From the Plague to Coronavirus: One Town’s 400-Year Bargain With God to Stay Disease-Free

Not even the coronavirus outbreak can keep one tiny Bavarian village from performing their play—once social distancing becomes history. Nearly 400 years ago, a famous bargain with God was made: spare the villagers of the German town of Oberammergau from the plague and their Passion Play, depicting the life and death of Jesus Christ, would always be performed. In 2020, another deadly illness has put the brakes on the internationally-known performance.