¶ … Deputy
Discussing "The Deputy" by Rolf Hochhuth is perhaps one of the most difficult tasks ever and I would consider it almost as difficult as discussing Niezsche's "Antichrist" or any other controversial works, modern, contemporary or from any past period of time.
It is not easy discussing a book that accuses a pope, representative of Christ on Earth, of tolerating genocide and ethnical purification, of tacitly approving them and of thus being part to one of the most terrible and tragic things humanity has been forced to witness throughout its history. Indeed, modern culpability has been, in some way or another, been associated with the extermination of the Jews during the Second World War. Over 6 million Jews have died during that period. The number itself is overwhelming, however, we also need to consider that this came as a result of a systematized and concerted process of extermination. Over 25 million Russians have also died, however, a large part of these were killed in combat. To systematically slaughter 6 million people is a stigma nobody wants to be associated with.
And here comes Rolf Hochhuth somewhere in the 1960s and, right in the open, accuses in his play, "The Deputy," Pope Pius XII of having tacitly approved the genocide and, most important, of keeping silent. The entire play is in fact centered around the fact that the pope, "deputy" of Christ on Earth (in fact, that is why the play is called the deputy), keeps silent about something he should condemn strongly.
Here is the first act of the play, which, if we read, will be enough to let us know what everything is about and where the author stands on the subject. SS officer Kurt Gerstein rushes to tell the Papal Nuncio Count Cesare Orsenigo that Jews have been exterminated in Belzec. It is quite important to note, for the relevance of historical facts, that this happened in 1942, when the extermination process was not yet carefully studied...
The Final Solution was still in an incipient phase and would only take shape in 1943.
The Papal Nuncio conveys the news to Pope Pius XII, however, not denying the facts and obviously not approving, Pius refuses to condemn them. The reason is pretty simple: the financial interests that the Vatican has in Germany are more important than speaking out against the crimes. As Pope, he cannot and will not damage his relation with the Nazis, important element in Vatican's financial matters, by upsetting them and speaking out against the slaughter.
It is remarkable here, and, in my opinion, it is by far the best part of the play, the allegorical gesture that the Pope makes and that summarizes, with no words, the entire situation. Having spilled ink on his hands, he asks for some water and washes his hands, of ink. However, the message is extraordinary and incredibly strong: without actually putting any words in the Pope's mouth, the author makes him wash his hands of the entire matter.
It is obvious from the very beginning, from act one, where the author stands on this issue. For him, the real, historical pope had also washed his hands of the entire business and proceeded to keep silent. This is where the controversy actually lays.
Rolf Hochhuth's strongest argument is the Rome massacre of October 1943. According to historical facts, Rome was occupied by the Nazis in September 1943. On the 16th of October, over twelve hundred of the four thousand Jews living in the ghetto were arrested and swiftly moved to the Military College, a few hundred meters away from the Vatican. Obviously, the prisoners were moved to Auschwitz (as the log there actually keeps track, so there is no discussion on this point). This is an excellent reason for the author to put the following words into the German ambassador's mouth: "the incident took place, as it were, under the Pope's window."
The fact that no…
