One of my most meaningful achievements as an actor was to play the role of Maria Koper in The Prisoner, a one-woman piece with cello. It is about Maria Koper, a Holocaust survivor of the Warsaw ghetto. Through the kindness and courage of a Christian Polish family Maria survived in a small wooden box in their barn for more than two years. The Prisoner is based on Henryk Grynberg’s, The Diary of Maria Koper (Koper’s diary is housed in the archives at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, Israel), adapted and directed by Omar Sangare. In New York The Prisoner was presented through the collaboration of June Moon Productions with the Polish Cultural Institute in NYC at The Mazer Theater; made possible by June Moon Productions in 2002 Santa Barbara, CA at Center Stage Theater in the Lit Moon World Theater Festival, and in Los Angeles, CA at B’nai David-Judea to benefit One Family Fund and Atzum.

 

“Three months ago in a small New York City theater, Deborah Latz gave the world premiere of The Prisoner, a harrowing adaptation of a Holocaust survivor’s diary. At the post performance party, a 90 year old woman with deep lines in her face approached the actress. She introduced herself as a former resident of the Warsaw ghetto, the fenced-in neighborhood where the Nazis confined Polish Jews until they were transported to concentration camps. “She took my hands in hers, looked directly into my eyes and said quietly, over the din, ‘How did you know? How did you know?’” Latz recalled. “That comment made every soul-searching moment during rehearsals, every fight to get the production on its feet, all worth it.” — Tom Jacobs, artsScene (Santa Barbara, CA) 2002

 

In 2002 shortly after Lika Elbaum, the daughter of Maria Koper, saw The Prisoner in New York I received a package from her with a beautiful costume jewelry brooch that belonged to her mother. I was monumentally moved and display the brooch on my dresser to this day.

In 2022 I received an email from Lilka, “It has been 20 years since you performed "The Prisoner." I will always be immensely grateful that you brought my mother's story to the stage. I hope that you are well and continue in your craft.”

In May 2020 the documentary film Still Life in Lodz was released. It was written by Lilka Elbaum and directed by Slawomir Grunberg. The film documents the childhood apartment where Lilka and her family lived in Lodz, Poland. I wrote this to Lilka after watching her documentary:

“Seeing where you and your family lived in Lodz, hearing about the other families in the building and how your family came to live there has given me so much more insight into your mother’s story and of course, your story. The Chorazkiewicz farm section was completely fascinating and moving for me.

The film carries the very strong message that we cannot forget what happened. It is so important to learn about the three families' stories and to understand how integral it is for each of them and so many others to discover the details, to physically touch the walls, to walk the streets, to see the view from the window, and to continue to share this knowledge with the world.”

Please learn more about Lilka’s documentary here.