Timothy W. Scholl
University of California Santa Barbara
Department of Dramatic Art
Dissertation Prospectus

Performing Nationalism:
The Performance of German Classic Drama in Postwar Germany.

I. Description of proposed research:

The purpose of this study is to investigate the performance of German "klassisch" drama in Germany at the end of the second world war as an attempt to reestablish national and cultural identity. Through a careful analysis of several selected productions of German classic drama in the immediate postwar period, I intend to show that the performance of the German "classics" served as an endeavor to reestablish the theater as a national cultural institution independent of imposed Nazi ideology and to begin the process of rebuilding German national and cultural identity.
In 1945 Germany was a fractured nation. Divided physically by allied barriers carved into the landscape and spiritually by the stigma of a Nazi past, Germany was faced with the challenge of physically rebuilding a nation and spiritually healing its national identity. The rebuilding of culture, specifically the reestablishment of the theater as Germany's central cultural institution, became representative for the physical and spiritual reconstruction of Germany. The theatre seems to have functioned in this way as a healing mechanism in repairing, if temporarily, the German spirit and culturally rebuilding a German national identity. The initial impetus for this cultural rebuilding was the staging of the German "Klassiker", the German classical authors. These productions allowed a momentary escape from the destruction that engulfed much of the country and reminded audiences of Germany's rich cultural heritage. By reconnecting postwar Germany with the grand age of German classicism, the theater provided a necessary step in reestablishing a German national identity independent of Facism; a necessary first step in the long process of healing to come.
From the initial productions of the German Klassiker, to the performance of the "new" foreign drama, to the eventual emergence of new German playwrights, the theatre became an integral part of a healing process that is still being carried out today. It is this healing process that is primary in the term Vergangenheitsbewältigung - a coming to terms with the past.

The Postwar Theatre

The use of theatre as a representative of national and cultural identity is not unique to Germany. The theater has often served as a bastian of national ideology and identity, most obviously perhaps during the reign of National Socialism. However, the use of the theater as a moral institution where questions of national significance are openly debated is an important part of Germany's theatrical heritage and represents a continuation of the importance of the theater as the central German cultural institution. The cultural significance of theatre in Germany is well documented. Since the eighteenth century, the theater has held a key position in the cultural landscape of German-speaking Europe. The practical, theoretical and critical work of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781), Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) and Friedrich von Schiller (1759-1805) began a tradition that has placed the theatre in the center of German cultural life. This tradition continued to flourish in Germany despite numerous political and social changes.
The foundation of the theatre as a national culture treasure arose from the work of G. E. Lessing in the Hamburgische Dramaturgie. Written as a series of critical essays surrounding the failed Hamburg National Theatre project, the Hamburgische Dramaturgie remains a significant contribution to the study of German national culture. The idea, which remains influential in Germany, is that a national culture, specifically a national cultural institution such as the theater, can serve as an indicator of national significance and national pride.
At its height in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the theater was considered the cultural crown jewel of German national identity. Thus, when Joseph Goebbels (1897-1945) permanently closed all theaters in Germany on August 1, 1944, remaining consistent with the terms of total warfare, he ended more than popular entertainment and diversion; he fractured the cultural spirit of Germany. It is therefore significant that in the face utter destruction, German peoples returned to seek solace and reconciliation in the theatre. This is not to say that the theatre offered absolution. Rather, the theatre provided an opportunity for momentary escape and reflection and eventually fostered a recognition of guilt from inside Germany and "German-ness". Through this recognition, a healing process could begin.
Immediate postwar performances focused on the restaging of German classics. Lessing, Goethe, Schiller and Shakespeare were staged to remind audiences of Germany's cultural heritage and to forget, if only for a moment, about the destruction that surrounded them. Yet, these productions were not without a contemporary vested meaning. Lessing's Nathan der Weise (1778/1779) [Nathan the Wise], a play about religious tolerance, was chosen to re-open Max Reinhardt's Deutsches Theater in Berlin and Shakespeare's A Midsummer Nights' Dream was reconnected to Mendelssohn's famous score. Other productions served the dual purpose of not only reconnecting Germany to its classical roots, but also providing timeless humanistic commentary on the existing state of affairs in Germany. Goethe's Iphigenie auf Tauris (1779) and Faust (1808) as well as Schiller's Don Carlos (1787) and Heinrich von Kleist's (1777-1811) Prinz Friedrich von Homburg (1811) certainly speak to this duality. It is ironic that many of these plays (Don Carlos being the best example) were often adapted and performed during the Third Reich. That these plays were able to speak once again to an audience in postwar Germany remains all the more remarkable.
By reconnecting itself to its past, German cultural identity sought a reconciliation with "German-ness" and a restoration of German cultural history outside of a National Socialist influence. By returning to the struggle for a national cultural identity found in Lessing, Germany could both fulfill the need to recapture the heritage of "German-ness" and begin to initiate a process of healing.

II. Literature Review/Significance of Research:

Despite its importance to the subsequent history of German theatre, the postwar era remains under-represented in English language scholarship. Critical works by H. F. Garten, C.D. Innes, and Michael Patterson figure prominently in the discussion of postwar German drama, but little focus is given to the immediate performance situation(s) in 1945. In particular, first-hand accounts of postwar performance(s) and an analysis of the importance of these productions is lacking. In German scholarship, the postwar period is regarded as an impetus for the more important dramatic work of the late 1950's and 1960's. Little is written on the immediate performance circumstances surrounding the production of the German classics. The aforementioned scholars have contributed much towards an understanding of the emergent German written drama (Borchert, Zuckmayer, etc.). However, the performance of postwar drama and the restaging of German classics is given only passing notice.
Because theatrical performance plays such a key role in the German cultural landscape, an analysis of postwar performance, particularly the production of German classic drama, is an important addition to scholarship in English and would also provide an important bridge to German scholarship. The unique position of these plays as the foundation on which the postwar German theater built its success remains a critical gap in German theater scholarship.
I believe that a greater understanding of the immediate postwar theatre is necessary to understanding the complexities of contemporary theatre in Germany. The process of Vergangenheitsbewältigung, a coming to terms with the past, or indeed an overcoming of the past, is still being carried out. Particularly in the wake of reunification, the question of what it is to be a "German" relies on an understanding and ownership of the past. This struggle of German identity is well documented in the theatre. Playwrights from Wolfgang Borchert to Botho Strauss identify the complications of "German-ness" in the Postwar world and attempt to work out the dichotomy between guilt from the past and a future nationalism. These struggles of German identity are still being played out on German stages. It is therefore important to identify the beginnings of Vergangenheitsbewältigung found in the production of German classic drama and place it within the history of the German theatre.

III. Research Design and Methodology

My research is predominantly historical in nature, but includes several divergent methodologies of historical research, including performance history, cultural studies, and social history. While theatre scholarship has traditionally differentiated between the areas of theory, history and performance, I believe that an understanding of theatre history necessitates a detailed knowledge of theory and performance in its relation to the historical event. Furthermore, an understanding of the theatrical event is not possible without an understanding of the political and cultural milieu that produces the theatrical performance. The most useful historical scholarship is that which provides a context for the historical event and opens avenues of debate concerning cultural meaning. It is this type of scholarship that I am most interested in writing. This study combines a historical approach with theoretical, cultural and sociological methodologies in order to provide both a history and a context for the production of German classic drama in postwar Germany.

The research for this project is predominantly archival. I will use archival material in an attempt to reconstruct immediate postwar performances of German classic drama and evaluate their importance in the reestablishment of a national cultural identity. The unique distribution of German theater "centers" provides a challenge and an opportunity to study the various local performances that were staged in the immediate postwar period. Established theaters that transition between the prewar and postwar eras may be particularly helpful in reconstructing the ideology present in producing theatre both before and after the war (Hamburgische Kammerspiele, Zürich Schauspielhaus, Max Reinhardt's Deutsches Theater etc.).
This study will focus first on the performances of four restaged German classics. Lessing's Nathan der Weise, Goethe's Faust (or Iphegenia auf Tauris), Schiller's Don Carlos, and Kleist's Prinz Friedrich von Homburg. Next, I will examine briefly the representative national institutions of Weimar and Bayreuth that initially produced these classic works and investigate their use as institutions in the postwar period. By investigating the institutions as well as the products of those institutions, I hope to draw clear parallels between the rise of nationalism during the Enlightenment and the reestablishment of national identity in the postwar period.
Of particular interest are written and possible personal accounts of postwar performance(s). An understanding of these performances and their effects is essential to completing my research into this historical period. When possible, I will conduct interviews with German citizens who may have witnessed these performances. Through these interviews I hope to determine how functional the theatre was in the reestablishment of national identity.
In interpreting archival performance data, I will rely on several methodologies used typically in reader-response theory. When applied to performance events, the theories of Hans Robert Jauss, Wolfgang Iser and Umberto Eco lead to new avenues in performance research. By applying reader-response/reception theory to the immediate postwar performances, I hope to gage both the commercial success and the psychological/sociological implication(s) of the performance on the postwar public. (For example: A particular performance may be highly effective in eliciting feelings of nationalism, but this does not guarantee a commercial success.) While reception theory is not always perfectly applicable to theatrical performance, I believe that it is a useful tool in analyzing the ephemeral event.
Finally, I will attempt to compare and contrast the rise of a German national culture in the Enlightenment with the postwar production of German classic drama. It is my belief that their exists a kinship between these two eras in their search for a national identity. Certainly the impetus for national identity in the postwar period is more complex. However, the choice to produce German classic drama is significant. More than providing a temporary distraction, the drama of the German Aufklärung speaks directly to postwar society in the pursuit of a larger humanism which must form the base for a new German national identity. The process of Vergangenheitsbewältigung is a much debated and complicated process that begins with production of German classic drama.

IV. Chapter Outline

In the Introduction I will outline the scholarship that has been done on the postwar German theatre and explain the relevance of my work within this pre-existing framework. I will also discuss the various arguments surrounding the term Vergangenheitsbewältigung and explain the use of the term that I will be applying to this study. Finally, I will introduce the plays and institutions to be analyzed and describe the methodology used to make those comparisons

Chapter One will trace the cultural importance of the theatre in Germany as a representation of German national cultural identity. Beginning with the Hamburgische Dramaturgie I will outline the historical basis by which the theatre has come to personify German national and cultural identity. This will also help to establish the continued importance of theatre to German-speaking Europe. I will then place the Postwar situation within this context and identify possible parallels between the Enlightenment and the Postwar periods.

Chapter Two will focus on the production of Lessing's Nathan der Weise at Max Reinhardt's Deutsches Theater in Berlin. Particular attention will be paid to the theme of this play (religious tolerance) and its selection as the production to reopen one of Germany's most prestigious theaters. Nathan der Weise will also be analyzed as an Enlightenment play that speaks most directly to a postwar audience.

Chapter Three will focus on the production of Goethe's Faust. In particular, I will analyze the role of Mephisto created by Gustave Gründgens and its implications in postwar Germany. (This will naturally lead to a discussion of Gründgens and his peculiar rise to fame in the Third Reich and transition to the Postwar theater.) Because Faust remains so central to German cultural identity, this chapter may also bring into account other productions both before and after the war. (or Iphegenia auf Tauris)

Chapter Four will analyze the staging of Schiller's Don Carlos and discuss its place in the reformation of national identity. As a drama frequently produced and prized by the theater of the Third Reich, Don Carlos holds a unique position as a drama that was interpreted by both wartime and postwar German society. Ana analysis of the play's transformation over this period will be particularly helpful.

Chapter Five will consider Heinrich von Kleist's Prinz Friedrich von Homburg and the themes of nationalism that arise in the play. In particular, Kleist's critique of nationalism and the place of the individual within the state suggests a very interesting postwar reading.

Chapter Six will draw together the two most famous national institutions, Weimar and Bayreuth, (with a section devoted to the 1954 production of Wagner's Parsifal at Bayreuth as representative of the reformation of German national identity) and discuss the continued use of these institutions in establishing German cultural history independent of National Socialist ideology. This chapter will close with a discussion of how these institutions make particular use of the term Vergangenheitsbewältigung and how that use defines these institutions in Germany's reunification.

The Epilogue will draw together the similarities between the national identity of the Enlightenment and the reestablishment of national identity in the Postwar and discuss the relative success of the Postwar attempt at reestablishing a national cultural identity. Attention will be focused on the recent reunification of Germany and its effect both on the theatre and the process of coming to terms with the past.

V. Present State of Project:

Currently I am at the beginning of a long process. While the above outlined project is imposing and difficult, I believe that it is possible. Further refinement and narrowing will happen naturally through the availability and unavailability of archival materials and systematically as I become more familiar with the current scholarship and choose my focus more carefully. While I recognize the danger of being too general at the beginning of a research project, I also believe that there is an equal danger in becoming too specific too quickly. It is with these general ideas outlined above that I begin the process of refinement.
This fall I will embark upon a two-month study in Germany to investigate the performance circumstances surrounding the chosen German classic dramas. I will attempt to create a performance history of these productions and use this history in my analysis. For this inquiry, I have received a Predissertation Fellowship from the Center for German and European Studies and the University of California Berkeley. During this visit I will be visiting the major Theater History archives in Köln, Hamburg, Munich and Berlin and the personal archives at selected theaters. (Theaterwissenschaftliches Institut der Freien Universität Berlin, Akademie der Künste and Deutsches Theatermuseum Munich)
In November of 2000 I will formally apply for a Fulbright Full Grant to research in Germany during the 2001-2002 school year. During this time I will focus my attention on deepening my understanding of the theatre as a cultural institution in Germany and continuing my work in the archives and at the theaters. I would also take this time to see representative productions of Postwar plays in German-speaking Europe, as well as productions of those plays identified in this dissertation.
Following this research trip, I will return to Santa Barbara to work in residence with my dissertation committee (Dr. Simon Williams-chair, Committee members: Dr. Davies King, Dr. Wolf Kittler, and Dr. Peter Lackner). I anticipate finishing the dissertation in the spring of 2003.