Krieg. Stell dir vor, er wäre hier

Libretto by the composer based on an Essay by Janne Teller with poems by Nora Gomringer (G)

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The unthinkable has happened: There is a war – not somewhere far away, but rather here, in our country. Everything that seemed natural breaks down within a short time: security, prosperity, health. Destruction, unrelenting competition, and the thought police reign supreme. Whoever wants to offer his family a future, or even just a roof over their heads, has to organize an escape, and that too is only possible if you have connections. The Middle East is safe, but there nobody wants them: the refugees from the north with their useless skills and their very different lifestyle. A German family manages to get to Egypt. In the tent camp, it is better than in the war at home, but it takes two years full of bitterness and conflicts with other occupants of the camp before temporary asylum is granted.
When after difficult years full of privation in an alien land the war is over, the family’s children are grown up. The return to Germany reveals their inner conflict between the cultures. What is home for the family now? The memory of a distant past ...