Author’s Note:
This play is about Franciszek Honiok, the first person to die in World War II and Alfred Naujocks, a Major in the SS, who wrote “I am the man who started the war.” In order to justify Hitler’s invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, Heinrich Himmler had SS troops stage a Polish attack on a German language radio station in Gliwice, Poland. The operation was code named Grandmother Died. After broadcasting scripted descriptions of the attack on air, the SS shot German prisoners who were drugged, transported to the radio station and dressed in Polish army uniforms. The goal was to document for the world press an attack on Germans living in Poland by the Polish Army. The prisoners used in the operation were referred to by the SS as Canned Goods.
The following is one example of the media reporting of the event:
At 8 P.M., a group of Polish insurrectionists forced an entrance into the Gleiwitz radio station, overpowering the watchmen and beating and generally mishandling the attendants. The police are said to have discovered that the attackers were assisted by regular Polish troops. The Gleiwitz incident is alleged here to have been the signal for a general attack by Polish franctireurs on German territory.
The New York Times, September 1, 1939
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRODUCING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
It started as a courtesy read.
Like anyone who runs a theater, I am inundated with scripts from countless sources. Canned Goods was sent by a colleague, and I read it as a courtesy to her. (As an aside, the vast majority of courtesy reads are, to put it politely, not very good.)
As I read it, I found myself getting increasingly agitated and unsettled. The next day the feelings of agitation and unsettlement remained, as they did the day after. And I realized that a script – even a courtesy read - which stayed with me in such a powerful way deserved a second look. ATG did several readings of the play, all of which evoked powerful audience reactions.
Canned Goods is not for the faint of heart. It is upsetting, and may even offend some sensibilities. In this time of heighted exploitation of people’s differences, when lies are told by people in power with little consequence, our playwright Erik Kahn has written a play that exposes where such exploitation and lies can lead.
We hope you agree that this is a play that needs to be experienced.
Jim Vagias
Producting Artistic Director
American Theater Group
