''It Has Happened Before'' is a 1943 Australian verse drama written for radio by

Dorothy Blewett Dorothy Blewett (1898–1965) was an Australian writer and literary agent. She also wrote as Anne Praize or Ann Praize. Several of her plays were adapted for TV. She lived for a time in England. Life Dorothy Emilie Blewett was born at Northcot ...

. It aired in July and was repeated in September. The play was one of a number of verse dramas produced for ABC radio that came out of a competition for verse drama, won by '' The Golden Lover''. ''ABC Weekly'' called it "an arresting document of our times. It tells of the love story of an Australian girl who meets a distinguished German-Jewish thinker in Europe and falls in love with him."

Premise

According to Austlit the play:

Is one of Dorothy Blewett’s lesser known yet insightfully poignant pieces... It draws on the experiences of WWII and the collateral damage it inflicted upon British (and Australian) society at the time... tfocusses on the Jewish refugee crisis as it unfolded in the pre-war years, yet it also addresses the experiences of women embroiled in the conflict and the sentiments of the broader public at home. It explores the relationship that Australia, a federated yet still psychologically dependant nation, had with the war and its victims, exploring how a far off member of the British Commonwealth was affected by the state of European turmoil. The title, ''It Has Happened Before'', is a reminder of the continuing historical discrimination that Jewish people faced in the lead up to and during WWII and the recurring cultural tensions and bigotry Blewett presents in the play.It Has Happened Here
at AustLit

References

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External links

It Has Happened Before
at AustLit
It Has Happened Before
at Ausstage 1943 Australian radio dramas Australian verse dramas Australian radio dramas about World War Two