119. ↑ Ibid.
120. ↑ "The formal takeover of power by the four allied powers took place with the Berlin Declaration of June 5, 1945." Michael Burleigh: The time of National Socialism. An overall picture. Frankfurt am Main 2000, p. 927.
121. ↑ Willems (ed.): Democracy and Politics in the Federal Republic 1949–1999, p. 24.
122. ↑ Ibid., P. 106.
123. ↑ Ibid., P. 46.
124. ↑ See ibid., P. 46.
125. ↑ Ibid., P. 31.
126. ↑ Ibid.
127. ↑ See ibid.
128. ↑ See ibid., P. 22, p. 32.
129. ↑ Burleigh: Die Zeit des Nationalozialismus, p. 941.
130. ↑ See ibid., P. 943.
131. ↑ See ibid., P. 943 as well as Willems (ed.): Demokratie und Politik in der Bundes Republik 1949–1999, p. 10.
132. ↑ State Center for Civic Education Baden-Württemberg: “The Nuremberg Trials.” URL http://www.lpb-bw.de/nuernberger_verarbeitung.html (last viewed on September 15, 2015).
133. ↑ Willems (Ed.): Democracy and Politics in the Federal Republic 1949–1999, p. 47.
134. ↑ Ibid., P. 48.
135. ↑ Nadja Hadek: “Coping with the past in Martin Walser's work” In: Andrea Bartl (ed.): German Studies and Contemporary Literature. Vol. 3. Augsburg 2006, p. 72.
136. ↑ Waine: Martin Walser, p. 138.
137. ↑ Ibid., P. 139.
138. ↑ Cf. Hadek: "Coping with the past in Martin Walser's work", p. 65.
139. ↑ See Lorenz: 'Auschwitz pushes us into one spot', p. 290.
140. ↑ Mittenzwei: "The playwright Martin Walser", p. 291.
141. ↑ See Waine: Martin Walser, p. 141.
142. ↑ Cf. Mittenzwei: "The playwright Martin Walser", p. 292.
143. ↑ Lorenz: 'Auschwitz pushes us into one spot', p. 294.
144. ↑ Ibid.
145. ↑ Ibid, p. 293.
146. ↑ Waine: Martin Walser, p. 138.
147. ↑ Hadek: “Coming to terms with the past in Martin Walser's work”, p. 65.
148. ↑ Ibid.
149. ↑ See Lorenz: 'Auschwitz urges us to one spot', p. 296.
150. ↑ Ibid.
151. ↑ Ibid.
152. ↑ See Walser: Life and Writing. 1951-1962, p. 636.
153. ↑ See Fetz: Martin Walser, p. 85.
154. ↑ See ibid., P. 86.
155. ↑ Lorenz: 'Auschwitz pushes us into one spot', p. 283.
156. ↑ Ibid., P. 87.
157. ↑ Ibid., P. 84.
158. ↑ Hellmuth Karasek: "The playwright Martin Walser". In: Thomas Beckermann (ed.): About Martin Walser. Frankfurt am Main 1970, p. 97.
159. ↑ See Fetz: Martin Walser, p. 85.
160. ↑ Schumacher: "Martin Walser: 'Eiche und Angora'." In: Thomas Beckermann (ed.): About Martin Walser, p. 104.
161. ^ Fetz: Martin Walser, p. 85.
162. ↑ Cf. Brändle: Die dramatic pieces Martin Walser, p. 47.
163. ↑ Jacobi: “Walser's first great attempt”, p. 103.
164. ↑ Brändle: The dramatic pieces of Martin Walser, p. 48.
165. ↑ Cf. Martin Walser: "Eiche und Angora." In: Theater heute. 1962/11.
166. ↑ Ibid.
167. ↑ Cf. Brändle: Die dramatic pieces Martin Walser, p. 47.
168. ↑ Ibid., P. 47f.
169. ↑ Ibid., P. 75.