Soldiers (play)
| Soldiers | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Rolf Hochhuth |
| Place premiered | 1968 |
| Subject | World War Two |
Soldiers: An Obituary for Geneva is a play about Winston Churchill.[1]
The play was highly controversial because it alleged that Winston Churchill was responsible for the death of the Polish Prime Minister, General Władysław Sikorski, in an airplane crash in 1943. The play was meant to premiere at Britain's National Theatre in 1967 but this was cancelled and the play was produced instead in the West End with John Colicos as Churchill.
Hochhuth, unaware that Eduard Prchal was still alive, accused the pilot of participating in this plot. A libel case resulted and a court in London found in favour of Prchal and awarded him substantial damages and costs (50 thousand British pounds). Hochhuth moved to Switzerland and avoided the payments. The London theatre agreed to out of court compensation.
References
- ↑ Playbill from original New York production accessed 16 June 2013