A chronicle of the tragic life of a Nazi war criminal’s son, East of Berlin – the Nazi euphemism for deporting Jews to death camps – raises questions about culpability for crimes against humanity. While Hannah Moscovitch argues that those who commit such crimes are liable for their actions, she also examines the effect such actions can have on future generations. How can the descendents of war criminals redeem themselves from a legacy over which they had no control, but which bequeaths to them the inexpressible agony of guilt?

The play revolves around Rudi, who, having discovered that his Jewish lover, Sarah, is pregnant, returns to Paraguay to confront his father, a Nazi doctor who performed brutal experiments on hapless Jewish concentration camp inmates. Rudi has lied to Sarah about his father’s past, and when an old schoolmate arrives to blow the whistle, Rudi assures her that he will do whatever he needs to so that they can start a family together.

The majority of the play is Rudi’s monologue. Although the device of having a character address the audience directly can often be tiresome, Moscovitch uses this approach to link form and content, unabashedly challenging the audience with the difficult moral questions that the subject matter raises. Rudi’s narrative forces us to look at our own responses to humanity’s seemingly inexhaustible potential for cruelty, while reminding us that silence is the equivalent of complicity.

The need to learn from history is painfully apparent in Rudi’s tortured situation. And while the play’s resolution does not provide the happily-ever-after ending we perhaps long for, it does make us crave a future in which such moral dilemmas no longer apply. – Laurel Smith, a writer, playwright, and theatre director in Toronto.