Conversion

The basis of cooperation between the Hamburg costa compagnie and the Theater Heidelberg centred on the end of an era. Seventy years ago, US soldiers occupied the city of Heidelberg. In the near future, the remaining 8,000 military personnel and their families stationed in Heidelberg will leave town. Presenting documentary material, plays, performances and installations in the vacated barracks and at the theatre, this project investigated and illustrated the period of occupation since 1945 and its consequences. What traces have the stationed soldiers left behind in Heidelberg? What are they taking with them back home? And what are the distinctive characteristics of occupation? Where is it still taking place today with German and American consent? The investigative work began in Heidelberg, and later continued in the United States, where the artists interviewed soldiers, formerly stationed in Heidelberg and their families, and visited sites which were important to the occupying forces in Heidelberg.