»Ich wollte mein Recht«

In the organizer's words:

"I wanted my rights"

Stateless for over 40 years - the expatriation of Wilma Szwajka from Bremen

About the play

On June 4, 1949, two weeks after the Basic Law came into force, Wilma Helmers from Bremen married the former forced laborer Oleksa Szwajka, who had been deported from Galicia to Bremen by the Nazis in 1942 at the age of 19 and survived with severe lung disease.
6 weeks after the wedding, Bremen authorities revoke Wilma Szwajka's German citizenship on the basis of the Reich and Citizenship Act of 1913. The family (Oleksa, Wilma and their three children) had to live stateless for over 40 years. They regularly had to go to the immigration police to extend their residence permit and have it confirmed that "Mrs. B.'s life gave no cause for complaint".
It was not until 1986 that a lawyer agreed to represent her: 31-year-old Bernhard Docke from the Heinrich Hannover law firm. In 1991, the administrative court finally ruled that the authorities' actions were unlawful and that Wilma Szwajka had never lost her German citizenship. In 1993, Mayor Wedemeier presented Oleksa Szwajka with her naturalization certificate and asked her to apologize on behalf of Bremen for the injustice she had suffered.

Cast

Scenic reading from the series "From the files to the stage". Cooperation bremer shakespeare company and University of Bremen.

Concept: Eva Schöck-Quinteros.
Text/scenic design: Peter Lüchinger.
With: Peter Lüchinger, Petra-Janina Schultz, N.N.

Price information:

normal: 15 € reduced: 8 €