An exemplar of Holocaust literature, Peter Weisss The Investigation is also remarkable for its structure and style. Divesting himself of the need to subscribe to the standard three-act or five-act play, Weiss combines creative nonfiction with a self-conscious nod to Dante. The play is essentially a dramatic reenactment of actual war crimes trials referencing the concentration camps at Auschwitz. Also unlike a traditional play, there is no protagonist. The bulk of the action has already occurrednot just off stage but in reality; audience members know exactly what is being discussed and why. What makes The Investigation remarkable is the way the playwright blurs the line between theater and reality to expose the darkness in the human soul.
The opening scene sets the stage for the primary theme of personal accountability and responsibility, as the prosecutor asks pointed questions about how those complicit could not have known that they were sending people to their deaths. In the objective, procedural setting of a courtroom, there is little room for emotiononly rational judgment. Evidence in the trial is in the form of witness testimony, delivered coldly, underscoring the second primary theme of dehumanization. Dehumanization is also evident in the ways all the individuals remain unnamed. By doing this, Weiss refuses to allow any of...
…He died from it, (Weiss 42). Weiss also writes his lines in verse, offering unnatural line breaks to draw the readers eye to particular phrases and imparting the feeling of reading poetry even when the play is not being performed on stage. Fusing poetry and theater also helps the playwright achieve the goal of communicating unthinkable, unimaginable suffering.
Without relying on an unconventional style or structure of storytelling, Weiss might not have been able to achieve the goal of conveying the horrors of the Holocaust as effectively. Some playwrights and novelists preferred satire or narration, but Weiss seems to want to step into the shoes of a documentarian. Doing so…
