The Hebrew Theater: Between the War and the Holocaust

Author(s): Ben-Ami Feingold and Ruth Bar-Ilan

Reviewed work(s):
Source: Israel Studies, Vol. 8, No. 3, Israel and the Holocaust (Fall, 2003), pp. 168-193
Published by: Indiana University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30245622 .
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Ben-Ami
Feingold

TheHebrewTheater:
Between
TheWarandtheHolocaust
THE

ECHOES

OF THE NAZIS'

riseto power,WorldWar II, and theHolo-

caustoftheJewsinEuropehadrepercussions
inthelandofIsrael,finding
theirwayintothepress,publicopinion,and thereactions
and standsof
theleadersoftheJewish
as wellas intoHebrewliterature
andthe
yishuv,
that
were
either
or
in
the
theaters.
The
plays
published staged
playsthat
wereperformed
weremostly
translated.
As faras originalHebrewdrama
was concerned,
almosttheonlytreatment
ofcurrent
eventsto be found
wasinthevariousprograms
ofHaMatate,thesatirical
cabarettheater,
and
in
Nathan
Alterman's
chansons.
Thelatter
included
especially
manytopical
suchas: a protest
the
fate
of
a
childin a
allusions,
Jewish
songlamenting
cruel
and
world
a
on
the
Munich
law;
cynical
byGestapo
governed
parody
and
thosevolunteering
fortheBritish
Agreements; songsglorifying
Army,
theJewish
and
the
in
Red
order
to
the
Nazi
invaders.'
Army
Brigade
fight
ofthewar,was an originalHebrewplay
Onlyin 1946,in theaftermath
tocurrent
events
ThiswasAharon
relating
stagedintheHabimahTheater.
Ashman's
HaBesorah
[GoodTidings].
In HaBesorah,
theprotagonist,
a Holocaustsurvivor,
settlesdown
in thelandofIsraelbutis unableto adjustto it.Thememory
ofhiswife
and daughter,
in theHolocaust,followshimeverywhere.
who perished
"Burnt!Everything
was burnedtogether
withus!" he says."Everything
wasburiedintheenormous
hetravels
to
grave-sixmillions."2
Onlyafter
a newsettlement
in theGalileeand makescontactwiththelandscapeof
thelandofIsrael-and afterRayah,thewifeofhisbrother
David,a soldierserving
intheJewish
takes
a
risk
and
birth
toa child,a
Brigade,
gives
who
takes
after
his
own
deceased
thus
daughter
daughter, signifying
hope
forthefuture-doeshe pickup thepiecesand turnovera newleaf.The
landofIsraelandthenew,emergent
the"goodtidings,"
convey
generation
in thesenseof". . . themoretheymultiplied."
thisfamily
Surprisingly,
which
wasnotparticularly
and did notreceive
melodrama,
sophisticated
i68

TheHebrew
Theater* 169
critical
acclaim,3
wasthefirst
playthatdealtwiththisimportant
original
matter
andtheonlyoneofitskindtobe stagedinan Israelitheater
during
thesecritical
years.
events
ofthe
Be thatas itmay,theechoesofthewarandofthepre-war
oftheplays
notonlyin thecontents
and themessages
1930sreverberated
in thisperiod,butalsoin theresponses
thatwerepublished
orperformed
fromthem.Thus,for
to thetopicalaspectthatemerged
and references
trialwas heldin Tel-Avivconcerning
instance,in June1936a literary
ofShakespeare's
controversial
theatrical
Yessner's
interpretation
Leopold
whowasthe
Merchant
Thejudges,as wellas thestagedirector,
ofVenice.
inthiscase,wereoftheopinionthat,underthegivencircum"defendant"
ofthewar,it
withanti-Semitism
on theriseand theimminence
stances,
wasparticularly
to present
as a Jewwho"accentuates
Shylock
important
andthe
... incontradistinction
tothedefective
hismoralstature
morality
ofhispersecutors."4
Similarcriticism,
hypocrisy
thoughfroma different
the
the
of
Ohel
direction,
adaptation
accompanied
performance theatrical
hadreservaSomeofthecritics
Hasek'sGoodSoldierSchweik.
ofYaroslav
and patriotism
a playthatsatirizes
heroism
tionsaboutpresenting
"just
whichmarks
severaldaysaftertheinvasionofPolandbytheNazi army,
ofWorldWarII."' In September
thebeginning
1942,theHabimahTheater
AharonAshman's
introduced
HaAdamahhaZot[ThisLand],a playthat
settlers
of
theheroism
andfirst
andself-sacrifice
ofthefounders
portrayed
thetownofHaderain celebration
Thistheatrical
ofits50thanniversary.
eventcoincided
withtheactualbattles
intheSyrian
thatwereraging
Desert
invasionoftheGermanarmyintothe
and thethreatoftheanticipated
ofthecontemporary
some
landofIsrael.Againstthebackground
events,
not
as
an
heroism
ofthefirst
historical
viewedthedramatized
pioneers only
"togiveourown
butalso as a symboland modelofthereadiness
record,
sharein defending
andfighting
overeverystripofthisland."6
An important
and relevant
chapterthatconcernsthe relationship
and current
wasthetoursduringthe1930sof
betweenthetheater
reality
ina Europeon thebrinkoftheworldwar
theOhelandHabimahtheaters
these
andjustbefore
theHolocaust.While,underanyothercircumstances,
in
tourscouldhaveamountedto meretheatrical
routine, retrospect
they
interms
between
oftherelations
thatwereformed
takeona specialmeaning
andthelocalaudience.Sincemostoftheseviewers
thevisiting
companies
in
weresoon to experiencethehorrorsof theholocaust,theperformances
theirpresencewereto acquirean additionaldimension.Fromourhistorical
theysignifya sortof ritualof gettingacquainted,expressing
perspective,
and biddingfarewell.In I934, the Ohel Theaterwenton a
identification,

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AharonAshman

tourinItaly,
andFrance.In Italyitmetwith
Switzerland,
Poland,Belgium,
on
the
of
the
local
the
oftheauthoriand
hostility
part
press
representatives
ties.ThelocalJewsavoidedshowing
theguesttheater
toward
lest
sympathy
in
be
harmed.
the
of
a
Fascist
Rome,
they
During performanceJeremiah
andbooedtheactors.Policemen
surrounded
youthgroupwavedswastikas
theauditorium
and therepresentatives
ofthetheater
weresummoned
for
In Warsaw,theOhel stagedfourteen
an interrogation.
the
best
of
plays,
thetheater's
"Ohel'stourintheDiaspora,"
wroteactorYehudah
repertory.
mission... Itsplaysstirred
Gabbai,"wasan important
Zionist,pioneering
theheartsthatwereyearning
forredemption
andincreased
faithin
[their]
thespiritual,
andterrestrial
revival
ofthe[Jewish]
linguistic,
people.""In
the
theater
was
welcomed.
The
audience
the
too,
warmly
Belgium,
greeted
with
Hebrew-written
and
illustrated
with
the
Stars
of
players
signs posters
David ... Peopleweremovedto tears... Thedayswe spentin Belgium
InAntwerp,
boretheimprint
ofJewish
festivities
andecstasy."7
theperformanceofthetheater
the
excited Jewish
audienceandcreated
theneedand
thedesireforchangeand renewal
withina community
thathad already
lostitsattachment
toJewish
tradition
and culture.8
Atthefarewell
party
inParis,oneoftheparticipants
thetheater
ontheimportant
congratulated

TheHebrewTheater * 171

intheeyesof
theZionistenterprise
contribution
ithadmadeinpresenting
"cultural
Europe"notonlyas a pioneering
projectofbuildingand settlementbutalsoas an original
workofthenewHebrewculture.
In addition,
thespeakercommended
thetheater
foritsanticipated
encounter
withthe
would
Exile,"to whichthetheater
Jewsof East Europe,the"authentic
the
of
the
land
of
Israel.
"Raise
their
low
bring blessing
spirits.
Strengthen
theirbeliefthattheirhopeshallnotfailthem."9
In theyears1936-1937,
Habimahwenton a longtourin Belgium,
andAustria.
Itstaged
Poland,Lithuania,
France,
Czechoslovakia,
England,
in morethantwenty
over170 performances
cities,in order"to builda
between
the
Hebraic
land
of
Israel
and
theJewish
This
masses."'o
bridge
to previous
toursofthetheater,
theatmosphere
wasdiftime,in contrast
ferent.
LiberalChristians,
whohadpreviously
attended
theHabimahplays,
shunned
thetheater
andsodidthosewhodidnotwishtoflaunt
their
Jewish
forfearofcompromising
theirlives."According
to theoriginal
identity
command
plan,Habimahwassupposedto visitBerlin,butbyGoering's
thevisitwascanceledat thelastmoment.
In Vienna,too,theauthorities
interfered
withtheitinerary
ofthetheater
andprevented
itfromperformin
the
"The
farewell
in
auditorium.
said
party ourhonor,"
ing
designated
ShimonFinkel,summing
ofthevisit,"wasparticularly
up hisimpressions
The
almost
chief
... delivered
a speechthat
gloomy,
spokesman
tragic.
theculture
ofEuropeandportrayed
mourned
thedangerfacing
humanity
In thiscontext,
as a whole."'12
Finkelmentioned
a previous
tour
that,during
in Europein 1929-1931,
ofthetheater
thecompany
wasaboutto perform
inWiirzburg,
on thesameevening
whenHitlerwasmakinghis
Germany,
in a rallythere.On thisparticular
occasion,Nazi gangssurappearance
roundedtheauditorium,
anti-Semitic
howling
slogans.13
Themainactivity
oftheIsraelitheater
wasnaturally
channeled
intothe
ofHabimahandOhel,thetwopublictheaters.
Thetranslated
productions
the
was
and
almost
exclusive
of
the
play
major
component
repertory
during
the193osandthe1940s.Thiswasnotonlybecauseno Hebrewplayswere
considered
goodenoughtobeputonstage,butalsobecausethetranslated
transcended
and encompassed
local,topicalmatters
plays
politicaland
thenatureoftheNazi regime,
thefateof
ideologicalissuesconcerning
in
the
face
of
the
dramatic
eventsof
anti-Semitism,
EuropeanJews
rising
thewar,andtheplaceandimportance
oftheZionistideology
atthetime.
A central
themeoftheplaysthatwerepresented
inthecourse
orpublished
oftheI930swas, forobviousreasons,thestatusofGermanJewry,
particu-

andliberalDeutsch/udentum,
theproduct
of
larlythatoftheenlightened
theEmancipation.
ThisJewish
whichpriorto theriseofNazism
sector,

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in MartinBuber's
was representative
ofthe"Jewish-German
Symbiosis,"
a
crisis
once
theNazisrose
wentthroughprofound
identity
terminology,'4
topower."In August1935,theHabimahTheater
stagedtheplayProfessor
Hans
Wolf
under
the
Manheimby
(published
pennameHans Scheer).
takesplaceinthecontemporary
present-February
ProfessorManheim
is Professor
Man1933-aftertheburningoftheReichstag.The protagonist

andhighlyrespected
whois persecuted
heim,an eminent
Jewish
surgeon
is attacked
atschoolbyanti-Semitic
bytheS.A. menandwhosedaughter
the
Nazis
take
Manheim
is
fromhisjob,
When
dismissed
over,
gangsters.
becausehe servedas a soldierin theFirst
butis allowedto keepworking
thatis happening
to him,he stillsees
WorldWar.In spiteofeverything
himself
as a GermanandobjectstotheZionistsolution:
"Wewereraised
in itsculture-andwe belong
and educatedin thelanguageofGermany,
to thiscountry."'16
Evenwhenconfronted
Rause,"
by theoutcry'"Juden
in Germany,
"We arestaying
he stillinsiststhathe is a Germanpatriot:
we lovethiscountry."'7
Yet,whenhe has to makeup hismindwhether
with
the
racist
to collaborate
andauthorize
the
policyoftheNazi regime
hedecidesagainstmakingthismoveand
dismissal
ofnon-Aryan
officials,
suicide.His suicidesignifies
notonlya desperate
choosesinsteadtocommit
realization
thatthereis no wayout,butalso thefailureofthe"German
inwhichhe believed.
Jewish
symbiosis"
In November1935,the HabimahTheaterstagedanotherplayset
Arba'ahDorot [Four Generations]
by
againstthe same background:
ofthisplayaretheSolomonsand
I. CohenVan Delft.The protagonists
theNeemansofBerlin,whoselifestories,
capturedin episodesthattake
place in the years1815,1882,1914,and 1933,representthe historyof four

thebeginning
oftheEmancipation
uptotheNazis'rise
generations-from
thedifferent
standsandapproaches
topower.Eachoftheseperiodsreflects
withtheirrespective
thatthecharacters
identities,
adopt,in accordance
relative
to theclashbetweenoppositetrends:
and
assimilation,
Judaism
and GermanPatriotism,
illunational-Zionist
consciousness
and,finally,
ofGermansociety
abouttheattitude
towardtheJews
sionanddisillusion
to Nazi antifromallegedly
and thetransition
emancipation
egalitarian
ofArba'ah
Semitism.
JustlikeProf.Manheim,mostoftheprotagonists
Nazism
of
the
illusion
that
Dorotcultivate
their
out
German-Jewish
identity
HeinrichandElsaNeeman(justlikeAnna
is buta passingphenomenon.
thesituation
to
fora while,expecting
Frank'sfamily)
leaveforAmsterdam
opportunity.
improveso thattheycan returntotheir"homeland"atthefirst
"Ifwe admitthatwe areJews,"saysHeinrich,"we do so onlybecause the
Germanshave rejectedus." The playsuggeststwo diametrically
opposed
on theone hand,
alternatives:
assimilationand conversionto Christianity

TheHebrewTheater * 173

Zionistalternative,
and,on theother,theJewish
represented
byMartin
Hirsch.According
to Martin,"Theonlyplacein theworldwherea Jew
can livehappilyis amonghisownpeople."'8
TheGerman-Jewish
theme,
alongwithitscontemporary
implications,
also founditsexpression
in severalhistorical
that
related
tovarious
plays
in
the
of
the
in
all
of
which
revolve
around
Jews Germany,
episodes
history
a central
motif:theattempt
oftheJews,either
as a community
oras indiin Germany-against
thebackground
of
viduals,to becomenaturalized
overtorcovert
which
momentum
when
the
Nazis
anti-Semitism, gathered
rosetopower.In August1933,Habimahintroduced
a dramatized
adaptationofJew
Leon
which
was
as a
Feuchtwanger,
Siissby
originally
published
novel(1925).The playtakesplace in thefirsthalfoftheeighteenth
century.
Theprotagonist,
driven
talent
and
relentless
Siiss
Joseph Oppenheimer,
by
attainshigheconomicandpoliticalstanding
in therepublic
of
ambition,
whichisruledbytheHerzogKarlAlexander.
GermansociWiirtemberg,
motivated
and
is
hostile
to
anti-Semitism,
ety,
byjealousy
Siiss.He is the
in
"eternal
"Lucifer,"
"Satan," whosepalacea placeissetaside"where
Jew,"
theChristen
children
areslaughtered."
inthebackground
isthe
Hovering
of
another
who
is
accused
of
a
Christian
for
Jew,
story
murdering
girl the
Passover
ritual.Likehim,Siiss,too,is accusedofthedesire"toslaughter
thewholetown,"
fortheJews"areallthirsty
forthebloodofChristians."'
because
he
is
hisstatusnotonlyas a perhated,perceives
Siiss,perhaps
and politicalachievement,
butalso as a powerposition
sonal,economic,
thatmakesit possibleforhimto avengetheghettoJews,thevictimsof
Theanti-Semitic
hasitsownrules.The
anti-Semitism.20
however,
society,
andtriestoviolateher.Sherunsawayand
HerzogdesiresSiiss'sdaughter
throws
herself
offtheroof.Siisstakesrevenge
oftheHerzogbyassisting
a rebellion
the
He
is
to trialand is indicted
against government. brought
of "corruptingthe state.

. .

takingbribes.

. .

showingdisrespectto reli-

andissentenced
tobehanged.He rejects
theoffer
gionandthemonarchy"
to be granted
a pardonconditional
his
conversion
to
upon
Christianity.
andrecognizing
hiserror,
he iswillingtodieas a Jew,sanctifyAdmitting

whose
action
ingthenameofGod.21
ThoughJew
play,
Siissisanhistorical
takesplaceabouttwocenturies
before
thetimewhenitwaswritten
and
the
that
from
its
theme
and
backperformed,topical
implications emerge
areobvious.
Theplayalludes
totheidentity
crisis
facedbythelibground
eralGerman
oftheEmancipation
andtheegalitarJewry-the
product
ian utopia-whentheNazistookover.

Thirteenyearslater,in 1946,JewSiisswas once again put on stage.

This time,its currentsignificance"is different
fromthatwhich emerged
fromthe premierein I933,"wroteYaakov Horowitz,as it "signifiesthe

174

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initshomeland
wishofa Hebrewtheater
togivesomeexpression,
however
inhistorical
incursed
disguised
problem
garb,towhatiscalledtheJewish
The
of
the
Ber
revival
added
Dov
the
Malkin,
Germany."
play,
"presents
in
the
the
of
horrors
comand
historical-topical
play
light
contemporary
memorates
German
the
andthe
Jewry-marking peakofaccomplishment
of
failure
alike."22
peak
TheGerman-Jewish
themereappeared
abouttwoyearsafterthewar
inanother
historical
Haineh
[TheHeineFamily]bySamy
play,Mishpahat
which
was
written
in
Germanand was first
Gronemann,
originally
performed
inAprilI1947.
Theactiontakesplaceinthe
bytheHabimahTheater
andParis.Young
years18Io-I85oandis locatedin Dilsseldorf,
Hamburg,
Heineis bornandraisedinan assimilated
He isabouttobe
Jewish
family.
converted
toChristianity,
"thetickettoEuropeanculture,"
as heexplains
the
topriest
who
himself
is
of
an
Cerf,
On various
Jew.23
grandson apostate
inthecourseoftheplay,Heineemphasizes
hisJewish
occasions
and
identity
hisadherence
to theZionistideology.
he says
"I haveneverleftJudaism,"
I converted
I learnedtoappreciate
toChristianity
tothepriest.
"Onlyafter
whatI had discarded.
The peopleofIsraelshallnotbe annihilated."
"Is
Palestine
homeland?"
asks
the
"When
did
leave
your
you
priestironically.
To whichHeinereplies:"Aboutonethousand
andeight
yourhomeland?"
hundred
yearsago."24
Asanhistorical
Hainehisanchored
ina periodoftime
play,Mishpahat
thatbelongsto thepast.Yetitcontainsreferences
to thepost-Emancipationassimilationist
Thesetrendsare now
trendsamongGermanJewry.
in
as
was
the
case
of
the
1930s,suchas Professor
plays
beingreassessed,
in theaftermath
of
Manheim,
JewSiiss,andArba'ahDorot."Nowadays,"
Dov BerMalkinin 1946,theplaypointedto the
theHolocaust,observed
needto do somehistorical
of"thatpartofGermanJewry
that
reckoning
was alreadystanding
on thebrink[ofassimilation]
a hundredand fifty
"When
watch
The
Heine
and
listen
totheexchanges
you
yearsago."
Family
on stage,"saidAsherLerner,"yousometimes
the
forget periodaround
whichtheplayrevolves
becauseoftheechoesfromtherecentpastthat
theseexchanges
evoke."25
Polandand itsJewswerealso thesubjectmatter
JustlikeGermany,
ofsometranslated
topicalandhistorical
playsthatwereperformed
during
setagainsta
the1940s.Theseplaysexaminedtherelationship-naturally
historical
theJewsand the"homeland"
different
background-between
thatwas supposedtograntthemequality,citizenship,
and nationalidentity.
In October 1941,the Habimah TheaterpresentedRoman Brandstaetter's
HaSoher miVarshah[The MerchantofWarsaw],a sortof a modern,topi-

TheHebrew
Theater* 175
cal version
of TheMerchant
Theplaytakesplacein Warsaw,in
ofVenice.
March1939.Anti-Semitic
thebackground.
Jewsare
atmosphere
permeates
andbeaten.A merchant
a Polishpatriot
namedTarbinsky,
and
persecuted
an enlightened
needsa loanand is assistedbya Jewish
banker
humanist,
namedLewin,whosedaughter
hasfalleninlove,muchagainsther
Judyta
father's
Pole namedKulesza.Kuleszaperwishes,withan anti-Semitic
suadesJudyta
totakemoneyfrom
herfather's
cashregister
without
letting
herfather
knowaboutit.He thenaccusesLewinofmurdering
Trabinsky,
who,motivated
bygreedand anti-Semitic
thoughitwas Kusezahimself
themurder
initiated
and carrieditoutwiththeassistance
of
sentiments,
hisfriend
Sobon.Judyta
findsoutthetruthaboutherloverand comesto
hersenses,butLewinis puton trial.In themeantime
thewarbreaksout
and theGermansinvadePoland.Thecourtdismisses
thetrial,for"now
weareall equalinthefaceofdisaster,"
that,
"Maywealsobe equal
adding
in thefaceofvictory."26
Theendingsuggested
themessage
thatthedramatist
wishedtoconvey:
allofus,JewsandPolesalike,areunitedinourloveforthesamehomeland.
In an articlepublished
Therealenemyis theNazi invader.
byBrandstaetteraroundthetimewhentheplaywas staged,he pointsat thecontrast
between
anti-Semitism
in therelations
andthehumanapproach
between
Poland,in thevictory
Jewsand Polesand declareshisfaithin "reformed
ofgoodoverevil.Now,thesufferings
ofthePolesandtheJewstogether
in
theconquered
landis a strong
and firmfoundation,
uponwhichthereis
boundtobeestablished
an eternal
allianceofsharedinterests
andtheunity
ofhearts."27
Theplaydoesnotrelatetothewarandtotheominoussignsof
theHolocaustthatloomson thehorizon.Itis truethatTrabinksy
foresees
a terrible
willcelebrate
disaster:
"Wickedness
itsgreatvictory
... We will
be destroyed
andperish..." Buthepredicts
thatafterwards,
"weshallall
ascendbya stormofwind... A newmanwillbe born... andtherewill
a homeland
cleansedofitssins."28
sawthings
Thus,thedramatist
emerge
froma naive,evenutopian,viewpoint
ofPolishpatriotism
in faceofthe
Germaninvasion
to Poland.The"disaster"
ofwhichhe spokewasnotthe
"disaster"
oftheJews,butthatofthePolesin a homeland
wheretheJews
weresupposedtobeequalcitizens.
Yeteveninthiscase,thetiming
ofstagoftheplay-the
ingtheplay,theyearof194I,coupledwiththebackground
fateoftheJewas a representative
ofa persecuted
with
confronted
people
blindhatred-provided
theplaywith,at thetime,a currently
relevant
the
intent
of
the
dramatist.
meaningbeyond likelyoriginal
Another
historical
found
playsetagainsta PolishJewish
background
itswayintotheOhel Theaterin March1944.Thiswas BeYa'arot
Polin

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ofPoland],a dramatization
ofJosephOpatoshu's
Yiddish
[In theForests
novel(1921)ofthesamename.Theactionoftheplaytakesplacein 1863,
on thethreshold
ofthePolishrebellion
againstczaristRussia.Itissituated
in thebackground
ofa bleakJewish
ofpoverty
anddestitution
that
reality
theyearnings
forredemption.
Thissetting
features
various
encourages
types
ofJews:Hasidim,Shabbateans,
andthelike.Mordechai
craftsmen,
Alter,
a Jewish
withthePolishnationalstruggle,
youthwhoidentifies
joinsthe
Polishrebels.Whentherevolt
Evenat thefront,
fails,he is disillusioned.
whereheservedas a Polishpatriot,
hewasconfronted
withanti-Semitism.
So he drawstheinevitable
and turnstowarda new direcconclusions
tion-the nationalZionistway.
Theplaywasfirst
inTel-Aviv
in 1944,in themidstofthe
performed
war,whentheJewishpopulationin Palestinewas alreadyawareof the
horrible
meaningoftheHolocaustand thefateofthePolishJews,the
Holocaustvictims.In thiscase,too,thetimingoftheperformance
prowe
videdtheplaywithself-evident
faced,"
"The
topicality. majorproblem
oftheplay,"wastobringouttheessence
wroteMosheHalevi,thedirector
ofthisabundantmaterial,
namelytheplightoftheJewish
peoplein the
for?Wherearewe going?Whosewarare
Exile... Who arewe working
we fighting?
Whenwillourownredemption
occur?Andwhenthearm
breaks-willthissignify
ourownsalvation
as
ofthecruelenemyfinally
todo with
wroteUriKeisari,
"thatthisplayhasnothing
well?"29
"I know,"
in Polandnowadays.
thatis happening
Butthepresent,
thetragedy
any
hassomeconnection
withthepast-when,similar
tothepast,itis
present,
washedbyfloodsoftearsandblood."ForKeisari,thetitle"IntheForests
in itssuggestive
"In theforests
associations.
of
ofPoland"was touching
Willthesunthatshinesthrough
"Thismakesyoushiver.
Poland,"hewrote,
in theforests
thetreetops
ofPolandeverriseagain?Andfromtheforests
oftheCarmel?"30
ofPolandwillitfinditswayto theforests
A yearlater,
inNovember
after
thewarwasfinally
over,
Habimah,
1945,
a
a
novel
that
was
writtheatrical
of
too,presented
adaptation
originally
tenin Yiddish-WarsawbyShalomAsh-whichwas first
at
performed
thegalaopeningofBetHabimah,thenewauditorium.
it
was
Apparently,
notbychancethattheplaywaschosenforthisoccasion.Itsbackground
wasJewish
are
Warsawin1914on theeveofWorldWarI. Thecharacters
of
are
of
wide
and
outlooks.
a
They yeshiva
representative
range opinions
Bundists,
each
andZionists,
students,
socialists,
assimilationists,
seeking,
in his own way,theredemptionof theworldand an answerto thecrucial
question:Whereis thetruehomelandof theJews-here, in Poland,or in
theland ofIsrael?In themeantime,thewar breaksout.All thehopes and

TheHebrewTheater * 177
illusionsproveto havebeenmisleading.It turnsoutthatanti-Semitism
has
not been uprooted.As the playdrawsto a close, immediatelybeforethe
finalcurtain,the Zionist call emergesas a logical conclusion:"Salvation
is thereand only there.Here in the Exile, in this or thatcountry-you
will be aliens forever... We want to returnto our land and livetherein
joy. .."31
Here, too, the timingof the performancewas the message.Morewitha view to the future,
over,now,out of broad historicalperspective,
the theaterrecognizedits dutynot only to presentplayson the war and
the Holocaust, but also to commemoratethe victimsforthe sake of the
futuregenerations."This Warsaw,"wroteAnatol Stern,who dramatized
thenovel,"does notexistanylonger.No morewill theSabbathcandlesbe
litin thousandsofhomes... No morewill theragingmob burstintothe
streetshowling'Beat theJews!Death to theJews!'For thereare no longer
anyJewsin Warsaw... What can we, who havesurvived,do ... to commemorateit?... What is ShalomAsch'sWarsawin Habimah? It is only
one ofthefirststonesofthemonumentthattheJewishPeopleis bound to
erectin memoryofitsslaughtered
brothers
and sisters.""Thisis nota play,"
said Stern."It is a livingmonumentto PolishJewry."32
Most of the criticsweredissatisfied
withthe qualityof the playas a
dramaand as a theatricalproduction,findingfaultwiththepretensionto
and presenting
thefateof PolishJewry
withinthelimitedconportraying
finesofa familymelodrama.33
Some raisedmoreprincipledarguments-to
what extentcould any contemporary
theaterdramatizein a credibleand
seriousmannersuchan importantand complexthemethatis so emotionThiswas the
allychargedand highlyendowedwithhistoricalsignificance.
when
the
basic
facts
about
the
Holocaust
and
its
horrorswere
of
1945,
year
known.
what
was
from
the theater
alreadypublicly
Obviously,
expected
was not only involvement,
but also credibility,
attainingan artisticlevel
thatmatchedtheintensity
of thesubjectmatteras an effective
and meantheatrical
ritualization
of
the
nation's
collective
ingful
memory."Warsaw
thatwas and [which]is goneforever,"
wroteEzra Zusman, is nowadays"a
horriblememoryof a nation... Everything
thatbecame dust and ashes,
evaporatingsmoke... has no continuityand no successortoday... Is it
possibleto evokeand reviveall of thisbyintroducingrealisticartintothe
theater?"34
The plotthatis setinWarsaw,wroteIsaac Yatsiv,"is buta minor
episodein thelifeof PolishJewry In themeantime,thewar brokeout
and uprootedeverything While we are longingto see somethingof
thispreciousworld,whichis lostto us, thisepisodeis incapableofsatisfying thisneed." It is truethattheplaywas touching,"vibratingthehidden

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ofthesoul,"as heputit,"butitonlyintensifies
ourcraving
forthe
strings
unrealized
about
Polish
yet
play
Jewry."35

Amongthedramaticproductionsofthe1930sand 1940s,particularly

thosethatwerestagedbetween1938and 1946,therewerealso several

translated
tovariousaspectsofthewar,suchas theracial
playsthatrelated
doctrine
andtheFascist-militarist
whileexplicitly
orimplicitly
dictatorship,
to
Nazi
In
the
Ohel
introduced
the
Germany. May1938,
referring
playYom
haDin [Judgment
Day] byElmerRice.Thisplayis situatedin a certain
nameless
in South-Eastern
Slavoniccountry
Vesnik,the
Europe.Gregory
headoftheNationalParty,imposesa regimeofdictatorship
and terror
andstageshisownassassination
inorderto remove
theOpposition
ledby
thePeople'sParty.
Thejudgesarenotwillingto givein bysentencing
the
defendants
todeath.In themeantime,
thereareriotsinthestreets,
signalthe
of
the
mob.
The
wins
the
and
ing uprising
People'sParty
dictatorship
is defeated.
TheanalogytoNazi Germany
orFascistItalyisevident.
"Yom
haDin is a topicalplay,"writesN. Ben-Asher,
"thatstirsup theaudience
whilestressing
theproblems
in itsbattleagainstthe
facedbyhumanity
oftheFascistregime
andrevealing
theforces
thatfight
forfreedom
tyranny
of
that
matters
here
but
rather
the
... Itisnotan accurate
depiction reality
to
fidelity thesocialvision,thevisionofthefuture."36
In Mayofthesameyear,
Habimahproduced
another
play,
HaMageifah
to thesame
haLevanah[TheWhitePlague]byCarlCapek,whichrelates
a
from
different
This
is
set
in
an anonyphenomena
perspective. play,too,
mousplace,thoughhereand theresomeofthenamesofthecharacters
and thelocationshavea clearGermanring.A white,incurable
plague
causesdeathin a country
Themarshalis
bya despoticmarshal.
governed
convinced
that"a victorious
waris better
thanpeace,"andthat"onlythe
bloodofthefallenelevates
a stripoflandtothedegreeofa homeland,
and
the
war
transforms
into
humans
a
men
intoheroes."37
Prof.
only
peopleand
the
clinic
subscribes
to
as
an
alternative
to
the
director,
Sigelius,
dictatorship
of
and
the
of
the
citizens'
rule
are
that
afflict"plague democracy
leprosy
he findshimself
Atthis
Now,however,
ingourpeople."38
totally
helpless.
Dr.
Galein
shows
This
unknown
who
point,
up.
foreigner, mightbelongto
another
race(maybe
a
offers
wonder
to
Jewish?)
drug,whichindeedproves
be effective,
buton onecondition:
thatthemedicine
be administered
only
to thepoor.Once therulingmarshalcancelsall thewarplans,including
in favorofthis"patriotic"
thepropaganda
war,and makespeacein the
world,then,and onlythen,will Dr. Galein revealthesecretof the drug.
The plaguekeepstakingitstoll.Amongthevictimsis theownerofa plant
forthemanufacture
ofweapons,an individualwiththetellingnameBaron

TheHebrew
Theater* 179
themarshal
himself
Krieg(KriegistheGermanwordforwar).Eventually,
fallsvictimto theplagueand,havingno otherchoice,he acceptsGalein's
terms.Galeincomeswiththedrug,butthemob,havingbeenpreviously
incitedbythemarshaland his propaganda,
riotswhenconfronted
with
theword"peace."Galeinis calleda traitor
andisshottodeathevenas the
mobexclaims,
live
the
war."
The
ofthepremiere,
"long
September
timing
soonafter
29, 1938,a daybeforethesigningoftheMunichAgreements,
theSudetenland
ofthedramatist,
crisis,as wellas theCzechbackground
theplaywithan immediate
andobvioustopicalsignificance.
On
provided
theeveofMunich,"writes
A. Sh. Uris,"HaMageifah
haLevanah
comesas
a warning
anda reminder
ofretribution.
After
Munich,itservesas a grim
thegraveoffreedom
ofa smallnation,and thusofa
headstone
marking
whichtestifies
thatindeeda dictator
haswonhisvictory
largehumanity,
the
and
desire
for
that
byexploiting profiteering
peace
impelsthenations
oftheworld."39
In December1939,Habimahpresented
anothertopicallyrelevant
entitled
The
ofthisplayis a
HaEm [TheMother]. heroine
playbyCapec,
widowedmother
whosehusband,
a braveofficer,
hasbeenkilledinbattle.
Threeofherfivesons,patriotic
warriors
liketheirfather,
arealso killed
in thewars.Another
who
is
a
a
whois convinced
of
son,
doctor, scientist,
hiscallingand has a senseofcommitment,
to
a
to
tropicalcountry
goes
theyellowfever.
hediesofthediseasewhileattempting
to
Eventually,
fight
finda cureforit.Themother,
on theotherhand,rejects
theheroism
and
her
of
husband
and
in
the
her
sons
name
of
life,
motherhood,
patriotism
andlove."I haveneverunderstood
you,"shesaysto hersonAndreas,the
"Allofyoufollowyourowninterests,
honor... heroism
...
physician.
Yourfather,
forexample,died in actionbecauseit was necessary
to kill
somesavages,
andyouAndreas,
aredyingin orderto savethelivesofthe
whiletheotherdestroys
it-and
savages... One ofyoubuildssomething
are
me
in
that
are
I
involved
...
don't
even
you telling
you
grandprojects
I justwantyou,mychildren.""4
wantto be right;
a
cruel
When,however,
shetoo
enemyinvadesthecountry,
bombingcitiesand killingchildren,
is struckbypatriotic
sentiments.
She takesherhusband'sgun,whichis
son,and theonly
hangingon thewall,and givesitto Toni,heryoungest
onewhohassurvived.
"Go!" sheorders
him.
the
revolves
an essential,
inevitable
around
contradicNaturally, play
tion:thenegation
ofwarin thenameoflifeandequallyan affirmation
of
warin thenameofthesamelife,thoughunderdifferent
circumstances.
On theone hand,themother
criesoutin protest:
"Damn thewar."On
theotherhand,shehandstheguntoheronlysurviving
"Go!"
son,saying,

ISO

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Bearingin mindthattheplaywas writtenbya Czech, whosecountrywas

took
the firstvictimof Nazi totalitarianism-andthatthe performance
that
the
mother's
after
the
war
broke
out-no
wonder
weeks
place only
behaviorseemedreasonableand justified.At thatmoment,
contradictory
the audience watchingthe play is convincedthat no pacifist-humanist
can challengethenecessityand dutyto fightNazi Germany.
consideration
"We have neverheardsuch a powerfulcondemnationof thewar coming
he concededthat
out ofthestage,"wroteYa'akovZerubavel.Nevertheless,
. .. and the
thisdenunciationdid not "restrainthesenseof responsibility
burningdutyto go to war."41
In September,Ohel staged the comedyHaGeza haTahor[7he Pure
Race]byG. Kadelburg,whichmadefunoftheNazi racistdoctrine.Theplot
is situatedin thehouse of Baronvon derDuenen, a descendantofa noble
The baroninsistson maintainingthepurityofthefamilyin
Germanfamily.
termsofclassand pedigree(therespectable"Junker"
background),and the
characteristics
of
hair
facial
"racial"
color,
features,
bodybuild,and
proper
him
in
the
face.
his
so on.42Reality,however,
First, daughtermarriesa
slaps
America.Then,his blackgrandchildren
are named
blackdoctorin far-way
Abrahamand Rebecca. So when his son wantsto marrythe shoemaker's
hisfatherreluctantly
daughter,
giveshisconsent,forthisis thelesserevilin
treatment
viewoftheAmerican"blackstain."The dramatist's
lighthearted
of racismin 1942,when thisphenomenonwas too tragicto be exploited
as the stuffof comedy,triggeredcriticismand objections.Commenting
on "theproblemofrace,"HayyimGamzu made thefollowingstatements:
"Who in our days .

. .

when riversof Jewish and non-Jewishblood are

flowingall overEurope becausethescum ofhumanityis strivingto apply

this profane notion ...

The problem of 'the pure race' cannot possibly

fortheviewersbecause thisis notat all

serveas a sourceof entertainment
to presentitin thisway,whichis
funny... In our days,itis inappropriate
in itsprovincialsimplicity."43
so primitiveand offensive
In December1946,Habimah presented
a playbyHans Rehfishand W.
J.Herzog thatrelatesto thephenomenonofanti-Semitismin themodern
age fromanotheraspect.As suggestedbyitstitle,AlilatDreyfus[TheDreyfusAffair],it focusedon the Dreyfuscase, whichmade the headlinesin
Francein theyears1894-1906.Here,too,thetimingofthepremiere
and the
and ordinary
wordsthatthedramatistputsin themouthof thoseofficers
of the Nazi anticitizensthataccuse Dreyfusof treasonare reminiscent
ruletheworld
Semiticpropaganda.TheJews,accordingto thesecharacters,
bymeansofcapitaland money."In additionto all thedisastersit brought
to our country,"
saysColonel Di PatiabouttheFrenchRevolution,"italso

TheHebrew
Theater* 181

causedthedisaster
ofgranting
therights
ofcitizenship
to theJews...
DownwiththeJews....This isa struggle
international
against
conspiracy;
thisis a waragainstthehorror
ofplotsandfraudulent
schemes
to
regime
takecontroloverthewholeworld!"44
Eventheworkers'
is
representative
notsympathetic
withDreyfus."We in thefactory,"
he says,"thinkthat
theproletariat
hasnothing
todo withthewholeaffair.
We haveno desire
to shaketheworldfortherichJew... forJewish
45
capital."
Dov BerMalkinreferred
tothetopicalaspectofAlilat
interms
Dreyfus
ofJewish-German
relations.
Publishedin Germanyin 1929 beforethe
Nazisrosetopower,
theplaypointsatthena'ivete
oftheinnocents
whowere
notrealizing
thatsoontheNazi reality
would
livingin a Fool'sParadise,
an
to
end
their
illusions.
The
as an
put
playapparently
presents
Germany
toanti-Semitic
antithesis
if
as
in
andliberalGermany
France,
enlightened
sucha plotcouldnothavetakenplace.Surelyin1946,thisplaywas"once
sinceitnotonlylookedbackintothepast,
interest,"
again... ofcurrent
butalsooffered
a viewintothefuture.
"Thispre-Hitlerian
said
actuality,"
evenafter
Hitler... Thehistorical
value
Malkin,"didnotbecomeobsolete
ofDreyfus
as a symbolhasnotyetlostitsvalidity."46
The issuesthatpreoccupied
thepublicin the1930sand 1940swere
also mirrored
in severalhistorical
which
plays,mostofthemtranslated,
wereperformed
intheyears1938-1947.
theseplayshadnoexplicit
Overtly,
connection
tocurrent
butthesubjectmatter,
andparevents,
background,
ticulartiming
oftheirperformance,
as wellas thetheatrical
interpretation
and thepositive
and
wayin whichtheseplayswerereceived
bythecritics
thepubicatlarge,endowedthemwithtopically
relevant
at
significancethe
time.In December1938,HabimahmountedHaAnusim[TheMarranos]
byMax Zweig,an historical
playaboutthefateoftheSpanishJewsduring
theInquisition
in QueenIsabella'stime.Don Christobal,
a Marranowho
to
the
his
declares
in
to his
Spanishnobility,
belongs
patriotism relation
as did manyoftheGermanJewsin the193os:"I am a native
homeland,
of Castile-Castile is myhomelandand myholyland ... It is bythis
lovethatwe areall boundto theenlightened
Donna Isabella."47
Buthe,
whenIsabelladoesnotkeepherpromise
to sparethe
too,is disillusioned
MarranosfromthestakeoftheInquisition,
and he himself
is exposedto
and anti-Semitic
sentiments
fromhisChristian
Don
hostility
colleagues.
Christobal
returns
tothefoldandwhileheis secretly
the
welcoming Sabbathtogether
withhisJewish
the
of
the
break
brethren, officers Inquisition
in and thecurtaincomesdown.
Thearguments
raisedbytheanti-Semitic
in thecourseof
Christians
theplayhavea Nazi ring."TheJewspollutetheSpanishrace,"arguesDon

182

ISRAEL

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8, NUMBER

in theSpanishpopulation,
Idisoro.As newChristians
whoassimilate
the
contaminate
the
in
the
same
Don
vein,
Jews
pureSpanishblood.48
Arguing
Garciaproclaims
thatitis theinhabitants
ofCastilethatGod haschosen
forthetaskofexterminating
a newkingdom
andrebuilding
anyweakling
fora sectthatshallnotbe vanquished."49
As ManfredGeis rightly
said,
takes
at
the
of
in
of
court
but
Isabella,
Queen
"Zweig'splay
place
spite its
historical
the
real
theme
is
ofthe
the
distress
day
obviously present
garb,
Jews."50
Severalmonths
theOhelTheater
later,
stagedthebiblicalplaySodom
H.
which
was
based
on
the
accountin theBook ofGenesis.
by Leivik,
The rulerofSodomaddresses
hissubjectsand saysthingsthatsmackof
nationalistic
militarism
whilethemassesrespondwithhysterical
zeal.51
On theeveoftheSecondWorldWar,theexchanges
onstagethatwereset
of ancient,biblicalSodomassumedan obvious
againstthebackground
MosheHalevy,"wasnotan explicit
saiddirector
"Sodom,"
topicalmeaning.
biblicalplay,butrather
a "politically
under
topicalplay,"as itwaswritten
theimpactofthepersecutions
andatrocities
contrived
Hitler's
by
regime.
Thebiblicalplotisjusta parableofthebitter
ofourowntime."52
reality
In themidstofthewar,theHabimahTheater
thehistorical
produced
in
veRomi
and
Nathan
Bistritski
[Jerusalem Rome]by
playYerushalayim
betweenthemoderMarch1941.Theactionrevolved
aroundtheconflict
on theconflict
between
and
atesandthezealots,whilefocusing
Jerusalem
Romeas twodistinct,
that
the
cultures
diametrically
opposed
represented
ancientworldon theeveof thedestruction
The
oftheSecondTemple.
focuses
on
three
that
are
ofJerusalem:
representative
play
figures
Josephus
a
in a syntheses
of
who
is
rational
and
believes
Flavius,
moderate,
Jew
and Rome;JohananofGush-Chalav,
thezealouswarrior;
and
Jerusalem
whoforesees
thefuture
tosave,preserve,
andstrives
Ben-Zakkai,
Johanan
and perpetuate
theJewish
forthesakeofthefuture
heritage
generations.
Theplaywaspublished
in1939andpresented
onstageabouttwoyearslater.
Zvi Friedland,
"wehavegonethrough
Bythattime,saiddirector
many
We
on
in
moved
from
the
hostilities
thelandofIsraeltothewar
changes.
withNazismandFascism,
whichovershadows
else.Therefore,
everything
itwas necessary
to introduce
somechangesintotheplay."53
One ofthe
criticsreviewed
thestruggle
oftheBalkannationsagainsttheGermans
ittothatofJerusalem
andcompared
againstRome:"Asmallnation"facing
thedilemmaof"whether
tobesavedbysurrendering
itself
totheenemy
or
to theveryend, thuscompromising
theexistenceof theentire
by fighting
nation."54AnothercriticcomparedthecontrastbetweenJosephusFlavius
and Johananof Gush-Chalav to that betweenPierreLaval, the Prime

TheHebrew
Theater* 183
intheVichygovernment
Minister
ofoccupiedFrance,
andGeneralCharles
de Gaulle,becausethesetwoadversary
"theeternal
couplesrepresented
who
is
or
Johanan/De
problem:
right-Josephus/Laval
Gaulle?"55
In February
of thewar was markedby fresh
1945,the aftermath
memories
oftheHolocaustandtheanxieties
andhopesofthesmallYishuv.
this
the
Ohel
Theater
Against setting,
byCzech
stagedtheplayBar-Kochba
whichsharedthesamenationalconcerns
YaroslavVerhlicky,
playwright
in
anddilemmas
Inthiscase,too,thetiming
Rome
portrayed
andJerusalem.
wasthemessage.
"Nowisthetime,"
wrotestagedirector
MosheHalevy,"to
in
a
about
heroism
Israel
to
awaken
and
foster
thepower
...
present play
ofthepeople,to evokean exampleofourownhistory,
toshowtheheroic
of
Israel
...
and
to
learn
from
this
not
to
spirit
play
repeatthemistakes
madebyourancestors
... [but]tomaintain
theunityofthenation... and
thesanctity
oftheunifying
Therewerethosewhoobjectedtothe
goal."''56
and
oftheplay."Isitproper
to
transparent simplistic
topicalinterpretation
putinthemouthofR[av]Akivawordsthatsoundlikea propaganda
speech
on themerits
in thearmy?""Woulditnot"be a mistaketo
ofenlisting
oftheRedArmyin itsfight
compareEnglandto Rome,"or theheroism
tothatofBar-Kochba's
TheseresagainsttheGermaninvader
warriors?58
illustrate
onceagain,from
in
ervations
another
that
those
years,the
angle,
audienceandthecritics
alikeexpected
thetheater
tocommunicate
credible
that
serious
relevance
to
In
had
current
December
1947,the
reality.
messages
HabimahTheater
HaShembyShalomAsch,an historical
stagedKiddush
whichservedas
playaboutthe1648pogroms
againsttheJewsinUkraine,
an obviousanalogyto theHolocaust.Somecritics
to compare
attempted
thesepogromsto the"rigorous
and methodical
ofextermination
system
conducted
in ourdays."59
bytheNazi regime
Therewerealsothosewhoarguedthatthetiming
oftheperformance
was wrong,becausetheJewish
was
on
the
brink
ofa new,postpeople
Holocaustera. The UN decisionof 29 November1947in favorof the
establishment
of thestateof Israelpromiseda newbeginning,
evenas
fortheanticipated
War of Independence
wereunderway.
preparations
to
Dov
Ber
of
in
"the
war
the
Vilna
Malkin,
According
ghettos Warsaw,
and Bialistok... this,too,imposessomedutyon thetheater,"
though
thelatter,
forsomereasons,chose"to ignorethecircumstances
oftime
whena decisive
andplaceprecisely
historical
overa fundamental
struggle
is takingplace."In Malkin'sopinion,itwasadvischangein ourdestiny
able to present
theHolocaust,notas yetanotherchapterin thehistory
ofJewish
butrather
as an heroicstruggle
in thespiritofthe
Martyrdom,
resistance
in theghettos.60
Jewish

184

ISRAEL

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VOLUME

8, NUMBER

of severaltopicalplaysportraying
The 1940ssaw theperformance
WarII. In November
and
of
World
warriors, partisans
soldiers,
1943,Ohel
a theatrical
ofthenovel
LeMiZilzeluhaPa'amonim,
introduced
adaptation
For WhomtheBellsTollbyErnestHemingway.
The playfocuseson the
between
thewaragainstNazi GerSpanishCivilWar,buttheconnection
isself-evident.
and
the
General
Franco's
many
dictatorship
against
struggle
relevance
ofthisplay,"
"Theactorsknowhowtoconveythecurrent
writes
"andthehearthopestoheartheringing
ofthebellsthat
oneofthecritics,
overFascism."''Giventhesympathy
oftheJewish
announcethevictory
theNazi invader,
it is no wonder
towardtheRed Armyfighting
Yishuv
ofRussiaandthestruggle
invasion
thatGermany's
againsttheNazi army
In 1943,Habimahstaged
werepopularsubjects.
and partisans
bysoldiers
theplayAnsheiRusyah[RussianPeople]byConstantin
Simonov.Several
monthslater,inJuly1943,theOhel stagedPelishah[Invasion]
byLeonid
werealsopopular
Leonow.Thesetwoplaysaboutheroism
andpatriotism
in theSovietUnionat thattime.Theydepictedsuffering,
war,a cruel
and bravewarriors
who concludedtheplaywith
enemy,collaborators,
overtheenemy.
In thiscase,too,thetwoplaysled
thepromise
ofvictory
and conceptual
to sometypicalquestionsofprinciple
abouttheartistic
in "realtime"a playthatwas oriented
towardwar
valueofperforming
has
reached
"Atlonglast,a truemilitant
and patriotism.
us,"wrote
play
In thiscase,hesaid,whatwehad
criticHayyimGamzuonAnshei
Rusyah.
"witha sensitive
a
written
wasa "dramatic
by youngdramatist
reportage"
oftheTeutons'
all thepainandsuffering
soul"whomanaged"toexpress
liestheimportance
invasion....Butherein
oftheplay.Itisthuspreferable
dramatist
versedintheatrical
toa workby"anexperienced
craftsmanship,
and immediate
relevance."62
butwhoseworklackssincerity,
credibility,
Anothercritictookthe oppositeapproach,objectingto the "dramatic
on thegroundsthatitwas "a successful
ofevents
reportage"
photograph
whichlackedsensitivity
and occurrences,"
and insight,
and "fail[ed]to
matters
andevents
from
oftheouterplotintothesphere
transfer
thesurface
ofinwardexperience."63
In May 1944,Habimahstagedanotherplayset againsta similar
Lo AmutKi Ehyeh[I Shall Not Die But Live] by David
background:
townin Russiaof1941,
This
Bergelson. time,theactionis setin a Jewish
thewarand itsatrocities.
Thetitle"I shall
whoseinhabitants
experience
notdie butlive"servesas a mottothatis reiterated
one
Avraham-Ber,
by
oftheeldestJewsin thistown.When Prof.Kronblueth,a German-Jewish
refugee,is drivenby despairand decides to commitsuicide,the old Jew
saysto him: "We the ordinaryJewshave seen manydead people in our

TheHebrew
Theater
lives .

I185

. Yet,the moretheymultiply,
the greaterour desireto live."The

blood
Jews"weresubjectedto thewholerangeof decrees,inquisitions,
from
andexpulsions
onecountry
toanother;
libels,slaughters,
nevertheless,
oftheirmisfortunes,
theydid notcommitsuicide."Regardless
"theydid
notstopproclaiming,
'I shallnotdie butlive."'64
Theplaywasmetwith
considerable
reserve
and received
rather
unfavorable
criticism.
Lea Goldraised
a
in
asked
those
berg
principled
question,repeatedly
years,about
thevalidity
ofdramatizing
current
eventswithout
theconflict
resolving
between
artistic
standards
and
the
historical
truth.
maintaining
capturing
"Whatartistic
truthis capableofconveying
on stagethehorrors
ofthese
she
asked.
"Where
is
the
measure?
Where
is
the
between
days?"
boundary
whatisallowedandwhatisforbidden?
Whatisthepowerofnaturalism
and
wheredoesthesymbolbegin?... We demandfidelity
andhonesty-but
artistic
andsincerity
arecompletely
fromthefidelity
different
and
fidelity
ofa journalistic
whichis influenced
honesty
reportage,"
"bythecheapest
literature"
andhasnothing
todo withart,justas ithasnothing
todo with
a reliable
accountofthefacts.65
Of alltheplaysthatrelated
toWorldWarII andwerepresented
inthe
Hebrewtheater
inthoseyears,
the
most
and
perhaps
important interesting
DavidBergelson

I86

ISRAEL

STUDIES,

VOLUME

8, NUMBER

is DerekhbaMidbar[DesertHighway]
It first
byJ.B. Priestley.
appeared
in
in theOhel Theaterin October1944,abouta yearafteritspremiere
Theactionoftheplaytakesplacein theSyrianDesertin the
England.66
a typical
cross-section
ofBritish
midstofthewar.Sixsoldiers,
representing
a Jewish
have
andtheircommander,
namedBenJoseph,
society,
sergeant
fall
withtheirunit.Whennightfallsonthedesert,
lostcontact
they asleep,
theirdream
world.Whentheywakeup from
anddreamabouttheancient
butatthelastmoment
surrounded
bytheGermans,
theyfindthemselves
a British
and
rescues
them.
arrives
plane
Thisexternal
Thereturn
tothepast
onlyas theframework.
plotserved
ofcivilization,
in thedreamwasalsoa return
tohistory,
tothebeginning
andEgypt.FortheJewish
tothetimeofancient
Babylon,
Assyria,
sergeant,
whichdatedbackto
thereturnto his historical
thissignified
heritage,
In addition,
thisreturn
to theancient
antiquity,
justlikethedesertitself.
oflife
offundamental
aboutthemeaning
questions
pastwasalsoa probing
inthe
relevant
ofwar-questionsthatbecameespecially
andthemeaning
in
their
the
These
found
of
war.
days
expression
especially
things
dialogues
BenJoseph
andCorporalPhilipDonnington.
Thelatter
between
Sergeant
istheskeptic,
theoutsider,
whoapriorideniesthewaranymeaning:
"We're
it'snothing
all fools.Thisisn'tlife,thisisn'tcivilization,
buta hellonearth
... I didn'tcome
andmassmurder
butwar,torture,
starvation
... nothing
that
me
here.
outheretodo myduty.I haven't
Theworld's
anyduty brings
for."67
BenJosephasksPhilipwhyhe enlistedto the
notworthfighting
to
armyifall thethingsthatweregoingon in theworlddo notmatter
invokes
this
tome,"he replies.
him."Ofcoursetheydo something
Joseph
in orderto makePhilipchangehisperspective:
"Obviously
"something"
a lot."68He describes
the
there'ssomething
insideyou. . . thatmatters
atrocities
oftheHolocaustin thecountries
the
"where
Nazis,
occupiedby
havebeenpackedintosealedtrucks
andgassed
oldmen,women,children
wherechildren
to death,wheregirlshavebeenrapedandthenbutchered,
havebeenburiedaliveorhadtheirbrainsbashedout.Everyhorror,
every
To destroy
theJews,
toblotus
terror,
everypossiblekindofmassmurder.
towipeus fromthefaceoftheEarth."69
outaltogether,
BenJoseph
to explainto Donnington
and therestof
goeson,trying
theGermans:
"Theiranti-Jewish
madwhatmotivates
thegroupmembers
...
to
want
from
different
nessissomething
ordinary
quite
prejudice They
of
once
and
for
the
idea
...
the
invisible
Lord
of
all,
Hosts,
destroy,
great
theoneGod ofrighteousness
towhomevery
manbelongs..,.so thatthey
can turnpeopleintoblind,unthinking,
masses.. . Andthat's
unfeeling
whatwe'refighting.
It'sthebeliefthatall humanbeingsmustbe precious

TheHebrew
Theatere 187
toGod,andtherefore
all humanbeingsmustbeprecious
toeachother."70
becomeconvincedthatthereis a
Indeed,Donningtonand his friends
to
the
war.
final
before
the
curtain,therescueplanelandson
point
Just
theground,
andJosephreadsto hiscomrades
theprophecy
ofMicahthe
Morasthite
abouttheendofdays(Micah1:6-1).
The playwaswell-received.
"Insteadofsympathy
forthepoorJews
whosuffer
morethananyothernation,"
wroteDov BerMalkin,theplay
evokes"understanding
ofthefighting
is longerand
Jewswhosehistory
morecomplicated
thanthatoftheothernations."7'
enthusiastic
Especially
wasUriKeisari'sresponse
totheplay:"Thistheatrical
must
be transplay
formed
intoan educational
tool... Everyadultmustaskhimself:
what
aboutme?Does mysoulhavesomething
totheJewish
core
corresponding
oftheBritish
I
...
Have
children
in
this
Sergeant
brought
up my
spirit...
in thisYishuv
mustdwellon thethought
... Is he my
Everyyoungster
brother,
[whois] portrayed
mykin,myfleshand blood,thissergeant
by
Priestley?"72
As alreadymentioned,
therepertory
oftheHebrewtheater
in those
consisted
of
translated
works.
one
years
mostly
Only
originalplayabout
theHolocaustandthewarwasperformed
in publictheaters
between
1933
and1946.Thisisrather
oddinviewofthefactthatsuchplayswerealready
availableinprint.
Theseplayswereconcerned
withsuchissuesas theillegal
toPalestine,73
andtheghettorebels.74
Alsoavailablein print
immigration
weresomehistorical
on
the
in
whichhad current
Jews Germany
plays
Some
of
these
were
even
implications."
plays
stagedhereand thereby
amateurtheater
werenoteagerto
however,
groups.The publictheaters,
them.
it
was
for
them
to
produce
Although
important
developan original
Hebrewrepertory,
thecurrent
was
that
Hebrewdrama
assumption
original
was stillin itsformative
ofbeingpresented
on
stagesand notyetworthy
There
more
essential
reasons
for
this
exclusion.
What
were,
however,
stage.
wasat stake,as a matter
ofprinciple,
wasthedilemmaofdeciding
which
is preferable-art
forthesakeofartor artthatis "engaged."''76
Thequestionwasnotnecessarily
or
but
the
concerned
theater's
ideological political,
to be "engaged"in a nationaltaskand giveproperexpression
readiness
to theHolocaust.The familiarization,
stagebystage,withthecharacter
and horrible
oftheHolocaust,was a complexand problemdimensions
aticprocessofassimilation
and internalization.
Unliketoday,whenthe
factsabout the Holocaust are clear-cutand obvious,untilJune1941the
of theJewsdid not go beyondthe usual historicalJewish
extermination
In
experience. addition,the gradualrealizationof the dramatistswas set
againstthebackgroundoftheratherambivalentattitude,in termsofZion-

188

ISRAEL

STUDIES,

VOLUME

8, NUMBER

in the
oftheHolocaustandthesurvivors
towardthevictims
istideology,
in
oftheYishuvleaders thoseyears.77
theposition
Yishuv.as wellas toward
andforemost
hadtocometogripsfirst
Thedramatists
andstagedirectors
aesthetic.
Shouldthey
which
was
witha principled
artistic,
issue,
basically
to thehorbygivingdirectandrelevant
expression
respondimmediately,
oftheHolocaustthatwastakingplacein theirowntime,
ribleexperience
and
or shouldtheyinternalize
thingsand letthemevolveas a necessary
matter-the
the
transformation
of
which
enables
inevitable
subject
process,
thethemeofa play?In thisway,
experience-into
personalandcollective
wouldmakeitpossibleto reshapethepersonal
distanceand perspective
intowell-made
drama.
and collective
experience
timeand againin anyseriousdiscussion
It is thisissuethatemerges
thatIsaacKatzenelson,
for
Itisnotbycoincidence
on Holocaustliterature.
in
historical
three
biblical
and
to
the
Holocaust
related
instance,
mainly
that
he
wrote
(inHebrewandYiddish)in theWarsawghettoandin
plays
theVittelcamp.Hanib'al,JobandAl Na'harotBabelcarrythetestimony
withwhichthe
toanother
period;yet.theHolocaust,
placeanda different
is evokedin the
as partofhispersonalexperience,
is involved
dramatist
from
leveloftheplay.Theissuewasalsodiscussed
orallegorical
symbolic
critics.
of thetheater
theprincipled
Today,
aspectbyseveralcomments
wroteM. Ein-Royi(December1938),thereis a needfortopicalplays,"but
ofsucha playtherealwayslurksthedangerthatinstead
at thedoorstep
oflivingpeoplewhopopulatethestage,"we
and destinies
ofcharacters
to
"trite
Thetheater
hasbecomea kindofdaily
be
slogans."
might exposed
the
losesits"surplus
that
voice
to
editorials.
Thus, theater
newspaper gives
ofhumandestinies
ofwhosepoweris ... theshaping
soul,""... thesecret
them.""Several
thelightand shadowsthatsurround
and life,including
"Towhatextent
in
of
the
Lea
wonders:
the
midst
war, Goldberg
yearslater,
andbywhatmeansisitpossibletoputonstageso soonthemostshocking
can
andcruelthingsthatoccurred
duringthiswar,andtowhatan extent
dramacaptureeventheleastofreality?"'79
whichhad an indirectinfluIn addition,anotheressentialfactor,
to
which
thefullmeaningofthe
was
the
extent
enceon artistic
creation,
inthosedaysintheabsenceofdocumentation,
holocaust
couldbe grasped
toustoday.
an
historical
allofwhichareavailable
and
research,
perspective,
the
of
that leaders theYishuv
It is nowwell-recognized
bymanyhistorians
whathappened
toward
andpublicopinionofthewaryearswereambivalent
in theghettoes
forthemto
and thecamps.Firstofall,itwas impossible
graspthewholemeaningof the"finalsolution"at thetimeas a tragic
thatwasto proveunprecedented
in thelonghistory
ofJewish
experience

TheHebrew
Theatero I89
thepublicandtheater
alikedisplayed
Nonetheless,
martyrdom.
companies
and
awareness
to
the
inevitable
connection
betweenthe
greatsensitivity
dramatic
eventsoftheirtimeandtheplayspresented
on stage.
Thewidespread
in
the
and
that,
193os 1940s,thetheater
assumption
in thelandofIsraeldid notrelateto current
eventsdoes not,therefore,
holdground.No accounthas beentakenof theoriginalHebrewplays
ofcurrent
relevance
thatwereactuallypublished,
butwhich,forvarious
werenotproducedon thestage.Norhasthesignificant
number
reasons,
oftranslated
that
in
the
Hebrew
theater
the
of
land
Israel
to
offered
plays
itsviewers
These
duringthe1930sand1940sbeentakeintoconsideration.
a
serious
and
multifaceted
toward
with
the
playsadopted
approach
dealing
fundamental
both
and
of
that
crucial
issues,
political ideological,
period,
whichboretheimprint
ofthewarandtheHolocaust.

NOTES
*Translated
fromtheHebrewbyRuthBar-Ilan.
Pizmonin
veShirei
Zemer[Chansons
andSongs],vi (TelI. NathanAlterman,

Aviv, 1976) 60o,124-5, 137, 193-5, 263-5.

2. See p. 125. The playwas publishedunderthe title"Ken Yirbeh"[The

moretheymultiplied]
in AharonAshman,Mahazot[Plays],v2 (Tel-Aviv,
1973)
95-139-

"Is ItReallyattheRightTime?"Ha'aretz,22March
3. SeeYaacovHorowitz,
1946[Hebrew];Dov BerMalkin,"WhatAretheGoodTidings?On thePremiere
at Habimah,"Mishmar,
22 March1946[Hebrew].
See
and
TrialofShylock,"
Bamah,1-2 (11-12)
4.
41 in "TheLiterary
pp. 34
(1936)23-41[Hebrew].
and theAnnouncement
Gorelik,"TheGoodSoldierSchweik
5.Shemaryahu
ofMobilization,"
Ha'aretz,13September
I939[Hebrew].
6. See p. 9 in Ya'akovZerubavel,
"APlayat theRightTime,"Bamah,I (37)
(1943)9-14 [Hebrew].
Gabbai,"TheOhelinAction,"
BaDerekh,
7. Yehudah
1934[Hebrew];
3IAugust
idem,"TheParisAffair,"
BaDerekh,
14September
1934[Hebrew].
8. Z. Bjostovitzki,
"AnIsraeliTheaterinAction(on thevisitoftheOhel in
BaDerekh,
22
Belgium),"
August1934[Hebrew].
9. JosephWalden,"AWelcoming
Speechin HonoroftheOhel Company,
attheFarewell
Delivered
in
Paris
on
TheMuseumoftheHisJune19,1934,"
Party
TheOhel File:Proceedings
[Hebrew].
toryoftheHebrewTheaterinTel-Aviv,
10. MargotKlausner,
An IsraeliTourin
Zionism,Eretzyisra'eliyyut:
"Judaism,
Poland,"Ha'aretz,26 May1938[Hebrew].

190

ISRAEL

STUDIES,

VOLUME

8, NUMBER

"TheTheatrical
Careerofa HebrewStage,"inSefer
II. BarukhChemerinsky,

vi (Tel-Aviv,1947) 183-4 [Hebrew].

Chemerinsky,

AnActor's
ShimonFinkel,TheStageand BehindtheCurtain:
LifeandHis
(Tel-Aviv,
1968)177-80[Hebrew].
Struggle
forSelfhood,
12.

13. Ibid., 157.

(first
14. MartinBuber,"On theEnd oftheJewish-German
Symbiosis"
publishedin 1939),in Te'udahveYi'ud(Jerusalem
1984)293-5[Hebrew].
On thehistorical
seeLucyS. Davidovitz,TheWaragainst
the
background,
15.

Jews,1933-1945(New York,1976) 23-176; LenyYahil, TheHolocaust:TheFate of

translated
fromtheHebrewbyIna Friedmanand Haya Galai
European
Jewry,
(New York,1990) I5-122.

16.Hans Scheer(Wolf),Professor
trans.intoHebrewbyGershon
Manheim,

Hanoch, MS, IsraelTheaterArchives,17.2.2,34.

17. Ibid., 46.

18.L. I. CohenVan Delft,FourGenerations,

trans.intoHebrewbyYaakov
Act
Horowitz,
MS, IsraelTheater
Archives,
IV,
9.3.3,
9,I9.
Avi-Shaul
19. LionFeuchtwanger,
JudSiiss,trans.andadaptedbyMordekhai
as HaYehudiZis (Tel-Aviv,1933),22, 29, 39-49, 51,56, 63.
20. Ibid., 37-8.

21. Ibid.,116-20.
22. YaakovHorowitz,"PersonalVengeance,
or a JewishDestiny,"
Ha'aretz,
1946[Hebrew].Dov BerMalkin,"TheRenewed
25January
JewSiiss,"Mishmar,
anotherplay,
it is worthmentioning
1946[Hebrew].In thiscontext,
5 January
Zis haYehudi
AhareihaSho'ah(JewSiissaftertheHolocaust),whichwas
entitled
and appearsin a collectionof his plays,Huzzot
written
by Isaac Zohar-Forer
[Hebrew].Thisplaypresents
(Tel-Aviv,
1983)
Yerushalayim
Siissas a Jewwho
of theformer
followsin thefootsteps
Siissand equallybecomesthevictimof
anti-Semitic
hatred.
Heine,trans.byAvigdor
Hameiri,Hebrew
Gronemann,
23. Samy
Mishpahat

80-82.
MS, IsraelTheaterArchives17.3-7,

24. Ibid.

6 DecemHeineFamily,"
Mishmar,
25. Dov BerMalkin,"SamyGronemann's
ber 1946 [Hebrew];AsherLerner(Nahor),"TheHeineFamilyat Habimah,"
1946[Hebrew].
7 February
Hamashkif
26. Roman Brandstaetter,
HasohermiVarshah
[The Merchantof Warsaw],
ofthetranslator's
Archives
HebrewMS. (without
indication
name),IsraelTheater
17-4-1,
34-35.

Bamah,I (32)
27. Ms, "WhatI Wantedto Sayin TheMerchant
ofWarsaw,"

(194I) 24-5 [Hebrew].

28. HasohermiVarshah[TheMerchantofWarsaw],27; also see p. 27 in Shmuel
"TheMerchant
intheHabimahPerformance,"
Bamah,I (1941)
Shmueli,
ofWarsaw
26-7 [Hebrew].

ofIn theForests
theOhel,"
29. MosheHalevy,"On thePerformance
ofPolandat

Mishmar,23 February1944 [Hebrew].

The HebrewTheater

I191

March3, 1944
Aharonot,
30. Uri Keisari,"In theForestsof Poland,"Yedi'ot
[Hebrew].
31.ScholemAsh,Warsaw,
adaptedto thetheater
byAnatolSternand trans.
intoHebrewbyAbrahamLevinson,
Israel
Theater
MS,
Archives,
33.3.3,
49-50.
32. See p. 8 inAnatolStern,"Warsaw:TheCityThatIs No More,"Bamah,i
thePreparations
forthePerformance
(1946)6-8 [Hebrew].Idem,"On Observing
ofWarsawat Habimah,"Mishmar,
23October1945[Hebrew].
33.See YaakovHorowitz,"Is ThereAnyTraceofWarsawHere?"Ha'aretz,
7 December1945[Hebrew].Dov BerMalkin,"FromThreeCitiesto One City:
in Habimah,"Mishmar,
16 October1945[Hebrew].
Warsaw
Ezra
"Warsaw
at
Zussman,
Habimah,"
Davar,14December1945[Hebrew].
34.
in
Isaac
Two
See
io
"Between
Worlds(UponthePerformance
of
Yatsiv,
35. p.
Bamah,I (1946)8-jo [Hebrew].
Warsaw),"
36. N. Ben-Asher,
"Judgment
Day at theOhel,"Bama'aleh,io (176) (1938)5
[Hebrew].
37.Carl Capek, HaMageifahhaLevanah[The White Plague],trans.into
Hebrew byAvigdorHameiri,IsraelTheaterArchives,9.2.7,17.
38. Ibid., 27

at Habimah),"Davar,16
39.A. Sh.Yuris,"TheWhite
Plague(onthePreimiere

November1938[Hebrew].

trans.intoHebrewbyAvigdor
Hameiri,
40. CarlCapek,HaEm(TheMother),

IsraelTheaterArchives,22.4.8, 21-22.

"Habimah'sRecentPlays:TheMother
41. See p. 29 in Ya'akovZerubavel,
by

Carl Capek, Bamah, i (1940) 24-29 [Hebrew].

HaGeza haTahor
(ThePureRace),trans.intoHebrew
42. GustavKadelburg,
M.
The
Museum
for
the
MS,
by Friedman,
HistoryoftheHebrewTheater5.
"7he
Pure
Tesha
Ba'erev
Race,"
22October
(section
Bamot),
43. HayyimGamzu,
1942 [Hebrew].

andWilliamJ.Herzog,TheDreyfus
trans.into
44. Hans JoseRehfish
Affair,
HebrewasAlilatDreyfus
Archives
17.1.8.
byDov BerMalkin,MS, IsraelTheater
I, 16.
45. Ibid.,ActIII, I.
Toward
hePerformance
46. Dov BerMalkin,"TheDreyfus
ofhePlayat
Affair:
Habimah." Mishmar,29 November1946 [Hebrew].

47. Max Zweig,HaAnusim[TheMarranos],trans.intoHebrewbyAvigdor

Archives
ActI, 9-1o.
Hameiri,IsraelTheater
1.5.6,
The
German
Reinesblut,
48. Ibid., 6-7.
original
terminology,
Reinblutgen,
refers
to theNazi racisttheory.
See Max Zweig,Die Marranen,
in
undoubtedly

Dramen, Bd II (Wien-Bern-Stuttgart,
1963)15,56.

49. Ibid.,I, 3 (Hebrew).

in Hebrew,"
Geis,"TheHabimahinSpain:TheMarranos
50. Manfred
Jerusa-

lemPost,13January1939[Hebrew].

5i.

H. Leivik(LeviHalper),Sodom,inPlays,trans.intoHebrewbyAvraham

Shlonsky(Tel-Aviv,1983)69.

192

ISRAEL

STUDIES,

VOLUME

8, NUMBER

52. Moshe Halevy,My TheatricalCareer(Tel-Aviv,1955) 201 [Hebrew].

andRomebyNathanBistritski:
TowardstheHabimahPre53."A.,"'Jerusalem
miere"(an interview
withthestagedirector),
HaZofeh,25March1941[Hebrew].
54. RobertWaltch,"TheHeroismofa SmallNation,"Ha'aretz,4 April1941
[Hebrew].
"CriticalNotes,"HaMashkif,
31March1941[Hebrew].
55."Avishai,"
in
See p. 14 Moshe Halevy,"Bar-Kochba
at the Ohel," Ohel,Dappim
56.
leTe'atron
veOmanut,
I (I945)11-15[Hebrew].
at theOhel,"HaPo'elhaZa'ir,19March
"Bar-Kochba
57.NathanGruenblatt,
1945[Hebrew].
AhduthaAvodah,
58.Sh. Zikim,"Bar-Kochba,"
7 March1945[Hebrew].
in
See
Rachel
Our
Amri,"Jewish
59.
Martyrdom
Days,"Davar,30 January
1948[Hebrew].
6o. Dov BerMalkin,"AndWhatDoes theHabimahTheaterSay?Upon the
ofKiddush
Performance
haShem,"
Mishmar,
Jan.2, 1948[Hebrew].
61. Zofeh,"ForWhom
theBellsTollatthe'Ohel,"Bama'aleh,
24 December
1943
[Hebrew].
62. HayyimGamzu,"Russian
Ha'aretz,April6, 1943[Hebrew].
People,"
See
Gershon
"The
Ohel
Performance
ofInvasionbyLeonov,"
Gershoni,
63.
HaOlam (section:Bimot),19August1943[Hebrew].
Lo AmutKi Ehyeh[I ShallNot Die ButLive],trans.by
64. David Bergelson,
AbrahamShlonsky,
Archives
MS, IsraelTheater
17.2.9, 12-13.
"I ShallNotDie ButLiveat Habimah,"Mishmar,
16May
65. Lea Goldberg,
1944[Hebrew].
was firstproducedat theTheaterRoyal,Bristolon 13
66. DesertHighway
on 4 February
December1943.Itwasstagedin Londonat thePlayhouse
1944.
in Plays,vol.III (London,1950o)
DesertHighway,
67. JohnBoynton
Priestley,
218, 252.

68. Ibid.,258.
69. Ibid.,258-6o.
70. Ibid.
On theperformance
of
71. Dov BerMalkin,"AretheJewsLikeEveryman?
'DerechbaMidbar'attheOhel,"Mishmar,
1944[Hebrew].
Io November
Yedi'otAha72. UriKeisari,"DesertHighwayora Voicein theWilderness,"
Nov.3,1944[Hebrew].
ronot,
Bet[TheSecondWaveofImmigration]
73. Suchas,Aliyah
byMenahemBader
Yom
al
haYam
at
Yehudah
Ya'ari(1938),Al
Arba'im
Sea]
(1937),
[FortyDays
by
the
a
Deck
of
Storm-Tossed
Meso'arah
[On
Ship]by Nahum
SippunOniyyah
Benari(1939),and Oniyyah
Shulamit
BatDori
So'arah(A Storm-Tossed
Ship)by
(1942).

74. Such as HaMered[TheRebellion]byG. Adiri(1945),and Nes haMered

beGetoVarshah
[TheBanneroftheRebellionin theWarsawGhetto]byGershon
Gershoni(I945).

TheHebrewTheater * 193
[TheJewofMunich]byShimeonValikowsky
75. Suchas HaYehudimiMinkhe
and OrotmeOfel[Lightsout of the Darkness]by Zvi HirschSackler
(I934),
(1944).
76. See J. S. Bratton,"Theaterof War: The Crimeaon theLondonStage,
in David Bradby,
LouisJames,
andBernardSharratt
(eds),Performance
1854-5,"

and Politicsin PopularDrama (Cambridge,1980) 119-137.

beendiscussedat length.See Dina Porat,The

77. The subjecthas recently
Blueand theYellowStarsofDavid: TheZionistLeadership
in Palestine
and the
Holocaust193p9-1945
(Cambridge,1990); Hava EshkoliWagman,"ThreeAttitudes
Studiesin Zionism,vol. 14, No.
towardthe Holocaust withinMapai, 1933-1945,"

Arrowin theDark:David Ben-Gurion,

the
I (Spring1993)73-94;TuviaFriling,
and
Rescue
the
vi
Yishuv
1998)
Attempts
during Holocaust, (Jerusalem,
Leadership

18-183.[Hebrew].

"On theStage,"Ha-Olam,8 December1938[Hebrew].

78. M. Ein-Royi,
"IShallNotDie. .. ."
79. Goldberg,