It’s not that common now that the start of a musical production’s tour is advertised with a panel discussion. More precisely: a panel discussion in Berlin’s Admiralspalast, which is not only about the motivation of the musical makers, but also about the question of what importance civil courage and democratic responsibility have today.
The date for the discussion about the musical “The White Rose”, an award-winning production by the Festspielhaus Neuschwanstein, was chosen carefully: May 8, 1945 marked the end of National Socialist terror in Europe with the German surrender.
The murderous terror to which Hans and Sophie Scholl also fell victim in 1943. The siblings are the best-known members of the “White Rose,” a student resistance group in Munich that, until their arrest, worked by distributing leaflets against the National Socialist regime.
At the start of the round, moderated by Tagesspiegel editor Lorenz Maroldt, there is a contribution from ZDF’s “heute-journal” that introduces the musical. With the question of whether it would be appropriate to popularize the story of the “White Rose” using the means of the musical – acting, singing, dancing. A question that the musical makers Vera Bolten (text, direction) and Alex Melcher (music) never asked themselves, as they say.
Their concerns, which resulted in a six-year research and creation process, were more about respect for the six members of the resistance group about whom they tell in the musical. “I really wanted to do them justice,” says Bolten.
Later she reads a text by the nature-loving Sophie Scholl, which served as a direct template for a song that the actress Friederike Zeidler then sings to piano accompaniment. There are certainly scenes in the musical that are not handed down verbatim, says Bolten. “But we didn’t invent anything.” Anything else would certainly have displeased the “White Rose Foundation”, which accompanied the production process.
The fact that “The White Rose” sees itself not only as musical entertainment, but also as a popular vehicle for political education – especially for schoolchildren – or better: as a modernized form of culture of remembrance, is clear in every sentence of the musical makers.
SPD top candidate Steffen Krach joins the discussion
SPD top candidate Steffen Krach even left his party’s state party conference and actor Daniel Donskoy traveled from London to accompany the production, which has the caption “A musical about rethinking, responsibility and courage” on the poster, with their contributions. Hamburg high school teacher Bernd Ruffer, who developed the teaching materials for the musical, and high school graduate Thorben Bauer, who also traveled from Hamburg, completed the group
Bauer in particular is convinced that an emotionally charged musical like “The White Rose” can convey more about history than school lessons, where – as Bernd Ruffer says – sometimes only a double lesson is planned for the topic of resistance against National Socialism.
We are in the middle of a global shift to the right, an erosion of political and economic conditions.
Daniel DonskoyActor
Donskoy in particular, who had to deal with a lot of anti-Semitic hostility as the former host of a WDR talk show about modern Jewish life in Germany, has few illusions about the dangers to democracy coming from the right.
When moderator Maroldt asked what one could learn from the phrase “Refuse the beginnings,” he said: “There are no beginnings. We are in the middle of it – in a global shift to the right, an erosion of political and economic conditions.”
SPD man Steffen Krach has little to counter the finding expressed by questioners that the lack of a “we-feeling” and the lack of social cohesion are not being addressed enough by the democratic parties. He emphasizes the responsibility of politicians to maintain youth clubs, educational and cultural institutions.
Daniel Donskoy also emphasizes the importance of culture: “At some point, theaters where you can see live actors and have to turn off your cell phones for two hours will be the last place where we won’t be played by algorithms.” A techno-authoritarian regime that Hans and Sophie Scholl could not yet imagine.