Never Again War - Abridged - Abridged

SueMedia Productions/Midsummer Sound Company present this original audio drama by Helen Engelhardt.

Begun as a stage play by Engelhardt, this adaptation focuses on key moments in the life of renowned artist Kathe Kollwitz to reveal the complex world in which she lived and the destructive nature of war. After her youngest son was killed in Belgium during the opening weeks of World War I, she devoted the rest of her life to using her art in opposition to war.

The play begins in Berlin in February 1914 at a party in the Kollwitz home celebrating the eighteenth birthday of her son Peter. A few months later as war begins, Peter implores his parents for permission to join his older brother Hans to become a soldier in the army.

To uphold her sons' idealism to sacrifice for the Fatherland, the socialist Kollwitz finds herself supporting them in a war she deeply disapproved of. When the play concludes two weeks before Germany's defeat at the end of World War II, Kollwitz has learned that every war is answered by a new war until everything is smashed because every war carries within it the war that will answer it, as World War II answered World War I.

Cast:

Kathe Kollwitz: Yelena ShmulensonHans amd Karl Kollitz: Nick SullivanPeter Kollwitz: Robert FassJutta Kollwitz: Katherine KellgrenAdditional voices: Natalia Bell, Wilson Bridges, Butch D'Ambrosio, Nicholas Herd, Ryan McCabe, Alan Sklar

Production credits:

Audio play and booklet: Helen EngelhardtPoem translations: Professor Robert KramerTranslation assistants: Hanny Budnick, Almut FitzgeraldSpecial thanks: Dr. Krishna WinstonPackage design: David ShinnSculpture photos: Marjorie Van HalterenFront cover design: Sue ZizzaCrowd recordings: Natalie CorderoEngineering/Mastering: David ShinnDirector/Producer: Sue ZizzaSpecial thanks: The staff of the Kathe Kollwitz Museum Koln