Magda and Josef

Adapted by David F. Eliet from Yaffa Eliach’s Hasidic Tales of the Holocaust, this is the true story of a young woman who risked her life to do the right thing when so many others were turning their backs and pretending not to see what was going on around them. Set during the Holocaust, Magda, a young non-Jewish woman, undertakes a perilous journey to secure a document that will help to save the life of the Jewish man she loves.
Format: short play/drama
Cast Size:3M/6F
Running Time: 30 minutes
Character breakdown:

Magda—18
Josef—27
Narrator/Inquisitors 1 and 2
Woman on the train
Soldier
Government man
Business man
Magda’s mother
Cashier

Snapshot

Original or Prominent Production:
Premiered at The Cleveland Play House in a production by the Cleveland Play House/Ohio University Lab Company.
Original Source Material: Yaffa Eliach’s Hasidic Tales of the Holocaust.
Nationality of Author: U.S.
Original Language: English
Publisher:

Samuel French

Production Rights Holder:

Samuel French

Experience(s) Chronicled: Righteous Gentiles

Browse the Plays

Play Index

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

HTC Insights

Views, reference and research of interest.

A Personal Welcome to the Holocaust Theater Catalog

A Message from Arnold Mittelman After a career in not-for-profit and commercial theater spanning more than 40 years I was honored in 2007 to found the National Jewish Theater / Foundation and in 2010 to assume leadership of its Holocaust Theater International...

Lifetime Achievement Award

On September 30, 2024, French playwright, Mr. Jean Claude Grumberg received the Lifetime Achievement Award. It was presented by NJTF HTII President, Arnold Mittelman with Dominique Trimbur, PhD-Manager for the History of Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust, Teaching of the Holocaust of Fondation Pour La Memoir de la Shoah Project.

Many Questions and a Few Answers

by Robert Skloot 2022 NJTF HTII Lifetime Achievement Award AHO Winter Conference, Miami, FL I’d like to begin my remarks by asking the question that all of us have been asked often: “Why do you do the work you do?” There are, of course, many answers, but I’d imagine...