Your Friend & Helper is the motto of the German Ordnungspolizei, the ordinary uniformed police branch found walking the beat in any German city and in World War Two the were detailed to undertake security duty in occupied Europe. This play was inspired by a unique incident in the holocaust. In the spring of 1942, the commander of police battalion 101 invited his men to opt out of the mass killing of Polish Jews. Christopher Browning describes this incident in his remarkable book Ordinary Men, where he points out that the members of 101 were not primarily Nazis, but reserve policemen who came from Hamburg, perhaps the least Nazified city in Germany. They were older men whose primary moral conditioning was not National Socialist. That a mere 12 men from a total of 500 availed themselves of their commander's offer say's much about the nature of police terror in Nazi Germany and is a sad comment on humanity.
The play follows a fictional police battalion 501, posted to Poland in spring 1942, which is being run up preparatory to taking part in an, as yet, unspecified paramilitary police action. The story starts and finishes in November 1963, the day John F. Kennedy is assassinated, at a Railway Station in Cologne, where Rainer Schultz and Nicolai Petersen meet after an interval of more than twenty years. Neither man has sought this meeting but as potential witnesses in a murder investigation of 501's activities in Poland they are forced to confront their shared past.
The remainder of the action takes place in a village school serving as a temporary barracks and the woods just outside Josephstown, Southern Poland, over an evening and the following day in May1942. The men of 501 gradually become aware of what they are being asked to do and when their commander offers them the chance not to participate in mass murder, private conscience and public duty are forced into open conflict, the effects of which are devastating for the men both individually and as a group.
Your Friend & Helper seeks to ask questions about the nature of war, of orders, duty and honour, loyalty and friendship, courage and acquiescence. Finally it is about morality, complicity and the cleansing power of truth.
The play is mainly naturalistic in tone and should be staged as simply as possible, with only props and lighting to suggest changes of scene.
Characters
Major Peter 'papa' Neuman (55) Battalion Commander. Neuman is a career policeman, if somewhat unmilitary in appearance; Neuman has never been considered SS material by HQ. Under the strain of war he has begun to drink heavily. Neuman may doubt the wisdom of his orders but he will carry then out to the letter.
SS Hauptsturmfuehrer Johan Jens, (30s) Company Captain. A Nazi ideologue Jens believes totally in the Fuehrer’s mission; highly intelligent he has little truck with what he sees as the hypocrisy and mealy mouthed attitude of his superiors.
Lt. Nicolai Petersen (35) A printer by trade, now a temporary police officer, Petersen is Battalion 501’s conscience. Eventually he will lead those who step forward and refuse to shoot.
Sgt. Franz Stoss (40) A classic NCO, tough, intelligent; does what he’s told to do and is no longer interested in asking why.
Pt. Willi Weiz (40s) A former fitter, clearly not a Nazi, but as yet unsure of what he is; finally he will revolt against immoral orders.
Pt. Lutz Falk (40) An ex manual worker; dedicated to avoiding anything that smacks of military activity.
These two are a pair of army skivers; system D could have been made for them, which makes it all the more troubling to Falk when Weiz will step forward to join Petersen.
Pt. Karl Kruger (22) Just married, not overly intelligent, but cheerful. He’s worried about how he’ll fit into the unit and how he’ll perform in combat, which makes him somewhat desperate to please. Kruger is not Nazi, but like all German youth has been brought up to believe in Hitler and Germany’s special mission.
Pt. Rainer Schulz (19) Intelligent and thoughtful, but also unsure of how he’ll react to actual fighting. He will never be wholly certain why he stepped forward to join Petersen and Weiz.
Your Friend & Helper is TDRMultimedia's new theatre production, watch out for it in 2014.
All enquires to [email protected] or Tel: 07404863181
The play follows a fictional police battalion 501, posted to Poland in spring 1942, which is being run up preparatory to taking part in an, as yet, unspecified paramilitary police action. The story starts and finishes in November 1963, the day John F. Kennedy is assassinated, at a Railway Station in Cologne, where Rainer Schultz and Nicolai Petersen meet after an interval of more than twenty years. Neither man has sought this meeting but as potential witnesses in a murder investigation of 501's activities in Poland they are forced to confront their shared past.
The remainder of the action takes place in a village school serving as a temporary barracks and the woods just outside Josephstown, Southern Poland, over an evening and the following day in May1942. The men of 501 gradually become aware of what they are being asked to do and when their commander offers them the chance not to participate in mass murder, private conscience and public duty are forced into open conflict, the effects of which are devastating for the men both individually and as a group.
Your Friend & Helper seeks to ask questions about the nature of war, of orders, duty and honour, loyalty and friendship, courage and acquiescence. Finally it is about morality, complicity and the cleansing power of truth.
The play is mainly naturalistic in tone and should be staged as simply as possible, with only props and lighting to suggest changes of scene.
Characters
Major Peter 'papa' Neuman (55) Battalion Commander. Neuman is a career policeman, if somewhat unmilitary in appearance; Neuman has never been considered SS material by HQ. Under the strain of war he has begun to drink heavily. Neuman may doubt the wisdom of his orders but he will carry then out to the letter.
SS Hauptsturmfuehrer Johan Jens, (30s) Company Captain. A Nazi ideologue Jens believes totally in the Fuehrer’s mission; highly intelligent he has little truck with what he sees as the hypocrisy and mealy mouthed attitude of his superiors.
Lt. Nicolai Petersen (35) A printer by trade, now a temporary police officer, Petersen is Battalion 501’s conscience. Eventually he will lead those who step forward and refuse to shoot.
Sgt. Franz Stoss (40) A classic NCO, tough, intelligent; does what he’s told to do and is no longer interested in asking why.
Pt. Willi Weiz (40s) A former fitter, clearly not a Nazi, but as yet unsure of what he is; finally he will revolt against immoral orders.
Pt. Lutz Falk (40) An ex manual worker; dedicated to avoiding anything that smacks of military activity.
These two are a pair of army skivers; system D could have been made for them, which makes it all the more troubling to Falk when Weiz will step forward to join Petersen.
Pt. Karl Kruger (22) Just married, not overly intelligent, but cheerful. He’s worried about how he’ll fit into the unit and how he’ll perform in combat, which makes him somewhat desperate to please. Kruger is not Nazi, but like all German youth has been brought up to believe in Hitler and Germany’s special mission.
Pt. Rainer Schulz (19) Intelligent and thoughtful, but also unsure of how he’ll react to actual fighting. He will never be wholly certain why he stepped forward to join Petersen and Weiz.
Your Friend & Helper is TDRMultimedia's new theatre production, watch out for it in 2014.
All enquires to [email protected] or Tel: 07404863181