Abstract
The article discusses several Slovak plays with the theme of the Holocaust; namely Ticho (Silence) by Juraj Váh, Holokaust (Holocaust) by Viliam Klimáček, and Rabínka (The Woman Rabbi) by Anna Grusková. It also briefly refers to Návrat do života (Return to Life) and Antigona a tí druhí (Antigone and Those Others) by Peter Karvaš, both mediating traumas from concentration camps. Two plays (Ticho and Návrat do života) were written and staged immediately after the Second World War. Karvaš’s Antigona is a rare occurrence of the theme in Slovak drama during the Communism (in the early 1960s), whereas Klimáček’s and Grusková’s plays are recent, both staged in 2012. The article focuses on several aspects of these five plays: on dramatic characters representing “victims”, “witnesses” and “culprits” (Panas, quoted in Gawliński 2007: 19); on references about and/or representation of the Holocaust in dramatic texts; and on the type of the conflict(s) in the plays. It also mentions specific approaches of respective authors when dealing with the theme of the Holocaust, as well as with the relevance of their reflection of the theme for Slovak society in respective periods.
Highlights
The article discusses several Slovak plays with the theme of the Holocaust and/or concentration camps
Even though the Holocaust was represented in Slovak drama and theatre rather rarely, works mediating this historical tragedy offer a range of interpretations and artistic approaches
The Holocaust experience in Juraj Váh’s play from the late 1940s, as well as traumas of concentration camps in Peter Karvaš’s plays from the mid-1940s and early 1960s served a Marxist interpretation of history
Summary
The article discusses several Slovak plays with the theme of the Holocaust and/or concentration camps. Measures that deprived Jewish citizens in Slovakia of their civil rights, property and lives was direct and personal, Grusková and Klimáček – re presenting the generation of “grandchildren” – have a mediated experience of the Holocaust and no family ties with its victims or survivors. The protagonist of the play is not meant to be Spiegel but Adam (sic!), a new man (Communist) born out of the revolt against the old (bourgeois) world of fathers. Besides the atmosphere of Adam’s home, contrasted to a brute noise of the camp, the title of the play, Ticho (Silence), implies the silence about the “parallel” reality of the Holocaust in Slovakia during the war. This, implies a persistent dialectic struggle of forces in history; and deprives the Holocaust of exceptionality, placing it along with other genocides. “(...) It would be a major mistake to consider Váh’s Silence a play that wants to deal with the Jewish problem during the occupation or even to solve it” (keb 1949: 5) Instead, in critic’s perception, it is a play about the future
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
