The Deputy
New York: Grove Press, 1964. First edition. Octavo, original half cloth, original dust jacket. A near-fine copy. Item #52
"THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL PLAY OF OUR TIME"
First edition in English of the full, uncut text of Rolf Hochhuth's controversial play. Dedicated to the memory of Father Maximilian Kolbe and Provost Bernhard Lichtenberg.
Hochhuth's play was long and not particularly well-regarded as a drama. The Deputy did, however, attract a lot of attention and harm the reputation of Pope Pius XII. Pius's "reputation seems to hinge, unfortunately, on a single issue, his failure forcefully to condemn the Holocaust and other Nazi atrocities. The controversy broke in 1963 when Rolf Hochhuth's long-winded and rambling play...opened in Berlin. It depicted the Pope as self-absorbed, concerned only with the good of the church, and emotionally isolated from what was happening to the Jews." (John O'Malley, A History of the Popes). With the author's lengthy essay, Sidelights on History, appended at the back. A letter from Dr. Albert Schweitzer, dated June 30, 1963 has been added as a Preface.
Price: $50.00