Lida Stein and the Righteous Gentile

This is a 55-minute play that follows people from “ordinary” families caught up in the extraordinary political and social upheaval of the Nazi era. It focuses on the relationship between Lida Stein, a Jewish teenage girl, and her best friend Dora Krause, a non-Jewish teenage girl. Nazi decrees force Lida’s parents to give up their daughter to the Krause family who agree to hide her. Lida continues to learn her school lessons from Dora’s mother while Dora becomes a staunch Hitler supporter. Dora gradually becomes racist and anti-Semitic against her once-best friend and their relationship falls apart. The audience discussion that follows addresses two key aspects of the Holocaust era: the gradual intimidation and eventual segregation of the Jewish community from the larger society, and the characters, motivations and consequences of the decisions of friendly and non-friendly German adults and youth. The discussion focuses on peer pressure and its impact on decision-making, family loyalty, and personal responsibility and personal safety versus moral strength and commitment.