Oberammergau's Blood Curse

By MICHAEL WALSH OBERAMMERGAU

They are perhaps the most chilling words in the New Testament: "His blood be on us and on our children." This verse (Matthew 27: 25), in which Jews seemingly take responsibility for Christ's death, has for centuries been cited as biblical justification for Jewish suffering. With anti-Semitic incidents on the rise in Europe, nervous eyes were steadied last week on the Bavarian Alpine village of Oberammergau (pop. 5,000), where the decennial Passion play, condemned by Jews as anti-Semitic, opened once again with the "blood curse" intact but muted.

The classic folk drama originated in 1634, after villagers vowed to re-enact Christ's Passion regularly if they were spared from the Black Death. Ever since, residents periodically abandon their main occupations as farmers and wood-carvers, let their hair and beards grow long and compete for the prized roles. As usual, the premiere attracted padres, pilgrims and politicians, ; among them Bavarian Minister-President Max Streibl and U.S. Ambassador Vernon Walters. Mercedes-Benz limousines stood outside the 4,684-seat theater, and the hotels and restaurants were jammed.

This time the town's text commission labored hard to respond to complaints, especially those lodged by American Jews. The commission reworked the basic text, itself a 19th century revision by a local priest, Alois Daisenberger. The new version was prepared in consultation with Jewish agencies and two Catholic scholars, Leonard Swidler and the Rev. Gerard Sloyan of Temple University. The numerous alterations include the re-Judaization of Jesus and his disciples, who wear prayer shawls and yarmulkes, and the removal of stereotypes of the Jews as avaricious and mercenary. "They have made very significant improvements," says Swidler, who has been working with the text commission for twelve years. "There are very few things remaining we would see as problems, and they are minor, except for the blood curse."

Yet that sticking point remains. The commission voted narrowly to retain the controversial line, prompting criticism from Rabbi A. James Rudin of the American Jewish Committee, who is calling for a completely new play that "should reflect the reality of the 'cursed' Jewish people living in a reborn and independent state of Israel." Co-directors Christian Stuckl and Otto Huber, who worked closely with Jewish groups on the text, were also unhappy about the line's retention. "The effect of this sentence through the centuries was a very bad one," acknowledges Huber. Citing Christian theologians, Huber argues that the blood curse is really a reference to the saving power of Christ's death, a sign of the new covenant in the same sense as "washed in the blood of the Lamb," but admits that this fine distinction will be lost on most viewers.

Stylized and static, the five-hour Passion play is hardly a masterpiece, yet many Christians cherish it as a vivid, visible symbol of their faith. Further, it is a cultural artifact representative of its time and thus has historical validity. Finally, it is inappropriate to revise a work of art according to contemporary attitudes. Jews are depicted hardly less stereotypically in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice or Richard Strauss's opera Salome. It is hard to see how any version can ever satisfy all. One possible solution, briefly bruited in 1977, is to revert to Ferdinand Rosner's 1750 version, which makes Satan Christ's principal enemy.

However audiences may judge the event, one thing is certain: the economy of Oberammergau will thrive happily. This year's play, to be performed 95 times through Sept. 30, is expected to attract about 460,000 visitors and generate close to $5 million for the prosperous village. Some things never change.