The Investigation (play)
The Investigation (1965) is a play by German playwright Peter Weiss that depicts the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials of 1963–1965. It carries the subtitle "Oratorio in 11 Cantos". Weiss was an observer at the trials and developed the play partially from the reports of Bernd Naumann. The work premiered on October 19, 1965 on stages in fourteen West and East German cities and at the Royal Shakespeare Company in London. In 1966 the production was presented at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm which featured sets and costumes designed by Weiss's wife, Gunilla Palmstierna-Weiss, and was directed by Ingmar Bergman. World-Theater Project The Investigation was originally supposed to be part of a larger "World-Theater Project", which was to follow the structure of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. The three-part theater project was supposed to include the three realms of Paradise, Hell, and Purgatory. In an inversion of Dante's beliefs, The Investigation was supposed to correspond to the "Paradise" and yet be a place of despair for its victims. Inferno, written in 1964 but first published in 2003 as part of Weiss' estate, described the netherworld in its title. Due to the historical significance of the Auschwitz Trial, the Divine Comedy project was