As of: February 22, 2024, 9:00 a.m
By: Michaele Heske
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His wife Eleonore walked by the local poet Georg Lohmeier's side for over 35 years, as seen here in 2009 at the presentation of the Filserhut in Munich.
Since his death in 2015, she has owned the copyright.
© imago stock&people
The widow of the local poet Georg Lohmeier and the Dorfen traditional costume association D'Stoarösler are arguing about a planned theater performance for the 70th anniversary of the city's elevation.
Dorfen
– 70 years ago, Dorfen was elevated from a market to a town.
That's why the local costume association D'Stoarösler wants to perform the piece "The City Raise" by the famous local poet and screenwriter Georg Lohmeier (†2015) from Loh near Wasentegernbach - not in the original, but in an updated version.
Now the comedy itself may become a farce: the widow Eleonore Lohmeier has vetoed an adaptation “based on Lohmeier”.
A drama in five acts.
Preface
On October 29, 1954, there was a memorable meeting in the town hall in Dorfen, which was preceded by major disputes.
After several hours of sometimes heated discussion, the council voted by a narrow 8:7 vote to elevate the market to city status.
Lohmeier was once inspired by this material and turned it into a farce for the comedy bar.
“The City Survey,” which takes place in the fictional Geisbach, is, however, a unique Dorfen story with well-known protagonists.
Act 1 – exposition
“This would be exactly the right piece for our city’s anniversary,” said Dorfen’s traditional costumers.
The manuscript, now gathering dust in the Bayerischer Rundfunk archives, should be given a new shine: the focus should be more on the real context of the Dorfen city survey instead of Lohmeier's fiction.
The task of weaving this into the lines fell to Wolfgang Lanzinger, chairman of the historical circle.
Lohmeier's widow also agreed to a revision, Schweiger emphasized in an interview with our newspaper.
They still had a laugh back then: Andreas Schweiger (l.) and Wolfgang Lanzinger in December 2023 in the Dorfen local history museum.
© Michaele Heske
Act 2 – turning point
At the turn of the year, a large report appeared in this newspaper about the planned production and the writer Lohmeier, who has made a name for himself among TV audiences as the author of the early evening series “Royal Bavarian District Court”.
A few days after the report was published, the editorial team received a fax: “I am Georg Lohmeier's widow and I do not agree that the script 'The City Survey' should be changed in any way.
Publication requires permission, which I hereby do not grant.”
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Lohmeier died on January 20, 2015 at the age of 88.
However, an author's copyright only expires after 70 years; after death, it passes to the heirs - thus to Eleonore Lohmeier.
Act 3 – climax
We immediately forwarded the letter to Lanzinger, who was very surprised: “I’m surprised now.
Then I would have gone to the trouble of rewriting the piece for nothing.
I myself had no contact with Ms. Lohmeier beforehand.
But of course, if she vetoes it, then my version of the piece will not be allowed to be performed.”
Act 4 – Delay
“Maybe Ms. Lohmeier is willing to talk.
“I don’t want to give up hope so quickly,” said Lanzinger and wrote a long letter to Lohmeier’s widow.
A few days ago the local historian reached the lady by phone.
“It was a long and good conversation in which she once again expressed her annoyance to me, but was also conciliatory,” reported Lanzinger.
Act 5 – Happy Ending?
Lanzinger has now sent Eleonore Lohmeier his text version of “The City Survey”.
“Then we’ll see what happens next,” he said.
If she doesn't agree to a performance, the deputy headmaster of the Dorfen high school would have to rewrite the entire text and invent a completely new story.
“That would be a real shame,” he says.
The performance for the city's 70th anniversary was also intended to be a homage to the local poet Lohmeier.
Because: As it is said, he is said to have written down what he heard and experienced as a boy in his father's tavern z'Loh - a real connoisseur of the Dorfen stories, which were also reflected in his numerous plays and film productions.
Lanzinger is certain: “'The city elevation' according to Lohmeier would be a crowd puller.”