Hedda Zinner »Caféhaus Payer« (1941) Lecture von Stephanie Marx

The writer, theater artist, and journalist Hedda Zinner was one of the most widely read female authors in the GDR. Plays such as “Ravensbrücker Ballade” (1961) and novels such as “Katja” (1980) are underpinned by an anti-fascist stance; at the same time, Zinner repeatedly questioned the state-mandated anti-fascism in the GDR. This unconventional streak is already evident in Zinner’s first play, “Caféhaus Payer” (1941): Set in Vienna in March 1938, it tells the story of how the long-established Payer family manages (only barely) to get by shortly after the Nazis seized power. Zinner addresses the gravity of the situation with the witty tone of a folk play, blending Viennese dialect with Berlin slang. The explicit setting of the plot in Austria, however, raises pressing questions about local specifics and the universality of anti-fascism. Furthermore, the play sheds light on the gendered dimension of anti-fascist practice.