Jura Soyfer - Works

Works

Soyfer's first work, Der Weltuntergang oder Die Welt steht auf kein' Fall mehr lang ("The End of the World", or "The world is certainly not going to last much longer") was first performed in the early summer of 1936; the last performance took place only a short time later on 11 July 1936. It shows humanity before the Apocalypse, the destruction of the world by a comet - the violent repression of the revolutionary masses and the blindness of the people waiting for the end of the world. In the end, the comet does not find the heart to destroy the world, which gives the play a positive ending, but also underlines the frustrating incorrigibility and stupidity of human beings.

His second work, Der Lechner Edi schaut ins Paradies (translated into English as "Journey to Paradise") depicts an unemployed person who sets off to find those guilty for his distress in the past, with the help of a time machine. Eventually he discovers that the cause for his condition is the creation of humanity. The play ends, however, with a call to people to make decisions, including political ones. In this way, Soyfer connects pathos with the typical element of cabaret, political criticism.

Soyfer's third play is Astoria, a reaction to the problematic use of the word Vaterland which had been discussed in Austria since 1918. "Astoria" is a non-existent land which is the focus of the hopes and aspirations of the characters in the play. Their utopic dreams are constantly destroyed by reality. This point is made clearly at the end of the play by a song of praise the actors sing about the country when they are actually being sent to prison.

In 1937 Soyfer wrote Vineta. In this piece he leaves behind traditional Austrian theatre and portrays absurd actions and speech which lead irretrievably to downfall and destruction. The protest against facts which are seen as unchangeable, and the idea of "not wanting to know" are both themes of the play. Vineta is a warning against war and against illusions which are created to suppress people.

Soyfer also wrote Broadway Melodie 1942 for the "ABC Theatre". It is an adaptation of Columbus by Kurt Tucholsky and Walter Hasenclever. Soyfer kept the original satire of the clergy and court society, but his political criticism of society is far more radical. The way the play sees events from the point of view of the lower classes makes it a classic piece of Volkstheater Wien (Austrian popular theatre); it becomes clear that, in the imagination of the playwright, the lower classes of society are actually superior to the upper classes (or at least should be).

During his imprisonment from 1937 - 1938, Soyfer began writing another play which was to be about Adolf Hitler. Nothing has survived of these drafts.

The first verse of the Dachaulied, the Dachau song:

The Original Complete Text from Translators Dachau München

1. Stacheldraht, mit Tod geladen, ist um unsre Welt gespannt. Drauf ein Himmel ohne Gnaden sendet Frost und Sonnenbrand. Fern von uns sind alle Freuden, fern die Heimat, fern die Fraun, wenn wir stumm zur Arbeit schreiten, Tausende im Morgengraun.

Refrain Doch wir haben die Losung von Dachau gelernt und wurden stahlhart dabei: Sei ein Mann, Kamerad, bleib ein Mensch, Kamerad, mach ganze Arbeit, pack an, Kamerad, denn Arbeit, Arbeit macht frei!

2. Vor der Mündung der Gewehre leben wir bei Tag und Nacht. Leben wird uns hier zur Lehre, schwerer, als wir's je gedacht. Keiner mehr zählt Tag' und Wochen, mancher schon die Jahre nicht, und gar viele sind zerbrochen und verloren ihr Gesicht. Und wir haben die Losung . . . .

3. Schlepp den Stein und zieh den Wagen, keine Last sei dir zu schwer. Der du warst in fernen Tagen, bist du heut schon längst nicht mehr. Stich den Spaten in die Erde, grab dein Mitleid tief hinein, und im eignen Schweiße werde selber du zu Stahl und Stein. Und wir haben die Losung . . . .

4. Einst wird die Sirene künden: Auf, zum letzten Zählappell! Draußen dann, wo wir uns finden, bist du, Kamerad, zur Stell'. Hell wird uns die Freiheit lachen, vorwärts geht's mit frischem Mut, und die Arbeit, die wir machen, diese Arbeit, die wird gut! Denn wir haben die Losung . .