20. Juli

In the organizer's words:

JULY 20

By Bernhard Schlink
In cooperation with the Schule für Schauspiel Hamburg
DIRECTOR: Franz-Joseph Dieken

With Justin Elmquist, Isabella Gonzalez, Constantin Moll, Charlie Österheld, Tom Seack, Nikolai Terminante, Anna Weichberger

Premiere on August 23, 2024
Performances until September 30, 2024

A school class celebrates graduating from high school. Two years of cramming are over, but also two years of fascinating history lessons. These included the topic of civil courage. Using the example of Stauffenberg, who attempted and failed to assassinate Adolf Hitler on July 20, 1944, the class also discusses when the "Wehret den Anfängen" should begin. The teacher himself is also drawn into this moral questioning and is certain that he would have tried to kill Hitler at an earlier point in time, i.e. at a time when success would have been more certain. The students turn the tables at the graduation ceremony. When can the obvious shift to the right in Germany be prevented to the extent that it takes on the excesses of Nazi Germany? Should we risk our own lives and kill a person who, at this point in time, can only be accused of promoting doctrinaire views? A sharp-tongued exchange of pros and cons begins. The deed just seems to have to happen. Even the interventions of the teacher, who has joined in, can hardly influence the young people's attitude of having to do something now. But will their courage last until the end? One week before the state elections in Saxony and Thuringia, world author Bernhard Schlink gets to the heart of a delicate thought process!

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