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Ladies and Gentlemen!
Today Europe is experiencing the first war of aggression in 83 years waged by one country against another on our continent.
We all thought that the experience of the 20th century was so horrific that no one with political responsibility would even remotely think of taking the risk of such a terrible confrontation, shaking the order that has brought Europe so much prosperity, security and happiness during the past 76 years.
Of course we know that such an attack is really waged out of political desperation over one’s own failure as a statesman, which outwardly turns into hubris, taking an entire country hostage.
Of course we know from history that a war of aggression always causes the aggressor himself to lose in the end and the murderers to be held accountable, because the alliance and solidarity with the invaded state fortunately still turn out to be stronger.
But this sometimes takes many years and brings destruction and immeasurable human suffering.
And that is the reason why I am speaking to you today.
We theater people are the experts in the human condition/conditio humana. We know people’s passions, their qualities and, as few others do, their weaknesses. We are all human beings, whether in uniform or not, no matter what country is in our passport; we feel the same pain, share the same longing and love life and our common world. We theater people know the effects of happiness and confidence, what they do in soul and body, but also the effects of pain and trauma, which often remain throughout life.
We tell stories so that you, beloved audience, can recognize yourself in them and sometimes laugh at yourself.
We show you the impossible so that you dare the possible.
Today in Europe people are shooting at people again.
So today I ask you to do everything possible to alleviate human suffering.
Please do everything that is in your power to help, to prevent suffering, and to alleviate pain.
Dare to do what is possible!
Since we could not prevent war, let us at least try to keep its effects as mild as possible, in the spirit of the [tradition and] recent peaceful history of our continent, the indivisible dignity of man, and with mutual respect and love for our world.
Markus Kupferblum
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen!
Exactly 10 years ago Bernd.C. Sucher, Gaby Welker, Renald Deppe, François-Michel van der Rest and I launched the European Theatre Day for Tolerance.
The occasion was the takeover of a Hungarian national theater in Budapest, the “Little Theater,” by a far-right theater director who belonged to the notorious Jobbik party, after the previous director was deposed by the government. This party openly incited against homosexuals, Roma, Jews and foreigners.
During a trip to Budapest, where we met with important personalities of the Hungarian cultural life as well as the concerned directors, we were able to get an idea of the tense political situation.
As a result, we decided to launch the “European Theatre Day of Tolerance”.
However, with this initiative, we did not want to point complacently at the Hungarians, but to draw attention to the danger of right-wing populism, which is gaining strength everywhere in Europe.
Because we theater people see ourselves as mediators of the values of the Enlightenment, standing for curiosity, humanity and tolerance.
Since February 1, a manifesto has been read out before performances in theaters, concert halls and event venues in Europe to draw the audience’s attention to this point of view.
Already in the first year more than 800 cultural institutions participated in this initiative and we enjoyed an enormous echo in all important media in Europe.
I would like to express my sincere thanks for this valuable and committed support of all participating artists, artistic directors and journalists, who made this success possible in the first place.
Today, however, we face ever greater challenges.
Many more European governments have since allowed themselves to be blinded time and again by the cheap but usually all too short-lived success of a right-wing populist stance. But a vigilant and critical civil society ensures that they do not cause too much damage and, above all, disappear into oblivion again as quickly as possible.
I kindly ask you to support this initiative by making it known to as broad a public as possible and, if necessary, to read out the memorandum yourself on February 1, 2022, regardless of whether it is a play, an opera, a concert, a reading or any other event at which an audience is present.
Furthermore, I ask you to send photo or video documentation of this reading to kupferblum@gmx.net.
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