First published 2001
The Bavarian village of Oberammergau has presented its Passion Play depicting Christ's trial, crucifixion, and resurrection almost every decade since 1634. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims flock to each production, seeking spiritual fulfillment from this religious drama. But the play carries a troubling legacy. Hitler praised it as effective propaganda against Jews, and by 1970 prominent figures worldwide organized a boycott over its antisemitic content. As the village prepared for its 2000 production, scholar James Shapiro arrived to witness how the community would navigate these competing pressures. The villagers faced demands to revise centuries of tradition while preserving what they saw as sacred theater. Shapiro examines how this small Bavarian community became a battleground where religious devotion collides with historical responsibility, where artistic tradition meets moral reckoning.
Genres: history, 20th-century, religion, 21st-century, antisemitism
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-fiction, moral-reckoning
Setting: Oberammergau, Bavaria, Germany
Period: 1634, 2000
272 pages · Paperback · Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group