Altona

Synopsis

A decaying mansion in post-war Hamburg, shrouded in the shadows of the past and the echoes of a family’s guilt

In The Condemned of Altona by Jean-Paul Sartre, the crumbling family estate of the von Gerlachs becomes a battleground of ideological and emotional conflict. Franz von Gerlach, a former Nazi officer, has secluded himself in the attic for thirteen years, believing the world outside to be a ruined wasteland. His father, Werner, on his deathbed, summons his children to divide his wealth, setting off a series of intense confrontations. As his siblings, Leni and Johann, grapple with their complicity and secrets, Franz’s isolation becomes the focal point of the family’s unravelling.

Sartre’s play is a gripping exploration of guilt, denial, and the psychological scars of war. . The interplay between reality and Franz’s delusions creates a haunting atmosphere, as the characters confront the legacy of their father’s sins and their moral failures.