''Soldiers: An Obituary for Geneva'' (Soldaten. Nekrolog auf Genf) is a 1967 play

Rolf Hochhuth Rolf Hochhuth (; 1 April 1931 – 13 May 2020) was a German author and playwright, best known for his 1963 drama '' The Deputy'', which insinuates Pope Pius XII's indifference to Hitler's extermination of the Jews, and he remained a controversial ...

which makes unverified claims about an attempt by

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

to appease

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

.Playbill from original New York production
accessed 16 June 2013 It alleges that he was involved in the murder of the Polish Prime Minister, General

Władysław Sikorski Władysław Eugeniusz Sikorski (; 20 May 18814 July 1943) was a Polish military and political leader. Prior to the First World War, Sikorski established and participated in several underground organizations that promoted the cause for Polish i ...

, in an airplane crash in 1943. German writer

wrote the play on occasion of the 100th anniversary of the First Geneva Convention, alleging that Churchill condoned the murder of Sikorski in order to appease Stalin, and also highlighting Churchill's support for the mass bombing of German cities in 1943. The play was intended to be premiered by Britain's

National Theatre Company The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. In ...

in 1967, but this was cancelled and the play was produced instead in the West End with

John Colicos John Colicos (December 10, 1928 – March 6, 2000) was a Canadian actor. He performed on stage and television in the United States and Canada. Career Colicos was born in Toronto, Ontario, to a Greek father and a Canadian mother. In 1957 he app ...

as Churchill. In her review for ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

'' in December 1968,

Hilary Spurling Susan Hilary Spurling CBE FRSL ( Forrest; born 25 December 1940) is a British writer, known for her work as a journalist and biographer. Early life and education Born at Stockport, Cheshire, to circuit judge Gilbert Alexander Forrest (1912–19 ...

accused Hochhuth of distorting Sikorski's real politics to make the "intrinsically implausible case, that Churchill murdered Sikorski" thus implying for unclear reasons that Churchill "preferred to deal with Sikorski's infinitely more intransigent successors" over the location of the post-war Polish border. Hochhuth, unaware that the plane's pilot

Eduard Prchal Eduard Maximilian Prchal (January 1, 1911 – December 4, 1984) was a Czechoslovakian pilot and sole survivor of a 1943 plane crash that killed the Polish Prime Minister. Biography Eduard Prchal was born into a family of cabinet makers. Afte ...

was still alive, accused him of participating in the plot. Prchal won a libel case that seriously affected the London theatre which staged the play. Hochhuth never paid the £50,000 imposed on him by the court and subsequently avoided returning to the UK. In 2011, he revealed his source for Churchill's involvement as Jane Ledig-Rowohlt, the British wife of his publisher

Heinrich Maria Ledig-Rowohlt Heinrich may refer to: People * Heinrich (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Heinrich (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Hetty (given name), a given name (including a list of peo ...

(née Jane Scatcherd). According to Hochhuth's biographer Birgit Lahan, these rumours relayed by Jane Ledig-Rowohlt had been the sole source for the allegations in the play. The play was profiled in the

William Goldman William Goldman (August 12, 1931 – November 16, 2018) was an American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He first came to prominence in the 1950s as a novelist before turning to screenwriting. He won Academy Awards for his screenplays '' ...

book '' The Season: A Candid Look at Broadway''.

References

External links

* {{IBDB title, 3394 1968 plays Cultural depictions of Winston Churchill German plays German-language plays Plays based on real people

See also

References

External links