Marc P. Smith Given German Friendship Award in Surprise Presentation

Image: (Left to right) Veronica Jochum von Moltke, Consul General Dr. Wolfgang Vorwerk, and Marc P. Smith

Worcester playwright Marc P. Smith has been given a German Friendship Award, signed by German Ambassador Klaus Scharioth, in recognition of Smith’s ‘efforts on behalf of German-American relations’ and ‘fostering and sustaining friendship between Germany and the United States.’

The presentation was a surprise to Smith who was simply asked to come to the German Consulate in Boston on June 26, 2008 to have a brief meeting with the outgoing Consul General Dr. Wolfgang Vorwerk prior to Vorwerk’s retirement and return to Germany. Also present for the presentation and champagne toast were the new Consul General, Friedrich Loehr and Veronica Jochum von Moltke.

For the past eight years, Smith has been an active participant in a German-Jewish dialog group that meets monthly near Boston; he has also been working on a multi-year creative project, the Kreisau Project, centering on the story of Helmuth James and Freya von Moltke, who were central to the little-known story of German resistance to the Nazis. The initial focus of this project has been his play, A Journey to Kreisau, which has had performances in the U.S., Germany, and Poland and is available for touring both here and in Europe. Kreisau (now Krzyzowa, in Poland) was the name of the von Moltke family estate in eastern Germany. Though Helmuth James was executed by the Gestapo in January 1945, his widow, Freya, now 97 years old, lives in Vermont where she and Marc Smith remain in regular communication. It was through her sister-in-law, Veronica, also a member of the German-Jewish dialog group, that the playwright and Freya von Moltke first met five years ago.

In his reaction to the award, Smith commented, “I am profoundly moved by this certificate of friendship as I recognize my own journey from an attitude of hostility to curiosity to reconciliation to a deep feeling of trust and friendship. This award, to me, is an indication of how important it is for our two peoples to partner together in protecting democratic ideals in an unstable world.”