Sartre's 'Altona': A Play of Bad Faith, Guilt, and Suicide
Jean-Paul Sartre's last original play, 'The Condemned of Altona,' released in 1959, uniquely references the Nazis. Set within the opulent home of a German industrialist, the narrative delves into themes of bad faith, inauthenticity, and collective guilt amid the Algerian War of Independence. The story centers on a terminally ill father who intends for his son Werner to inherit the family business while also seeking to confront his son Franz, whom he thought had died fifteen years prior. Franz, burdened by his wartime past and living in a state of delusion with his sister Leni's support, faces the truth. The father, who had sold land to the Nazis for a concentration camp, ultimately orchestrates a fatal car crash for them both, revealing their deceptions.
Key facts
- The play 'The Condemned of Altona' was written by Jean-Paul Sartre in 1959.
- It is Sartre's final completely original play and his only play to mention the Nazis directly.
- The play is set in the mansion of a wealthy German industrialist family.
- The father, dying of cancer, plans to have his son Werner take over the business.
- Franz, the other son, has been hidden in his room for fifteen years, believed dead.
- Franz is haunted by his wartime actions as 'the butcher of Smolensk'.
- The father sold land to the Nazis for a concentration camp.
- The play ends with father and son driving off a road in a Porsche, committing suicide.
- The themes were relevant to the Algerian War of Independence.
- The play explores Sartrean concepts of bad faith, inauthenticity, and responsibility.
Entities
Artists
- Jean-Paul Sartre
- Evelyne Rey
- Simone de Beauvoir
Institutions
- The Wall Street Journal
- Wikimedia Commons
- Ljubljana City Theatre
Locations
- Altona
- Hamburg
- Germany
- Argentina
- Russia
- Smolensk
- Normandy
- Neuengamme
- Leningrad
- Algeria