Axis

Author(s):

When Nazi Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, offers exiled half-Jewish fencing champion and celebrity, Helene Mayer, a place on Germany’s 1936 Olympic team in exchange for her services as a radio broadcaster for the regime, she returns to the Fatherland with high hopes. However, as the shadow of anti-Semitism grows, Helene realizes that Goebbels is using her to help solidify Nazi power, and to ensure that the Olympic Games will not be boycotted by the world. She’s forced to choose between her people and the Jewish man she loves, or the fame, immunity and wealth Goebbels has given her.
Format: Full-length play, drama
Cast Size: 2M/2F
Character breakdown

Joseph Goebbels, 39, Reich Minister of Propaganda
Helene Mayer, 23, Olympic Gold Medalist, German celebrity, half-Jewish by the Nuremberg Law definitions, since her deceased father was Jewish.
Greta Mayer, Helene’s Mother, 50, gentile
Aaron Falkenburg, 28, stage actor, Jewish, Helene’s former boyfriend

Snapshot

Notes:

Based on the true story of Helene Mayer, Axis is the untold Holocaust tragedy of a woman transformed by grief and the allure of fame, seduced by Goebbels into becoming the betrayer of her own people, a key link in the chain of events leading up to the Final Solution.

Original Source Material: The story of Helen Mayer and the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games
Nationality of Author:
Original Language: English
Production Rights Holder:

James Kriz

Experience(s) Chronicled: | | |