NORMANDY

HOLOCAUST MUSEUM IN BUDAPEST

BERLIN HISTORY Hitler and the Nazis made Berlin their capital but failed to remodel the city. By the end of World War II there was more rubble in Berlin than in all German cities. Following World War II, Berlin was partitioned into American, British, and French zones in the west, and a Soviet zone to the east.

HISTORY cont’d By 1947 the city had become one of the cold war’s first testing grounds. The three western-occupied zones gradually merged, becoming West Berlin, while the Soviet-controlled eastern zone. The division of the city was cruelly finalized in concrete in August 1961, dividing families and friends until the “Peaceful Revolution” of 1989.

EAST BERLIN

DACHAU

BERCHTESGADEN GERMANY- HITLER’S CHALET

BERLIN’S GAY LIFE Some of Berlin’s most prominent men over the centuries are said to have been gay, including Frederick the Great, Heinrich von Kleist, and Alexander von Humboldt. In the 19 th century the city had a vibrant, if underground, gay scene, equivalent to that of much larger cities like Paris or London. In 1920’s, after a series of discriminating laws are abolished, gays became more open and could choose to meet at more than 100 bars and cafes that were openly gay.

GAY LIFE cont’d One of the most popular cruising areas was around Nollendorfplatz. However, with the victory of National Socialism in January 1933, tolerance came to a sharp end. More than 10,000 homosexuals were sent to concentration camps, and others were brutally castrated or sent to prison. Today Berlin is the most prominent gay community in Europe.

BERLIN’S CABARETS For Berliners the images are twofold. There are the golden years of the 1920’s and early 1930’s when the scandalous Anita Berber performed her sinuous stripteases, satirists Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Tucholsky were the toasts of the town. There was also black years, from 1933 to 1945 when Hitler’s propaganda minister Joseph Gobbels shut down well-loved cabarets and chased out or killed talented artists replacing them with a hand-selected national stars. Today cabaret is a staggering mix of satire, sentimentality and silliness.

VARIOUS ACTING TECHNIQUES Stanislavski - “The actor should approach the role of asking, ‘What would I do if I were this character in this particular situation?’ He must find out all he can about the character and the situation.” Sandy Meisner – “Acting is living truthfully under imaginary circumstances.” Stella Adler – “The ultimate aim of the training is to create an actor who can be responsible for his artistic development and achievement.”

TOPICS FOR RESEARCH Treaty of Versailles Adolf Hitler Mein Kampf Nazi party Third Reich The Axis Pearl Harbor Stalin The Berlin Wall Ostopolitik Yalta Conference D-Day Postdam Agreements The Marshall Plan

IDEAS OF QUESTIONS FOR COMPARISON CONTRAST ESSAY Are any of these topics present, directly or indirectly in the play, I Am My Own Wife or the novel Night? How? Through which characters or events, if any, are the above themes explored? How are they relevant to the plot? Or are they? How does any of this information help us better understand the play or the novel.

Resources Information from Goodman Theatre Teacher Guide and pictures from S. Reed’s travel to Berlin, Dachau and Normandy.