Rolf Hochhuth
[2] During World War II, he was a member of the Deutsches Jungvolk, a junior subdivision of the Hitler Youth; membership in the group had become legally compulsory in 1939.
Ein christliches Trauerspiel (The Deputy, a Christian Tragedy, translated by Richard and Clara Winston, 1964), the play caused a great deal of controversy because of its criticism of Pope Pius XII's role in World War II.
Its publisher Ed Keating and journalist Warren Hinckle, who themselves considered it "dramaturgically flawed," organized a committee to defend the play as a matter of free speech.
It was directed by Clifford Williams with Alan Webb or Eric Porter as Pius XII, Alec McCowen as Father Fontana and Ian Richardson.
An abridged version opened on Broadway on 26 February 1964 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, with Emlyn Williams as Pius XII and Jeremy Brett as Father Fontana.
[11] That aspect of the play has overshadowed Hochhuth's conceit that the play would contribute to a debate on the ethics of the area bombardment of German cities by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II, with particular reference to Operation Gomorrah, the Anglo-American air raid on Hamburg in 1943, and culminating in a fictional debate between Winston Churchill and the pacifist George Bell.
At the time of the controversy, Irving was the only figure who gave his "unequivocal" support for Hochhuth's allegations towards Churchill; others consulted by Tynan considered it highly improbable.
In 1983 Andrzej Wajda, who would later win an Honorary Oscar for Lifetime Achievement, made the story into the film Eine Liebe in Deutschland.
His 1987 drama Alan Turing featured one of the fathers of modern computer science, who had made significant contributions to breaking German ciphers during World War II.
In March 2005, Hochhuth became embroiled in controversy when, during an interview with the German weekly Junge Freiheit, he defended Holocaust denier David Irving, describing him as a "pioneer of modern history who has written magnificent books" and an "historian to equal someone like Joachim Fest".
