“Here There Are Blueberries” is a documentary-style play from the Tectonic Theater Project about a U.S. Holocaust Museum archivist’s experience receiving a Nazi-era photo album depicting life in Auschwitz from the perspective of the officials who ran it. 

This play forces audience members to confront their own humanity, making viewers wonder if they would commit the same actions as Nazi officers if given the right circumstances. 

The photo album that this show focused on does not depict any prisoners of Auschwitz. It was an album created by a high-ranking Nazi official, depicting the people who ran Auschwitz enjoying leisure activities, eating together, laughing, and having fun. These photos feel chillingly human and relatable once you put aside that they were all taken at Auschwitz. 

As the show depicted, archivists in the U.S. Holocaust Museum had differing opinions about whether the photo album should be displayed at the museum. Afterall, it would be horrible to unintentionally glorify Nazi officers at a museum dedicated to honoring the memories of Holocaust victims. 

The character of Rebecca Erbelding, though, argued that displaying these photos would be extremely important, given that photos of Auschwitz are limited and so much information about the people who ran it was destroyed. 

The process of identifying the individuals in the photographs was depicted throughout the show. Many were able to be identified by the archivists, including the officer who created the photo album, Karl Höcker. While there was much hesitation from the public to comment on potential connections to the photo album, one character in the show spotted his grandfather and decided to identify him and find others who might be willing to do the same. 

Something that the museum discovers from this photo album is the existence of Solahütte, a retreat on the Auschwitz campus that was designed for SS individuals who worked at Auschwitz to unwind and relax. Essentially, if people did their job “well” at Auschwitz, they might be rewarded with time at Solahütte.

The technical side of the production was next-level phenomenal. Every sound, image, and transition was seamless. Since this show focuses so heavily on a photo album, the visual component was extremely important. Audience members were able to view photos from the album as the archivists discussed them on stage via screens. 

Every actor had to balance playing multiple characters, but the transition between actors playing different characters was seamless, yet distinct. There wasn’t a weak link in this cast, but Delia Cunningham’s performance as Rebecca Erbelding and others was next-level phenomenal. 

A particularly moving moment towards the end of the show featured Cunningham delivering a heart-wrenching monologue from the perspective of a woman who is the only person in her family to survive Auschwitz. The emotions during this monologue were palpable in the audience, and somehow Cunningham was able to turn around for merely a moment and go back to playing Rebecca. 

This particular production ran at the Bagley Wright Theater at the Seattle Rep from Jan. 21 – Feb. 15, and it is part of a National Tour. Even though this production has wrapped up, this show is a must see if the chance arises.