No beautiful country (play)
The book No Beautiful Land by the Tyrolean playwright Felix Mitterer deals with the fate of a family in the middle of a village community during the National Socialist era . The world premiere took place in 1987 at the Tiroler Landestheater Innsbruck , whereby the ORF made a recording. The play is divided into thirteen scenes and takes place from autumn 1933 until a few days after the liberation of Austria in 1945.
background
The historical background is formed by the events surrounding the St. Anton tourism pioneer Ing.Rudolf Gomperz (in the book Adler), who was of Jewish descent and therefore not only lost his job, reputation and belongings after 1938, but also his life.
In the play, however, other groups of people such as priests, the mentally handicapped, followers, seduced or Nazi functionaries are depicted and their human relationships in extreme situations are illuminated.
content
In autumn 1933, friends Hans Adler and Erich Holzknecht, who lived in a Tyrolean village, smuggled illegal weapons from Germany to Austria because they had already fallen victim to Nazi ideology. When they present the weapons to their fathers, the mayor Rudolf Holzknecht secretly notifies the police, who then arrest his son. He was imprisoned for 3 years for this. Hans was able to flee to Germany because his father, the cattle dealer Stefan Adler, had overheard the betrayal and warned him.
When Hans was able to return to Austria in May 1938, as Adolf Hitler was already in power, the Nazi local group leader and fanatical National Socialist Sepp Hopfgartner already had enormous power. He closely watches over political discussions and statements and does not hesitate to issue bans or report people to the Gestapo if he thinks they are not politically correct. Many villagers now feel monitored and keep their opinions to themselves.
Before his daughter Anna married Erich, Adler confessed that he had Jewish ancestors. As a result, on the one hand, the wedding is no longer possible and, on the other hand, the world collapses for Hans. Adler's wife, however, knew a way out by claiming the children were not from her husband, so the Nazis spared them. According to her statement, Hans was now the son of the local group leader and her daughter was the result of an affair with a railway attendant. However, contact with Adler broke off completely. He barricaded himself in his house and was no longer in contact with other people. By blackmailing the mayor, Adler was able to escape the concentration camp for a long time. Adler refused to listen to the numerous advice given to leave the country. In the war years, Erich fell at the front and the pastor and Adler were ultimately brought to the concentration camp. There he meets his son, who is now with the SS, again. This shoots him and then himself.
literature
- Felix Mitterer: Not a beautiful country. A play and its historical background (paperback) . ISBN 3-85218-029-5 , pp. 176 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Information on Rudolf Gomperz ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
