Afterall, is there any historical doubt that Pope Pius XII did not publicly condemn the wholesale slaughter of Jews by the Nazi regime? I haven't seen any document stating otherwise. Sure, he made blanket condemnations pronounced in the garb of generalities, but that's not what Hochhuth's play addresses. It's a simple question we must ask: should, as some consider, the highest moral authority on the planet straddle the fence in an attempt not to offend anyone, or should we expect a public condemnation of evil on such a grand scale? This, in my view, and in sum, is the dilemma the play poses to each reader.

9 of 12 found the following review helpful:


A great (if unwieldy) play on a subject of devastating importance  Jul 05, 2005 By Scott Ross
It may be difficult to imagine how one would stage this play effectively: it's length is prohibitive and it moves around from location to location, each described in great, novelistic detail by the playwright, and utterly impractical in a theatrical context. But it's a riveting, rigorously intelligent and utterly damning take of Pius's unforgivable reticense regarding the Holocaust. What with the Vatican's continued talk of canonizing Pius -- in spite of its much-ballyhooed (by the Vatican only) talk of repentence for centuries of murderous anti-Semitism -- this is a timely play and should be read widely.

11 of 16 found the following review helpful:


Hugely important drama on the holocaust  Oct 25, 1999
No literary work about the holocaust has so much shaken the conscience of the western world as he Deputy". Since the play first appeared in 1963, it has been reviewed, rereviewed, praised, damned and boycotted (including the American Nazi Party). What I have to add here is (1) praise to Johns Hopkins University Press for republishing the play and (2) rebuttal of the bizarre and shameful comments appearing at this site on July 1, 1999 and October 21, 1999.

To any one who has read the play, or attended it, it is obvious that it deals with the HOLOCAUST and nothing less. That Pius II did not protest as strongly and often as he should could have and that he did not protect Roman jews is an important part of the play.

Nowhere in the play, the stage instructions, the appendices nor anywhere does Hochhuth "shift the blame" for the holocaust. Indeed, Acts 1-3 and 5 put the responsibility brutally and exactly where it belongs. (The pope, drawn as a caricature of a CEO, appears only in Act 4, essentially denying the reality of the holocaust).

The principal character in the play is Riccardo Fontana, a catholic priest (a jesuit), son of a laic counsellor to the pope, who struggles futilely against the Nazis - and the obtuseness of the vatican - and is murdered by the Nazis. Like all characters in the play, Riccardo is a fictional character inspired by a real person. The inspiration for Riccardo came from Bernard Lichtenberg, prelate of St. Hedwig's cathedral, Berlin and father Maximilian Kolbe, martyred in Auschwitz and canonized (John Paul II) in 1982. The play is dedicated to these men.


this book needs to be read by all Christians  Feb 12, 2011 By john fitzgerald
There are things I knew about Nazi Germany in general. This book presents the dilema of one man, the the problems his dilema cause to many others.
The consciencous one, and the leaders clinging to power

24 of 37 found the following review helpful:


Holocaust Responsibility  Nov 03, 1999 By Joan David
I first read The Deputy in 1963 and saw a truncated version of the play in Los Angeles. I have subsequently read the play several times and I believe that the reviewers who think that this is an anti-Catholic polemic miss Hochhuth's purpose in writing the book.

In The Deputy, the Catholic Church is not blamed for the holocaust; the reader understands that the Germans were perpetrators. And he does not excuse Protestants and others for their refusal to act during this terrible time. Students of the Holocaust know that there was more than enough blame to go around in terms of those who did not speak.

What Hochhuth does is to state historical truth regarding Pope Pius XII's refusal to speak. Pius XII was the Deputy of Christ from 1939 to 1958. Between 1939 and 1945, though the Pope was completely aware of what the Germans were doing (mass murders), he never once spoke to criticize the Germans or ask them to stop the murders. This is uncontrovertible fact.

Riccardo Fontana, the fictitious priest (and hero) in The Deputy, represents the finest qualities in man. He is that rarest of creatures, a truly good man. His passion for truth and justice leads to his numerous efforts to persuade Pius XII to action. That he is unable to reach the Pope makes his efforts heart-breakingly tragic.

Riccardo is a Catholic who cannot understand why the Pope (whom he knows personally) does not speak out against one of the worst horrors in the history of mankind. For Riccardo, speaking out is not enough. He demonstrates through action (he is willing to die and actually does) that words of condemnation alone are not enough. That is why Pius XII's unwillingness to speak (much less to act) is seen as such a devastating moral lapse.

I suggest that the reviewers who feel that The Deputy is blatantly anti-Catholic read the play again, in its entirety!

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