Was Rolf Hochhuth's Play, The Deputy, the Result of a KGB [Plot]? Assessing a Conspiracy Theory
This article seeks to debunk a conspiracy theory regarding the origins of the German playwright Rolf Hochhuth's incendiary play from 1963, The Deputy, which denounced Pope Pius XII for his alleged silence about German crimes in the Holocaust. According to these conspiracy theories, this play�...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2023
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| In: |
The catholic historical review
Year: 2023, Volume: 109, Issue: 4, Pages: 685-723 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Hochhuth, Rolf 1931-2020, Der Stellvertreter
/ Soviet Union, Komitet Gosudarstvennoj Bezopasnosti
/ Pius XII Pope 1876-1958
/ Jews
/ Conspiracy theory
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| IxTheo Classification: | CD Christianity and Culture CG Christianity and Politics KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history KBK Europe (East) KCB Papacy |
| Further subjects: | B
Conspiracy
B Pius XII B The Deputy B Rolf Hochhuth B Ion Mihai Pacepa |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This article seeks to debunk a conspiracy theory regarding the origins of the German playwright Rolf Hochhuth's incendiary play from 1963, The Deputy, which denounced Pope Pius XII for his alleged silence about German crimes in the Holocaust. According to these conspiracy theories, this play's success was the result of a masterstroke by Soviet intelligence, which had infiltrated the Vatican and stolen documents from the Vatican archives. By examining letters and correspondence pertaining to the play's origins, including its original drafts, this article argues that this conspiracy theory is chronologically implausible. Hochhuth's own account of the play's origins remains more or less correct, some inaccurate details notwithstanding. |
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| ISSN: | 1534-0708 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The catholic historical review
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