The second act
'Serious but hopeless - hopeless but not serious - much more serious, but not nearly as hopeless as it appeared at first' (26)
The Laterndl re-opened in November 1939 with a new show: Blinklichter (Beacons). With the outbreak of war, anti-German feeling had grown and many people in Britain saw Germany as inherently militaristic and expansionist. Most Britons did not distinguish between Germans and Austrians. The Laterndl responded with a sketch – Wo liegt Deutschland (Where is Germany) – in which Martians explored Germany to decide whether Nazi rulers speak for all Germans or whether the country may be saved. They concluded that the situation was 'not nearly as hopeless as it appeared at first'. For Austrian and German refugees this distinction was essential, to allow them to hope for a better future for their home countries. In the three months of its run the show attracted circa 6,000 visitors.
Mr Roosevelt can confidently take note that it is my indomitable will finally to occupy the chair destined for me in the White House, so that it finally becomes the Brown House. One way or the other! (27)
The show also introduced Martin Miller’s famous Hitler impersonations. Perfectly capturing the Führer’s grandiose style, ‘Hitler’ announces German territorial claims against the USA based on the fact that Columbus’ discovery of America was only possible due to German technology. One night the BBC’s Head of the German Section of the Political Warfare Executive was in the audience and he arranged for Miller to broadcast his talk on 1 April 1940. Miller’s impersonation was so convincing that, despite the date of the broadcast, the American Broadcaster CBS called the BBC to ask where they got the recording from. The speech initiated the BBC’s use of satire as part of their propaganda war against the Third Reich.
Listen to the recording from 1 April 1940
Read the transcript and translation of the broadcast
'It depends on us!' (28)
The next programme was a showcase of three pieces by Jura Soyfer. Soyfer was a young, left-wing writer known to many of the Laterndl contributors. He was arrested attempting to cross the border to Switzerland and died in Buchenwald in 1939. The programme was entitled Welttheater 1 (World theatre 1) and only performed on three Mondays in January 1940. One of the sketches - Der Lechner Edi schaut ins Paradies (Lechner Edi sees Paradiese) was included in the next show - Von Adam zu Adolf (From Adam to Adolf). It was a rallying cry to the audience not to look back, not to apportion blame, but to look forward and fight for a better future: 'It depends on us!'
Von Adam zu Adolf was again a cabaret show, with the usual mix of songs and sketches. Spuk in Salzburg (Haunting Salzburg) conveyed optimism about attitudes towards the Nazis in Austria, contrasting Austrian ‘Gemütlichkeit’ (cosiness) with Prussian militarism. Throughout their exile, political refugees in particular over-estimated the existence of any kind of resistance in Austria.
'Only an artist can tug at anybody's heart strings nowadays' (29)
The Laterndl’s fourth programme Der unsterbliche Schweijk (The Eternal Schwejk), comprised a montage of scenes from the life of its eponymous hero and attracted wide attention, including a double-page photo spread in Picture Post. Schwejk is a traditional figure of Viennese cabaret - the archetypal little man - enmeshed in red tape, put upon by police, doctors, clergy and officers, but always emerging triumphant.
The show was once more directed by Martin Miller, and scripted by the resident writing team of Königsgarten, Spitz, Hartl and Fuchs, with music written and arranged by Georg Knepler. It was this small group which met regularly to decide the artistic content of the Laterndl programme. There were often heated debates reflecting the political differences between Austrian émigrés: Knepler and Fuchs were committed Communists, Spitz an equally committed Social Democrat. Unfortunately, no script or programme has survived to show how it was adapted for the time.
The next show, Die Drei Groschenoper (Threepenny Opera) premiered 26 May 1940, two weeks after the Nazis had invaded France. No fewer than three actors rehearsed in turn the role of Mack the Knife. The first two were interned until the part was finally assigned to Jaro Klüger. But with the internment of many of its leading actors and the majority of its audience, the Laterndl went dark again, this time for a period of fifteen months.