The Gebrauchsstück (journalistic play) of the 1920s translates contemporary events into dramatic action. In many instances, this type of play leaves the central questions it raises unresolved. Hans José Rehfisch was a leading author of Gebrauchsstücke. He was a prolific dramatist who became one of the most frequently performed authors during the Weimar Republic and achieved worldwide popularity and success, especially with Die Affäre Dreyfus (The Dreyfus Affair; performed, 1929; published, 1951). Many well-known German theater directors, including Max Reinhardt, Leopold Jessner, and Erwin Piscator, staged his plays, and actors such as Fritz Kortner, Marlene Dietrich, Heinrich George, Gerda Müller, and Oskar Homolka vied for roles in them.

Rehfisch was born on 10 April 1891 to Eugen Rehfisch and Hedwig Manczik Rehfisch. His father worked as a physician for the national health insurance plan and developed the electrocardiogram, for which he received the...