Women's History: "Blonde Poison" by Gail Louw

CONTENT WARNING: References to suicide; sexual references

In this week’s episode, originally recorded for Women’s History Month, Sam and Alex look at Gail Louw’s 2013 one-woman play Blonde Poison.

Stella Goldschlag was living illegally in war-torn Berlin when she herself was betrayed and tortured. When offered the chance of saving herself and her parents from the death camps, she agreed to be a Greifer for the Gestapo and inform on Jews in hiding. She was extraordinarily successful in this and her activities increased after her parents had finally been deported. The vast dimensions of Stella's character range from tortured victim to cruel killer, from loving daughter to betrayer of friends, from gentle lover to depraved promiscuity. She was given the name Blonde Poison by the Gestapo, who revelled in her treachery. Decades after the war Stella agrees to be interviewed by a well-respected journalist - her last chance for redemption. Can she ever be released from her past?

Sam and Alex discuss aspects such as the fragmented and often conflicting historical information about Stella herself; how a spectator can intensely dislike a character, and yet still empathise with them; the concepts of ‘victim as oppressor’ and Jewish antisemitism; and the double standards around female sexuality and morality.

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Hosts: Samantha Mitschke & Alexandra Gellner

Executive Producer: Samantha Mitschke

Producer / Editor: Alexandra Gellner

Music: “Image” by Infraction Music

Contact: https://holocaustonstage.com/contact/

Episode Sources: Full list forthcoming

Books & Articles

Stew Ross (2022) Stella Goldschlag.

Plays

Gail Louw (2013) Blonde Poison. Oberon Modern Plays.