Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 1993 - 36

Berlin himself, demanded that all contract with his West Berliner employees be
honored. That he was able to achieve this
shows what position he and his theatre
had in the eyes of the government. The
presentation of the arts and culture was
always a very important fact in the GDR
foreign policy.
Ideological differences between the
state and artists were common. Artists
like Heiner Muller, and Volker Braunvery critical writers-and directors like
Besson, Marquart, Kupfer clashed with
the party. This was twice as difflcul t,
since they did not intent to dismantle the
system of the GDR. They were merely
some of many who had questions, and
asked them, about the right way to a free,
democratic and socialist state.
The arguments about the right path
to socialism found their way into the theatre work in the 1960s and the later
decades. This did not happen without
problems. Important people left us, other
fell silent. But the theme stood, and the
theatres were the place where one could
discuss the problems most openly-but
not all at once and not too violently,
since the party needed irs ideal world.
Then came the years when the GDR
tried very hard to achieve international
recognition. Cooperation in international organizations became important. Great
representative performances of the GDR
theatres were seen as Ii ttle stones to the
road of international recognition. For me
this meant guest performances with the
Volksbuhne in almost every country in
Europe. In 1968, I was asked if I would
like to join the former OISTT, now OISTAT, as a member of the GDR delegation. I accepted, and I am still thankful
for the many chances to meet with colleagues from many different countries, as
a host or guest.
Many discussions with technicians,
writers, architects, and educators from
more than 30 countries over more than 25
years have made many of my colleagues
my friends. The Cold War and different
political positions among us in OISTAT
have never kept us ftom working together
in a fruitful and meaningful way. Joel E.
Rubin supported and sponsored OISTAT
from the beginning. He visited the countries behind the Wall many times and has
always been a welcome friend to the OISTAT section of the GDR. The section that
does not exist anymore, because the land
does not exist anymore.
The crisis in the political system and
the economy escalated during the year
1989; the number of refugees to the West
reached never-before-known proportions, despite the Wall. All easing of
34

1993 SUMMER

TD&T

restrictions on travel, even tolerant travel
permits, could not stop this exodus. This
was the 40th year of the GDR. The 40th
anniversary was planned to be the high
point of the history of the GDR.
The artists of my theatre agreed not
to take part in the official birthday celebrations. Instead they invited all actors of
Berlin to a special celebration in the
morning at our theatre. The theme of the
gathering was the question if the country
could still be changed. There were
reports, proposals, and much resignation.
At the end we decided to call for a great
demonstration on the 4th of November.

The Cold War
and different
political
positions
among us have
never kept us
from working
together in a
fruitful and
meaningful
way.
There, representatives from the arts, the
churches, but also politics should have
had the chance to voice their opinion
and their demands. It was planned as a
non-violent demonstration. It took place,
wi th more than a million participants,
and it was the largest demonstration the
city had seen.
It was a clear rejection of the policies
of the party, which by then was already
not much more than a shadow. But the
beginning of a new democratic socialist
Germany was only an illusion. Five days
later, after the fall of the Wall, the whole
gigantic system collapsed, taking along
with it 70 years of hope, effort, terror,
and hard work for thousands and the
imprisonment of millions.
The path was cleared, East Germany
was unified with the West, others still have
to wait. And Berlin is again the honest
and craziest town in the world. East and

West collide again in the most cramped
and violent way in the effort to unifY. The
city, in which the division was most complete, shall soon be completely teunited:
administration, traffic, postal services,
telephones (there were only very few Lines
between the tWO parts), police, army, and
of course the cuIturailandscape.
The bricks of the Wall are gone, but
it will take much effort and understanding to see to it that the Wall really disappears. It is astonishing how deep the division in the thinking, the life styles, and
the attitude toward political ptocesses has
grown in the last 40 years. This is a wide
field for theatres to offer room for arguments and analysis, to provoke and to be
the catalyst for a better integration.
Now to your question: What is now
better, what is worse?
My theatre is still working, and it is
certainly one of the most lively and
extraordinary of the whole city. Radicalizing of the bourgeois didactic theatre
(Bildungstheatre) is the main theme.
What does that mean? You have to see for
yourself, and I am sure that you won't
recognize Shakespeare or Schiller in it.
But the audience is there for it, mostly young people. Almost every month we
offer a premiere, which for a theatre of
our size is a remarkable effort. Our financial situation is not bad. This is very positive! Others have greater problems,
because there are many ensembles in the
city and all need money, which is scarce.
Outside of Berlin, half the theatres will
have to close, or have to expect it.
After three years of market economy,
most of the industries and the agriculture
of the GDR have collapsed. Unemployment has reach a new peak at 14%,
which is a terrible number, the highest
since 1930. If one counts the employees
who were sent into early retirement, one
fourth of the able population of the new
states (neue Bundeslander, as the former
GDR is now called), is out of work.
I do not have to tell you about the
results of this situation. Higher crime
rates, violence and drugs, hatred for foreigners, political radicalism ... the circle
closes in the well-known fashion. Julius
Fucik, a resistance fighter who was killed
by the azis, left us with this warning:
"People, be aware!" Let us all hope that
my German compatriots do not remember this warning toO late. That would be
terrible!
ffi
Manfred Fiedler is the technical director of
the Volksbuhne Berlin. This article was
originally presented as a speech at the 1993
USITT Conference & Stage Expo in
Wichita.

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