Rolf Hochhuth

German playwright and novelist. Born in Eschwege. In 1963, he made a sensational debut with the play "The Vicar of God" (directed by Erwin Piskattl), which accused Pope Pius XII of war responsibility for turning a blind eye to the Nazi genocide of the Jews. The play was performed in 25 countries and became a pioneer of documentary theater, which flourished in the 1960s. He subsequently became a standard-bearer of political theater, presenting "The Soldiers" (1967), which pursues Churchill's war responsibility, and "Guerrilla" (1970), which exposes the mechanisms of American capitalism. He continued to present controversial works, such as "The Midwife" (1972), a comedy depicting the poverty lurking behind Germany's prosperous society, and "Women's Peace and NATO" (1974), a comedy based on Aristophanes. In the former, he exposed the hypocrisy of local town officials and politicians, while in the latter, he vividly depicted a sex strike by Greek peasant women against the construction of a NATO naval base, which was well received. The Death of a Hunter (1976) was a monodrama that recreated the events immediately before Hemingway's suicide by hunting rifle. In the feature film German Love (1978), he again used records from World War II to depict the ruin of a forbidden love between a Polish prisoner of war and a German woman, sharply questioning the sins of the past that were beginning to fade. While researching for the document, he discovered that a sitting state premier had committed a war crime, forcing him to resign, and dramatized the events of that event in The Lawyers' Family (1980). His subsequent plays include The Doctor's Family (1980), which examines the opaque collusion between pharmaceutical companies and doctors over the development of new drugs, Judith (1984), the tragedy of a woman who, using myth as a metaphor, rises up to assassinate the American president, The Dance of Death (1990), The Westmen of Weimar (1993; Westmen were a derogatory term for people from the former West Germans), and Effie's Night (1998). His later novels include Alan Turing (1987) and Julia (1994).

[Takumi Maruyama]

"God's Agent" translated by Toshio Morikawa (1964, Hakusuisha) " ▽ "Soldiers: Geneva Requiem" translated by Toshio Morikawa (1967, Hakusuisha)" ▽ "Guerrilla: A Five-Act Tragedy" translated by Toshio Morikawa and Akira Koshibe (1971, Hakusuisha)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

ドイツの劇作家、小説家。エシュウェーゲ生まれ。1963年、ナチスのユダヤ人虐殺を黙視した当時のローマ教皇ピウス12世の戦争責任を告発する戯曲『神の代理人』（エルウィン・ピスカートル演出）によってセンセーショナルなデビューを飾る。同戯曲は25か国で上演され、1960年代に開花する記録演劇の先駆となった。以後政治演劇の旗手として、チャーチルの戦争責任を追及する『兵士たち』（1967）、アメリカの資本主義の機構を剔抉(てっけつ)する『ゲリラ』（1970）を発表した。その後も、ドイツの繁栄社会の背後に潜む貧困を描く喜劇『助産婦』（1972）、アリストファネスを下敷きにした喜劇『女の平和とNATO』（1974）など次々に問題作を発表。前者では田舎町の役人や政治家の偽善を暴き、後者ではNATO（北大西洋条約機構）の海軍基地建設に反対するギリシア人の農婦たちのセックス・ストライキを活写して好評を博した。『ある猟師の死』（1976）は、ヘミングウェイの猟銃自殺の直前を再現するモノドラマ。長編『ドイツの愛』（1978）では、ふたたび第二次世界大戦中の記録に基づいてポーランド人捕虜とドイツ人女性との許されぬ愛の破滅を描き、風化しかけた過去の罪過を鋭く問いかけた。その資料取材中に、現職の州首相の戦争犯罪を確認して辞職へと追い込み、その経緯を『法曹一家』（1980）にドラマ化した。その後の戯曲に、新薬開発をめぐる製薬企業と医師の不透明な癒着にメスを入れる『女医一家』（1980）、神話に仮託してアメリカの大統領暗殺に立ち上がる女性の悲劇『ユーディット』（1984）、『14年夏　死の舞踏』（1990）、『ワイマールの西野郎たち』（1993。西野郎とは旧西ドイツ人の蔑称）、『エフィの夜』（1998）のほか、小説には『アラン・トゥーリング』（1987）や『ユーリア』（1994）がある。

［丸山　匠］

『森川俊夫訳『神の代理人』（1964・白水社）』▽『森川俊夫訳『兵士たち――ジュネーヴ鎮魂歌』（1967・白水社）』▽『森川俊夫・越部暹訳『ゲリラ――五幕悲劇』（1971・白水社）』

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