Until 1944, the Old Theatre in Bolesławiec had a permanent troupe of actors and a genuinely accomplished director. What good was that when times were hard, it was impossible to make a living performing on stage, and history brought years of Nazi propaganda and communist censorship.
In the 1920s, Germany stood on the brink of bankruptcy. Serious problems began after 1918, following the defeat in the First World War. The decline in the value of the mark led to rising prices and wages, resulting in the issuance of additional money.
People had no money for bread, let alone for art. Municipal theatres had no means of supporting themselves. This also affected the troupe in Bolesławiec. There was no money to maintain the theatre, nor to pay employees’ salaries and actors’ fees. Some theatre people joined forces and established the Silesian State Theatre. Its headquarters became the Municipal Theatre in Bolesławiec.
Everything changed in 1933, when the Silesian State Theatre was dissolved. Hyperinflation enabled Hitler to come to power. A German stage was installed in the Bolesławiec theatre, namely a Nazi propaganda troupe. Its repertoire consisted solely of plays by German authors aligned with the party line, as well as events held in honour of Hitler. In 1944, the theatre was closed and its staff were sent to the front.
After 1945, the Hitler regime was followed by… the Stalinist one. A censor appeared at the theatre in Bolesławiec, although apparently he was not overly meticulous and may not have liked going to the theatre, because the documentation of the District Office for the Control of the Press, Publications and Performances in Bolesławiec County had, to put it mildly, many gaps.
The District Old Theatre in Bolesławiec belongs to the Youth Cultural Centre, which is unprecedented nationwide. It does not have a theatre troupe; instead, it offers theatre classes for children, young people and adults. And although it has full technical and equipment facilities allowing performances to be staged, the only theatre festival we have in Bolesławiec, namely Youth Disputes with the Theatre, has, since 2024, for an unknown reason, been held... in the municipal cinema in Bolesławiec.