Tom Stoppard’s latest play follows the fortunes of a wealthy Jewish family in Vienna before and after the Nazi Anschluss of Austria. Much of it is based on Stoppard’s childhood in nearby Czechoslovakia before he escaped to England, where he was adopted and brought up by a British family. He had little knowledge of his Jewish inheritance till he went back to Vienna to search for his roots.
The play moves swiftly from riches to rags in Leopoldstadt, the old Jewish quarter of Vienna. At first it was all merriment and parties. Later everyone was wearing winter coats indoors and wondering if they should stick it out or try to escape to America or Shanghai. America had quotas. Sounds familiar? There were a few lighter moments. A baby was about to be circumcised and the doctor was expected. In a case of mistaken identity, a Doctor of Law arrived to see someone else in the family and was taken for the medical doctor. He took out a cigar and said has anyone got a cigar cutter. No? Never mind, I’ll bite it off!
The play resonated with me, as I worked in Vienna for four years in the 1980’s. I was Librarian at Vienna International School. My daughter’s best friend was a Jewish girl called Debbie. Her grandmother was one of those who actually escaped to Shanghai. The family had first gone to Singapore, but then they decided it would be safer to go even further away and ended up in Shanghai. After the war they returned to Vienna, bringing with them a lot of Chinese artefacts which enabled them to set up a lucrative business.
Fact meets fiction.
I worked with a woman whose Nazi ID number was tattooed on her left arm. She was young and healthy when her family was taken, and labored hard and stayed alive until liberation.
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