Die Grünstein-Variante
Eine Geschichte in Erinnerung an Geschichten, die Ludwig Turek erzählt hat
Three men meet in a Parisian prison in 1939: a German captain, who may be a smuggler, but is certainly a jack-of-all-trades; a Greek cook, who raves about the German Kaiser; and a Polish-Jewish butcher, who shares his subtle philosophies about life. They are prisoners caught in the cogs of bureaucracy and in exile they have no rights. Harbingers of impending catastrophe loom and each of them deals with the situation differently. Playing chess becomes their lifeline.
The stories of Ludwig Turek (1898–1975), a typesetter, workers' author and communist – who knew how to combine just the right blend of juicy and hearty aspects to tell the adventures of his flight and time spent at the front – inspired Wolfgang Kohlhaase to develop the text for the radio play. It won the Prix Italia award in 1977. Bernhard Wicki adapted the material for film in 1984.
Excerpts from the documentary Turek erzählt by Richard Cohn-Vossen complete the evening.
Guests: Wolfgang Kohlhaase, Barbara Plensat, Richard Cohn-Vossen