Two men, two worlds, two principles in a duel. At stake is the fate of millions and an irreplaceable city. The choice of weapons: the word, the truth, the lie. It's all a matter of perspective.
Paris, August 1944.German soldiers still hold much of France and the country's capital. But what will happen when the Allies invade Paris in the next few days? The setting of the play is the Hotel Meurice, the headquarters of the Wehrmacht commander of Greater Paris, General Dietrich von Choltitz. He has received orders from Hitler that "Paris must not fall into the hands of the enemy, or only as a field of rubble."
Everything is in place for the destruction of the French capital. Suddenly, through a secret door, Raoul Nordling, the Swedish consul general, appears at von Choltitz's house. A fascinating, oppressive, breathtaking and highly exciting duel between the Swedish diplomat and the German military unfolds.
A play about war and diplomacy, about the contradictions between the laws of war and the imperatives of humanity. What is a crime and what is a military action? Where does humanity begin and when is everything allowed? But it is also a play about the strength and power of the individual and the art of diplomacy. It shows in a haunting way: History is made by people.
"Face reality!"
"What reality? Yours or mine?"
Text source and more information about this event: http://freiesschauspiel.de/programm/spielplan/diplomatie
