13 MINUTEN - wie Georg Elser beinahe die Welt verändert hätte

For 30 nights, the cabinetmaker Georg Elser had himself locked inside Munich’s Bürgerbräukeller and hollowed out the pillar of the gallery to install what he called his “machine of hell” there. It was intended to cause the entire gallery directly above the lectern to collapse.

Thirteen minutes before the detonation, Hitler and his entire leadership team left the Bürgerbräukeller, contrary to the original schedule. They all escaped unharmed. The gallery collapsed.

Thirty meters from the border crossing into Switzerland, where he hoped to find refuge, Elser was spotted by a border guard from Konstanz, who then took him to the guardhouse for questioning.

He was murdered 20 days before the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp.

He had not confided in a single person about his plan.

Georg Elser foresaw what was in store for Germany and the world. Unlike the vast majority, his conscience forbade him from remaining idle.

Based on the Gestapo’s interrogation transcript, Bernd Wengert and Michael Moravek have written a play that focuses on Georg Elser as a person, his sharp and far-sighted view of Germany’s development under Hitler, and the dramatic course of his act. Inspired by Georg Elser’s fate, Moravek has written songs for the play.

Moravek’s album, released in April and recorded with his band Electric Traveling Show, was enthusiastically received by the music press and nominated for the German Record Critics’ Award.

Bernd Wengert — Script, Direction, and Acting Michael Moravek — Songs, guitar, zither, vocals: Tomáš Skřivánek (bass), Christian Krischkowsky (drums), Andrej Polanský (viola, mandolin, banjo), Wibke Becker (vocals, percussion), Štěpán Vodenka (keyboards)