The Soap Myth
Encyclopedia
The Soap Myth is a 2009 play by American playwright Jeff Cohen
. The play had a workshop run in July 2009 at the Dog Run Repertory Company, and had an Off-Broadway
run in the fall of 2009.
magazine profiling Holocaust
survivor Morris Spitzer."
Foremost among the play's historical inspirations is the evidence that the Nazi regime had a program at the Danzig Anatomic Institute in 1944 to develop a process for the mass-production of soap from the fat of Jews being slaughtered in Nazi extermination camps, and produced soap in small quantities at a nearby concentration camp. In a dramatic moment, the players re-enact testimony from the Nuremberg Trials
, including this recipe:
The play's central character, is an elderly Holocaust
survivor called Milton Saltzman, based on actual survivor named Morris Spitzer who worked doggedly to establish as fact the idea that the Nazis produced and used soap made from human corpses
, even handing bars of such soap to Jews on their way into the sealed chambers that functioned alternately as gas chamber
s and as shower rooms in the Nazi concentration camps
.
The second character is a young journalist called Annie Blumberg assigned to write a story about Saltzman. She is soon caught between her sympathies for Saltzman and the adamant stand of a number of distinguished scholars of the Holocaust who refuse to publish the Nazi manufacture of soap as fact despite a large amount of eyewitness testimony, including the eyewitness testimony of both Nazis and British prisoners of war at the Nuremberg trial who worked in the experimental soap manufacturing facility at Danzig
in 1944, because contemporary documentation is lacking. The scholars in the play fear that without proof beyond the eyewitness testimony, the story of the manufacture of soap from human bodies will become ammunition in the hands of Holocaust deniers
.
Three characters representing historians of the Holocaust argue strongly that although a large number of eye-witnesses including former British POWs, Nazis, and Holocaust survivors have testified about the soap production, because no actual laboratory or production records survive as physical documents, any publication about the production of soap will be used by Holocaust deniers to discredit the reality of the Holocaust itself and, therefore, that no assertions that any soap production took place should be published.
A character called Brenda Goodsen, an amalgam of a number of Holocaust deniers including David Irving
, makes a dramatic case for minimizing the Holocaust or concluding that the Jews brought it on themselves. Comic relief is added by a character called Rabbi Schmooey based loosely on Rabbi Shmuley Boteach
.
concludes that the Nazis "did indeed use human fat for the making of soap at Stutthof
," albeit in limited quantity.
The material in the Nuremberg Trial scenes in the play use as dialogue actual testimony given by British prisoners of war and by Nazis at the historical trials about the development of an industrial process for producing soap from human bodies at the Danzig Anatomic Institute, the production of such soap on a small-scale basis at Stutthof concentration camp
, and the actual use of this soap by Nazi personnel.
in July 2009.
The New York Times
called the play a "pointed investigation of the politics of history."
Time Out New York wrote that the play "touches on a host of compelling issues: irrefutable versus empirical evidence, the subjective shaping of history, institutional agendas and, in its most effective scene, the potential seduction of anti-Semitism. But faulty dramaturgy—Annie's unnecessary narration egregiously flouts the show-don't-tell rule—and points of view in place of complex people drain the proceedings of any nuance. There's something dreadfully wrong with a Holocaust drama in which the most engaging character hates Jews.
According to NYTheater.com, "It's the dazzling objectivity and even-handedness of the play that gives it real moral heft..."
The reviewer for The Villager
found it compelling, "There are certain movies, plays, books that one wishes would never end. For me, The Soap Myth is one of those extraordinary plays."
video, an interviewer asks people in a New York City park about "the soap myth." The final interviewee is actor Joel Friedman, in character as Milton Saltzman, giving the compelling account, excerpted from the play, of how it felt to be a twelve-year-old boy in a Nazi concentration camp forced to shower using soap made from the bodies of his dead parents.
Jeff Cohen (playwright and theater director)
Jeff Cohen is an American theater director and playwright.-Biography:Cohen grew up in a house across from in the Liberty Heights neighborhood of Baltimore, the setting for his play, Men of Clay..-Career:...
. The play had a workshop run in July 2009 at the Dog Run Repertory Company, and had an Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
run in the fall of 2009.
Description
Although The Soap Myth is a work of fiction, it is, in the words of the program, "inspired by real people and real events as well as an article written by Josh Rolnick in MomentMoment (magazine)
Moment is an American Jewish magazine. It publishes articles related to Jewish culture, lifestyle, politics, and religion. Moment is not affiliated with any Jewish organization or religious movement, and its articles and columnists represent a diverse range of political views.-History:Nobel Peace...
magazine profiling Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
survivor Morris Spitzer."
Foremost among the play's historical inspirations is the evidence that the Nazi regime had a program at the Danzig Anatomic Institute in 1944 to develop a process for the mass-production of soap from the fat of Jews being slaughtered in Nazi extermination camps, and produced soap in small quantities at a nearby concentration camp. In a dramatic moment, the players re-enact testimony from the Nuremberg Trials
Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg Trials were a series of military tribunals, held by the victorious Allied forces of World War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany....
, including this recipe:
"5 kilos of human fat are mixed with 10 liters of water and 500 or 1,000 grams of caustic soda. All this is boiled 2 or 3 hours and then cooled. The soap floats to the surface while the water and other sediment remain at the bottom. A bit of salt and soda is added to this mixture. Then fresh water is added and the mixture again boiled 2 or 3 hours. After having cooled, the soap is poured into molds."
The play's central character, is an elderly Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
survivor called Milton Saltzman, based on actual survivor named Morris Spitzer who worked doggedly to establish as fact the idea that the Nazis produced and used soap made from human corpses
Soap made from human corpses
In the 20th century, there have been various alleged instances of soap being made from human body fat. During World War II it was believed that soap was being mass produced from the bodies of Polish and Jewish concentration camp victims....
, even handing bars of such soap to Jews on their way into the sealed chambers that functioned alternately as gas chamber
Gas chamber
A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. The most commonly used poisonous agent is hydrogen cyanide; carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide have also been used...
s and as shower rooms in the Nazi concentration camps
Nazi concentration camps
Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled. The first Nazi concentration camps set up in Germany were greatly expanded after the Reichstag fire of 1933, and were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime...
.
The second character is a young journalist called Annie Blumberg assigned to write a story about Saltzman. She is soon caught between her sympathies for Saltzman and the adamant stand of a number of distinguished scholars of the Holocaust who refuse to publish the Nazi manufacture of soap as fact despite a large amount of eyewitness testimony, including the eyewitness testimony of both Nazis and British prisoners of war at the Nuremberg trial who worked in the experimental soap manufacturing facility at Danzig
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
in 1944, because contemporary documentation is lacking. The scholars in the play fear that without proof beyond the eyewitness testimony, the story of the manufacture of soap from human bodies will become ammunition in the hands of Holocaust deniers
Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial is the act of denying the genocide of Jews in World War II, usually referred to as the Holocaust. The key claims of Holocaust denial are: the German Nazi government had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews, Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas...
.
Three characters representing historians of the Holocaust argue strongly that although a large number of eye-witnesses including former British POWs, Nazis, and Holocaust survivors have testified about the soap production, because no actual laboratory or production records survive as physical documents, any publication about the production of soap will be used by Holocaust deniers to discredit the reality of the Holocaust itself and, therefore, that no assertions that any soap production took place should be published.
A character called Brenda Goodsen, an amalgam of a number of Holocaust deniers including David Irving
David Irving
David John Cawdell Irving is an English writer,best known for his denial of the Holocaust, who specialises in the military and political history of World War II, with a focus on Nazi Germany...
, makes a dramatic case for minimizing the Holocaust or concluding that the Jews brought it on themselves. Comic relief is added by a character called Rabbi Schmooey based loosely on Rabbi Shmuley Boteach
Shmuley Boteach
Shmuel "Shmuley" Boteach is an American Orthodox rabbi, author, TV host and public speaker.Among other books, Boteach wrote Kosher Sex: A Recipe for Passion and Intimacy, published in 1999, which openly discusses intimacy and sexual intercourse...
.
Historical references
Holocaust historian Robert Melvin SpectorRobert Melvin Spector
-Biography:Spector grew up in Boston, Massachusetts and earned his BA and MA at Boston University. After serving in Korea, he earned his J.D. from Boston College and the PhD in history from Boston University. He was a professor at Northeastern University School of Law]] and at the...
concludes that the Nazis "did indeed use human fat for the making of soap at Stutthof
Stutthof concentration camp
Stutthof was the first Nazi concentration camp built outside of 1937 German borders.Completed on September 2, 1939, it was located in a secluded, wet, and wooded area west of the small town of Sztutowo . The town is located in the former territory of the Free City of Danzig, 34 km east of...
," albeit in limited quantity.
The material in the Nuremberg Trial scenes in the play use as dialogue actual testimony given by British prisoners of war and by Nazis at the historical trials about the development of an industrial process for producing soap from human bodies at the Danzig Anatomic Institute, the production of such soap on a small-scale basis at Stutthof concentration camp
Stutthof concentration camp
Stutthof was the first Nazi concentration camp built outside of 1937 German borders.Completed on September 2, 1939, it was located in a secluded, wet, and wooded area west of the small town of Sztutowo . The town is located in the former territory of the Free City of Danzig, 34 km east of...
, and the actual use of this soap by Nazi personnel.
Public reception
Several reviews ran while the play was being rewritten on an ongoing basis during the workshop production at South Street SeaportSouth Street Seaport
The South Street Seaport is a historic area in the New York City borough of Manhattan, located where Fulton Street meets the East River, and adjacent to the Financial District. The Seaport is a designated historic district, distinct from the neighboring Financial District...
in July 2009.
The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
called the play a "pointed investigation of the politics of history."
Time Out New York wrote that the play "touches on a host of compelling issues: irrefutable versus empirical evidence, the subjective shaping of history, institutional agendas and, in its most effective scene, the potential seduction of anti-Semitism. But faulty dramaturgy—Annie's unnecessary narration egregiously flouts the show-don't-tell rule—and points of view in place of complex people drain the proceedings of any nuance. There's something dreadfully wrong with a Holocaust drama in which the most engaging character hates Jews.
According to NYTheater.com, "It's the dazzling objectivity and even-handedness of the play that gives it real moral heft..."
The reviewer for The Villager
The Villager
The Villager is a weekly newspaper serving Downtown Manhattan. It was founded in 1933 by Walter and Isabel Bryan. In 2001, 2004 and 2005, The Villager won the Stuart Dorman Award, honoring New York State's best weekly newspaper, in the New York Press Association's Better Newspaper Contest.The...
found it compelling, "There are certain movies, plays, books that one wishes would never end. For me, The Soap Myth is one of those extraordinary plays."
Publicity
In a YoutubeYouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
video, an interviewer asks people in a New York City park about "the soap myth." The final interviewee is actor Joel Friedman, in character as Milton Saltzman, giving the compelling account, excerpted from the play, of how it felt to be a twelve-year-old boy in a Nazi concentration camp forced to shower using soap made from the bodies of his dead parents.