Projects

Theatre about children sent for health cure to Spiekeroog

They were given regular meals, were supposed to play carefree and recover in the fresh North Sea air. Until the end of the 1970s, numerous children and adolescents were sent to spa homes on the North Sea. When lung diseases or malnutrition were diagnosed, six-week cures were prescribed by the family doctors, sometimes even for small children.
But the stays in the home did not always achieve the desired effect: Four former children in the home reported about the strict treatment, the routine of running the home and the separation from the parental home for several weeks. These experiences made a lasting impression on the children and eventually shape their entire lives.
In the theatre performance »Sandbank«, the memories of the children who were sent away are portrayed alongside those of the educators, home directors and caretakers. The performance shows how much the interaction with children was still shaped by the experiences of the parents' generation during the war.
The play will be performed in the old Strandsporthalle in the dunes of Spiekeroog before the building is deconstructed in autumn.

© Siemssen / Jelinski Pictures of the performance