Interactive Secret Letters

Many people from the region have accepted our invitation to share the secrets of their families' letters with us. In this way, forgotten life stories emerge from the background and the fates behind the letters are given a new appreciation. 

Lifelines become visible that lead right across Europe and across the Atlantic - flight and emigration, longing and uprooting, political and private matters. The letters - such as those of Maria Augusta von Trapp from her American exile or those of the 15-year-old Nora from her missions as a Red Cross nurse in the First World War, to name just two examples - become a precious burning glass that brings the recent and more distant past vividly before our eyes. The deeply personal thoughts reflect the lives of people in our region and the events of the time that shaped these people's lives.

In two different readings, these private testimonies are juxtaposed with correspondence from artists, scientists and politicians who were guests in the Salzkammergut in order to open up new perspectives: The focus is on the postcard idyll and its flipside, the summer resort and everyday life, as well as the sometimes fateful desires that a landscape and its inhabitants encounter. The focus is on the stories behind the history.

Contributors

Karin Bergmann (Director of the Gmunden Festival Theatre)
Salzkammergut Festival Weeks Gmunden (co-operation partner)

Sonja Zobel (Head of Programme Performing Arts)