Until I saw “Lebensraum” on Feb. 9 at the Invisible Theatre, I thought I knew a great deal about the Holocaust; how wrong I was. I had never heard about lebensraum (“living space”), Hitler’s belief that Germany needed more living space to survive, a premise based on the denial of science. He said that the pursuit of peace and plenty through science was a Jewish plot to distract Germans.
The fanciful theme of the play is that the current chancellor of Germany invites 6 million Jews from anywhere in the world to come to Germany, work and become citizens to atone for the murder of the 6 million. It is a stunning production and the three actors who play multiple characters move smoothly from one character to another. I gasped, I cried and even occasionally chuckled. The play was written in 1997, but sadly, there is much with which we can identify today.
Many thanks to Susan Claassen, managing artistic director of the Invisible Theatre, for having the courage to bring “Lebensraum” to Tucson.
— Billie Kozolchyk
