Kurt Hirschfeld: late applause for a forgotten man

Kurt Hirschfeld’s biography is a prime example of the life of a committed individual in the 20th century. Under his leadership, the Schauspielhaus Zürich became a hub of cultural resistance against fascism in Europe. dschoint ventschr

Under Kurt Hirschfeld's influence, the Schauspielhaus Zürich, Switzerland's largest theatre, gained unprecedented political and artistic significance. However, the man himself remained invisible for a long time. A documentary now turns the spotlight on the Jewish theatre pioneer.

Hirschfeld – Unknown Acquaintance begins quietly. At the Schauspielhaus Zurich, actors are rehearsing a text from Max Frisch’s play Andorra that seems to have fallen out of time. “Now it’s up to you to acknowledge your Jew.” It’s not just about the play and the message, but about the man who made these sentences possible: Kurt Hirschfeld (1902-1964). And the irritating fact that hardly anyone knows his name.

This is because Hirschfeld was one of the key figures in the Zurich theatre. The stage that became a refuge for persecuted artists during the Nazi era and saw theatre as resistance. Outside, dark history was being written; inside, it was being played out. This would not have been the case without Hirschfeld. But for a long time, people were more familiar with the myth of the theatre than the man behind it.

The married couple and directing duo Stina Werenfels and Samir turn the spotlight on the “unknown acquaintance”, as Hirschfeld is referred to in the title of the new film. It seems as if an old omission has been corrected.

As if the story could slip away

In the next scene, Hirschfeld’s daughter opens a box: maps, photos, a gun cartridge. Perhaps for emergencies. Memories come together, carefully, tentatively. Companions talk about him. This is how a figure emerges, a man who wrote theatre history, about things, quotes, voices. It is touching and bitter at the same time.

In passing, we learn that for a long time hardly anyone in Switzerland was interested in him: his estate ends up in New York. A punchline about national memory: it celebrates institutions – and forgets who made them possible.

Werenfels and Samir tell the story in a classic way: archive images, interviews, documents. Very controlled, almost cautious. As if the story could slip away if it were told too freely. Yet it has long been out of control: exile, anti-Semitism, persecution – and a theatre that plays against time while the world outside is falling apart.

Ruth Hirschfeld at the Schauspielhaus Zürich – the very place where her father made history, yet remained out of the public eye for so long. dschoint ventschr

The constellation for Hirschfeld in Switzerland also fits in with this: they need him, a German Jew, but they don’t trust him. They utilise his energy and call it “foreign infiltration”. They let him work and ask him to keep politically quiet. Hirschfeld moves like someone who knows he can stay as long as he doesn’t get too loud. And yet he is.

Important – just not visible

But while the material burns, the form of the film remains cool. This is both an attitude and a limitation. You understand a lot and are rarely surprised. And yet the film keeps tipping over: when the daughter tells how she had to say goodbye to her father; when Swiss dramatist Friedrich Dürrenmatt becomes “de Dürri”; when history suddenly becomes a person who simply wanted to work, who wanted to be. Then this film takes on something light, almost tender.

Kurt Hirschfeld (right) transformed the Schauspielhaus Zürich into a leading theatre in the German-speaking world. After the war, he championed new voices, such as that of Max Frisch (left), whom he supported wholeheartedly and helped gain international recognition. dschoint ventschr

Hirschfeld – Unknown Acquaintance is not a daring documentary, it doesn’t want to blow you away. It wants you to remember someone you have obviously overlooked. In the end, it is less a discovery than a correction. And it shows how a man can be central without becoming visible.

The film’s almost excessive restraint forces you to see the blank space for yourself. And it is not so easy to overlook afterwards.

Translated from German with AI/ts

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