From today’s Huffington Post — and for the related post on our blog, go here
Cynthia P. Schneider Cultural Diplomacy Expert; Fmr. U.S. Ambassador to Netherlands
A Class Act in Diplomacy: Leading With Humility
“We have to face the truth, no matter how bitter,” Ambassador Schnepf commented as he went on to emphasize the importance of learning from the past to avoid those same mistakes, and, ultimately, to create a more peaceful world. No one in the audience found this trope to be self-evident as we watched the unfolding of unthinkable acts of cruelty between erstwhile classmates.
Not unlike some patterns of domestic violence, the attacks of Catholic Poles on their Jewish neighbors inOur Class seep almost imperceptibly into the fabric of life following the German occupation of Jewabne in June of 1940. Two Catholic young men beat a Jewish classmate until a third Catholic makes them stop, asking, “What are you doing?” The victim and assailants alike stand and look around, bewildered, as if to ask, “What just happened?” The next time they meet, the Catholics will beat their Jewish classmate to death.
Our Class explores events leading to and following the murder of half of the town — some 1600 Jewish men, women, and children — by the other half, their Catholic neighbors. Jan Gross’s book Neighbors, published in 2001, first thrust the true story of Jewabne into the Polish consciousness, shattering illusions that Poles had not participated in the Holocaust.
Our Class brings the gruesome facts of the Jewabne massacre to life as only theater can. Director Derek Goldman’s production distills a monstrous crime into relationships between ten people, revealing acts both humane and mundane in an abyss of inhumanity and hypocrisy. In Our Class, the audience looks in vain for heroes, and is constantly haunted by the words of one of the characters, “What could I do?” It is encouraging to learn that Tadeusz Slobodzianek’s original Polish version of the play drew nightly capacity crowds three years into its Warsaw production.
Ambassador Schnepf’s moving appearance at the opening of Our Class contrasts with the conspicuous absence of official representation from China at the opening of the first exhibition of the most famous Chinese artist, Ai Weiwei, at the Hirshorn Museum. Sadly, the artist himself was unable to attend or speak at the opening, as the Chinese authorities have continued to withhold his passport since he was arrested in 2011 on tax evasion charges. Although Ai Weiwei has been released, the charges are still pending, and he is not allowed to leave the country.
To continue reading, click here.
