Der Henker (The Executioner)

In Maria Lazar’s one-act play THE EXECUTIONER (1921) the audience witnesses the final hours in the life of a murderer who has been sentenced to death. He wants to get to know his executioner and force him to carry out the execution, not because it is his duty, but rather out of deep personal conviction. All sorts of moral viewpoints and stances are explored in the death cell. The murderer challenges the executioner in a moral debate that is uncompromisingly – and yet surprisingly – taken all the way to its conclusion.