B-17 Flying Fortresses from the 398th Bombardment Group fly a bombing run to Neumünster, Germany, 13 April 1945
The Americans are Coming
by Henrik Eger
Synopsis
This tragic-comic play centers around the end of World War II, the liberation of Germany by American troops, the post-war period in a little village in Bavaria, and later, in a bombed-out industrial city. These events are seen through the eyes of a bright, but naive, little boy who grows, not only physically, but emotionally and intellectually.
Characters
GRITT, 28, an attractive and often cheerful, city-woman, Protestant wife of a young propaganda officer in occupied France—who later becomes a war correspondent in Russia. A secretary at the Kommandantur in Paris for a few years before moving to a small Bavarian farmhouse out of fear that German cities might be bombed by the Allies. Creative, but not well organized—she is full of laughter and fun one moment, lashing out the next. Deep down, she still lives in the fantasy world of elegant, occupied Paris, instead of a simple little farmhouse. Although lacking formal education, she is musical and innovative, a survivor in a country that has collapsed—determined to live, no matter how badly she gets challenged.
MARTIN, Gritt’s 5-year-old naive, but intelligent boy. He often takes refuge in a semi-circle of German and French books that his father had collected, trying to isolate himself from the unpredictable behavior of his mother. He spends a great deal of time sitting on the floor, protected by this castle wall of books, playing with some and coloring others. With each new encounter with other people, including Americans, strangers, and city dwellers—after being puzzled at first—he grows and tries to take on the role of his father, who is not returning from the war in Russia.
BIRGIT, Gritt’s 5-month old baby girl, rests in her crib, and frequently cries at the most inappropriate and inopportune moments. Later, her brother takes care of her when Gritt has to work.
FRAU SEDLMAYER, rotund, simple, devout Catholic, middle-aged farmer’s daughter and Gritt’s landlady. Very supportive of the young war widow from one of the big cities who had taken refuge in her little farmhouse.
HERR SEDLMAYER, Frau Sedlmayer's father, an older farmer, not very talkative, does his work and leaves everything else to his daughter.
MARTIN, Gritt’s 5-year-old naive, but intelligent boy. He often takes refuge in a semi-circle of German and French books that his father had collected, trying to isolate himself from the unpredictable behavior of his mother. He spends a great deal of time sitting on the floor, protected by this castle wall of books, playing with some and coloring others. With each new encounter with other people, including Americans, strangers, and city dwellers—after being puzzled at first—he grows and tries to take on the role of his father, who is not returning from the war in Russia.
BIRGIT, Gritt’s 5-month old baby girl, rests in her crib, and frequently cries at the most inappropriate and inopportune moments. Later, her brother takes care of her when Gritt has to work.
FRAU SEDLMAYER, rotund, simple, devout Catholic, middle-aged farmer’s daughter and Gritt’s landlady. Very supportive of the young war widow from one of the big cities who had taken refuge in her little farmhouse.
HERR SEDLMAYER, Frau Sedlmayer's father, an older farmer, not very talkative, does his work and leaves everything else to his daughter.
Act I
SCENE 1: Baking the baptism cake
Gritt, creatively disorganized, desperately tries to whip together a cake for her youngest child’s baptism the next day. As Germany is almost completely bombed-out, food is hard to come by. Every egg, every ounce of flour and butter, is considered a treasure. Frau Sedlmayer, forever coming to the rescue, arrives with some eggs for the cake. Martin, Gritt’s little son, observes his mother’s antics and asks questions about Hitler and his father.
SCENE 2: The intruder
In the middle of the night, a stranger, desperate for food, breaks into the house, frightening everyone—the first of many occasions when Martin get puzzled. Over the course of time, he realizes that adults do things out of desperation that they might not do under ordinary circumstances. While Gritt disappears in the basement to help Frau Sedlmayer chase away the thief, Martin comforts his baby sister by rocking her gently and singing the first verse of the Lorelei song: “I do not know why I am so sad. . .”
SCENE 3: Big, silver bird
World War II is still raging. The Americans control the airspace over Bavaria and have blocked all roads. Gritt, elegantly dressed with the latest French fashion, including high heels and wearing a fancy hat with a large peacock feather, pushes a baby carriage with Birgit, wrapped in Gritt’s long bridal veil, across fields. Frequently stumbling, she races across the fields, avoiding all roads, looking nervously over her shoulder and up to the sky. Little Martin, warmly dressed, tries to keep pace. An occasional American bomber flies above. One can hear sporadic gunshots–clearly not the environment for a baptism. Gritt anxiously looks at the sky, discovering a bomber on the horizon that comes swooping down, ready to shoot them. In desperation, she quickly pulls the veil off the little girl and waves it at the American bomber, aware that her life hangs in the balance. The pilot swoops down, stops midair, and takes off, flying away. Gritt and her two children race on to the little Protestant church for the baptism.
SCENE 4: Bed sheets of surrender and prisoners in jars
Martin observes the contrasting world between the farmer’s wife, who wants to hang white bed sheets out the window as a sign of surrender in case the Americans win the war, and his mother, who prefers hanging French bed sheets with flowers as her sign of greeting the invading army. As a plague of beetles descends on Germany, the farmers try desperately to eradicate them to save the crops. However, Martin doesn’t like the insects to be killed and offers to keep them in jars to give them to the Americans as his personal welcome gift.
SCENE 5: US pamphlets from the sky
Gritt and her little son have joined the farmers and farmhands to pick beetles. US planes fly over Bavaria and drop leaflets, in both English and German, offering German soldiers food and a safe place in a prison camp if they surrender. Martin, all excited, jumps up to catch some of the leaflets, stumbling across the field with one of the glass jars and the beetles, welcoming the Americans and asking his mother whether they could also drop those leaflets over Russia so that his father would also get food and a safe place to stay.
SCENE 6: Wondering about Dad in Russia
Frau Sedlmayer shares what she has heard on the news: “The war is over, we have lost!” Both women discuss the situation, especially as their husbands are away in Russia and nobody knows whether they are alive or not. Martin, forever optimistic and upbeat, offers to send the leaflet to his father and to Herr Sedlmayer, so that they would get free passage back home. He also offers to send a glass with live beetles to the Americans as a gift. He asks his mother to make two cakes, one for his father and one for Herr Sedlmayer, to celebrate their return. Gritt, relieved that Martin doesn’t understand what has happened, sings and dances around with her little boy.
Gritt, creatively disorganized, desperately tries to whip together a cake for her youngest child’s baptism the next day. As Germany is almost completely bombed-out, food is hard to come by. Every egg, every ounce of flour and butter, is considered a treasure. Frau Sedlmayer, forever coming to the rescue, arrives with some eggs for the cake. Martin, Gritt’s little son, observes his mother’s antics and asks questions about Hitler and his father.
SCENE 2: The intruder
In the middle of the night, a stranger, desperate for food, breaks into the house, frightening everyone—the first of many occasions when Martin get puzzled. Over the course of time, he realizes that adults do things out of desperation that they might not do under ordinary circumstances. While Gritt disappears in the basement to help Frau Sedlmayer chase away the thief, Martin comforts his baby sister by rocking her gently and singing the first verse of the Lorelei song: “I do not know why I am so sad. . .”
SCENE 3: Big, silver bird
World War II is still raging. The Americans control the airspace over Bavaria and have blocked all roads. Gritt, elegantly dressed with the latest French fashion, including high heels and wearing a fancy hat with a large peacock feather, pushes a baby carriage with Birgit, wrapped in Gritt’s long bridal veil, across fields. Frequently stumbling, she races across the fields, avoiding all roads, looking nervously over her shoulder and up to the sky. Little Martin, warmly dressed, tries to keep pace. An occasional American bomber flies above. One can hear sporadic gunshots–clearly not the environment for a baptism. Gritt anxiously looks at the sky, discovering a bomber on the horizon that comes swooping down, ready to shoot them. In desperation, she quickly pulls the veil off the little girl and waves it at the American bomber, aware that her life hangs in the balance. The pilot swoops down, stops midair, and takes off, flying away. Gritt and her two children race on to the little Protestant church for the baptism.
SCENE 4: Bed sheets of surrender and prisoners in jars
Martin observes the contrasting world between the farmer’s wife, who wants to hang white bed sheets out the window as a sign of surrender in case the Americans win the war, and his mother, who prefers hanging French bed sheets with flowers as her sign of greeting the invading army. As a plague of beetles descends on Germany, the farmers try desperately to eradicate them to save the crops. However, Martin doesn’t like the insects to be killed and offers to keep them in jars to give them to the Americans as his personal welcome gift.
SCENE 5: US pamphlets from the sky
Gritt and her little son have joined the farmers and farmhands to pick beetles. US planes fly over Bavaria and drop leaflets, in both English and German, offering German soldiers food and a safe place in a prison camp if they surrender. Martin, all excited, jumps up to catch some of the leaflets, stumbling across the field with one of the glass jars and the beetles, welcoming the Americans and asking his mother whether they could also drop those leaflets over Russia so that his father would also get food and a safe place to stay.
SCENE 6: Wondering about Dad in Russia
Frau Sedlmayer shares what she has heard on the news: “The war is over, we have lost!” Both women discuss the situation, especially as their husbands are away in Russia and nobody knows whether they are alive or not. Martin, forever optimistic and upbeat, offers to send the leaflet to his father and to Herr Sedlmayer, so that they would get free passage back home. He also offers to send a glass with live beetles to the Americans as a gift. He asks his mother to make two cakes, one for his father and one for Herr Sedlmayer, to celebrate their return. Gritt, relieved that Martin doesn’t understand what has happened, sings and dances around with her little boy.
Act II
Scene 1: Christmas Eve, 1945
The little church in Bavaria where, a few months earlier, Birgit had been baptized, is crowded with farming families. Gritt, dressed to the hilt, arrives late as usual. She pushes the carriage with baby Birgit all the way to the front of the church through the crowded middle aisle. She parks the carriage next to the front pew, and sits down with Martin on her lap. Some embarrassed church-goers in the front row squeeze together to make room for the young mother, who doesn't seem to fit in. Gritt happily looks around as if nothing has happened, enjoying the simple Christmas tree, the candles, the crib, and the beautiful old organ. The service had already begun, and people are singing. Gritt begins to feel uncomfortable, exhausted from walking for miles and suffering from the lack of oxygen in the small, crowded church. She looks around for a way to get out of the service without creating further fuss.
Scene 2: United in the dark
Gritt leans against an old oak tree, inhaling the air. She hears the organ playing “Herbei, o ihr Gläubigen” [“Oh Come All Ye Faithful”]. She closes her eyes, thinking of her husband in Russia and of how much she wants to spend Christmas with him. Her eyes, still closed, dreaming, she joins the singing from the church with her beautiful voice, swaying back and forth as if held by Alf. Suddenly, she jumps, hearing a male voice not far from her. What happens next brings unexpected light into the darkness.
The little church in Bavaria where, a few months earlier, Birgit had been baptized, is crowded with farming families. Gritt, dressed to the hilt, arrives late as usual. She pushes the carriage with baby Birgit all the way to the front of the church through the crowded middle aisle. She parks the carriage next to the front pew, and sits down with Martin on her lap. Some embarrassed church-goers in the front row squeeze together to make room for the young mother, who doesn't seem to fit in. Gritt happily looks around as if nothing has happened, enjoying the simple Christmas tree, the candles, the crib, and the beautiful old organ. The service had already begun, and people are singing. Gritt begins to feel uncomfortable, exhausted from walking for miles and suffering from the lack of oxygen in the small, crowded church. She looks around for a way to get out of the service without creating further fuss.
Scene 2: United in the dark
Gritt leans against an old oak tree, inhaling the air. She hears the organ playing “Herbei, o ihr Gläubigen” [“Oh Come All Ye Faithful”]. She closes her eyes, thinking of her husband in Russia and of how much she wants to spend Christmas with him. Her eyes, still closed, dreaming, she joins the singing from the church with her beautiful voice, swaying back and forth as if held by Alf. Suddenly, she jumps, hearing a male voice not far from her. What happens next brings unexpected light into the darkness.
Excerpt
GRITT: Quick, Martin, the Americans are coming! Quick.
MARTIN: (He points to the approaching bomber.) Americans? That's a big bird.
GRITT: (Racing along with the baby carriage.) They don’t want us to go to our church.
MARTIN: No cake? No church. Strange bird!
[. . .]
One of the bombers comes swooping down, ready to shoot them. Gritt, aware of the danger, quickly unwraps the baby from the bridal veil she had used for the festive occasion. Birgit starts crying. Gritt holds up the bridal veil as high as possible toward the bomber, waving it frantically. Martin, all excited, waves too.
GRITT: (Highly agitated, aware of the danger. She tries to reach the pilot by screaming as loudly as possible.) Hello, hello. Going to church. Baptism! Baptism!
The bomber comes very close and then seems to stop midair for a split second. Lights out.
MARTIN: (He points to the approaching bomber.) Americans? That's a big bird.
GRITT: (Racing along with the baby carriage.) They don’t want us to go to our church.
MARTIN: No cake? No church. Strange bird!
[. . .]
One of the bombers comes swooping down, ready to shoot them. Gritt, aware of the danger, quickly unwraps the baby from the bridal veil she had used for the festive occasion. Birgit starts crying. Gritt holds up the bridal veil as high as possible toward the bomber, waving it frantically. Martin, all excited, waves too.
GRITT: (Highly agitated, aware of the danger. She tries to reach the pilot by screaming as loudly as possible.) Hello, hello. Going to church. Baptism! Baptism!
The bomber comes very close and then seems to stop midair for a split second. Lights out.
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