Oberammergau: The Troubling Story of the World's Most Famous Passion Play

The Bavarian village of Oberammergau has staged the trial, crucifixion, and resurrection of Christ nearly every decade since 1634. Each production of the Passion Play attracts hundreds of thousands, many drawn by the spiritual benefits it promises. Yet Hitler called it a convincing portrayal of the menace of Jewry, and in 1970 a group of international luminaries boycotted the play for its anti-Semitism. As the production for the year 2000 drew near, James Shapiro was there to document the newest wave of obstacles that faced the determined Bavarian villagers. Erudite and judicious, Oberammergau is a fascinating and important look at the unpredictable and sometimes tragic relationship between art and society, belief and tolerance, religion and politics.

In 1633, the residents of the small Bavarian village of Oberammergau made a vow that, if they were spared from a plague that was sweeping the countryside, they would perform a Passion play in perpetuity. Legend has it that no more villagers died; and the town has famously kept its vow. Every decade for centuries, the people of Oberammergau have presented their play. As described by theatrical historian James Shapiro, Oberammergau is a fascinating cultural, commercial, and religious saga. The book is sharpest in its analysis of the villagers' ambivalent efforts to rid their play of anti-Semitism. (Hitler, who attended the play twice, praised its convincing portrayal of "the menace of Jewry.") Recent revisions in the play's text, as well as casting and costume changes, have restored an historically accurate, Hebrew quality to Jesus and the other major characters in the drama. James Shapiro, who spent a great deal of time in the village gathering material for this book, observes in detail the anxieties and scandals that attended these changes--as well as the empathy and understanding that they occasioned. --Michael Joseph Gross

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Recent Reviews

1/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Oct-19-2008; No big deal; Guess what -- inspired by the Oberammergau tradition, a remote village in Brazil has been enacting the Passion, roughly yearly, since 1951 -- 2008 was the 41st event. It is an 8-day show, attended by 60 to 70 thousand people every year,...; read full review | report as inappropriate

5/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Jun-11-2007; A town and world grapple with the roots of evil; The Oberammergau Passion Play has been in near-contintual production sine 1643 when (as legend has it) terrified townsfolk promised it in return for divine protection from a plague. This hoary drama seems innocent and pious enough on its...; read full review | report as inappropriate

3/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Aug-30-2005; Capable of better; It is possible to see in this book, if you are patient with it, the same mind and authorial voice that produced "1599:A Year in the Life of Shakespeare", particularly in the humanity of the work and the intensity of its research, but...; read full review | report as inappropriate

5/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Feb-15-2004; The passion of the passion play; Although frequently cited in connection with its visitations from and support by Adolph Hitler, the passion play of Oberammergau, Bavaria is less frequently the study of the more serious and long standing issues bound up with a...; read full review | report as inappropriate

Selected Reviews

5/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Jun-11-2007; A town and world grapple with the roots of evil; The Oberammergau Passion Play has been in near-contintual production sine 1643 when (as legend has it) terrified townsfolk promised it in return for divine protection from a plague. This hoary drama seems innocent and pious enough on its...; read full review | report as inappropriate

3/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Aug-30-2005; Capable of better; It is possible to see in this book, if you are patient with it, the same mind and authorial voice that produced "1599:A Year in the Life of Shakespeare", particularly in the humanity of the work and the intensity of its research, but...; read full review | report as inappropriate

1/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Oct-19-2008; No big deal; Guess what -- inspired by the Oberammergau tradition, a remote village in Brazil has been enacting the Passion, roughly yearly, since 1951 -- 2008 was the 41st event. It is an 8-day show, attended by 60 to 70 thousand people every year,...; read full review | report as inappropriate