Hochhuth's aim in writing Der Stellvertreter [The Deputy] was clearly a polemic one. His study of historical documents confirmed him in his conviction that Pope Pius XII could and should have protested against the Nazis' treatment of the Jews during the Second World War. The play is a passionate accusation, and the author has used all the skill at his command in his attempt to transmit his sense of moral outrage to the public. He has chosen to write his play in the form which is best suited to the task of generating emotion in the audience—that of the conventional 'theatre of illusion'. The main action consists of Riccardo's vain efforts to get the Church to condemn the deportations. He goes from one dignitary to the next, until finally he forces his way into the presence of the Pope himself. When he, too, refuses to act, Riccardo...