Anschluss Stories

Llegar a un pueblo olvidado por la civilización en medio de la nada no era el mayor inconveniente que Johan tendría. Lo que lo esperaba allí era mucho más que un ambiente hostil en la fría Áustria de 1938...

1938. Austria is being torn apart by Nazi agitators. Dr. Kurt von Schuschnigg, Chancellor of Austria agrees to meet with Hitler in hopes of a peaceful arrangement. Little does Schuschnigg know that Austria is doomed to fall into the hands of the Nazis, and that this meeting will be several hours of HELL for him. ***This story is incomplete. Please be patient, the Nazis will take over Austria eventually.***

Pastor Gottlieb finds it difficult to preach with Nazis in the pews, but since the Anschluss, he has no choice. When a Jewish family seeks his help, he willingly agrees, seeing it as a way to oppose the troops that have invaded Austria. He hides the family in the church, in a service corridor behind the organ pipes. The younger family members plan their escape to New York, but soon realize their elderly grandmother is too frail for the trip. +++ Hymn excerpts from "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" by Martin Luther, 1529; English translation by Frederick Henry Hedge, 1852 Cover Photo by Jan S. via Fotolia.com Cover design by Kristen Stieffel

This is a one-act play based on my favorite vampire story CARMILLA (1872) by J.Sheridan LeFanu. A recent very popular webseries also adapted the same story. Movie versions include "The Vampire Lovers" by Hammer Studios. I updated the story to the Nazi Era, specifically because when the novella was first published everyone thought of Austria as a police state. Correctly, I might add. Without that part of the background, some of the meaning goes missing as well.

What if Georg gets shot by Rolf? Will Maria be like Georg when Agathe passed? Will she and the children successfully escape?