Hans Schwaighofer, director of the 1970 Oberammergau Passion Play, has resigned his post because of opposition to his efforts to eliminate anti-Jewish overtones from the scheduled performances.
Deputy Mayor Arthur Haser said yesterday that Mr. Schwaighofer had announced his resignation after being told at a meeting of the village council that most of the 5,000 townsmen had rejected his plan to adopt a substitute for the text that has been used for the last century. His resignation was the most spectacular move in a debate raging in Oberammergau for years. It has stalled preparations for the next performance of the play, which is presented every 10 years.
The old text portrays the Jews as a “fiendish, bloodthirsty people” from whom the “kingdom of God will be taken away.” Mr. Schwaighofer wanted to abandon that text completely, rather than expurgate it as some had preferred.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
