Nearly 400 years ago, a decade after the arrival of the Pilgrims in America, the bubonic or black plague reemerged in Italy and made its way across the Alps into Southern Germany. It is a fearsome disease that can devastate towns, killing a third to half of the population within a few weeks. According to legend, residents of the small village of Oberammergau noted that neighboring towns had already reported cases, so they prayed for protection, promising that they would always remember God’s blessing if their town were spared. The town was spared, and the following year, 1634, staged their first Passion Play depicting the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. In thankfulness to God, they staged the Passion Play annually for fifty years, likely the lifetime of the town’s residents who were alive when the plague threatened their village.
