Peter Weiss

The Profile

Peter Weiss (1916–1982) was a German writer, playwright, painter and filmmaker, best known for Die Ermittlung (The Investigation / L'istruttoria), Marat/Sade and The Aesthetics of Resistance.

Born 1916, Peter Weiss wrote plays, novels and essays addressing history, memory and politics. Die Ermittlung (The Investigation, 1965) is his theatrical oratorio based on testimony from the Frankfurt Auschwitz trials; Marat/Sade and The Aesthetics of Resistance are among his best-known works. He died in 1982.

The available review praises Peter Weiss's Die Ermittlung (L'istruttoria) as a powerful poetic oratorio built from Frankfurt Auschwitz trial testimony. It emphasizes the work's eleven-canto, Dante-like structure, its laconic, relentless language, and its role in forcing Germany to confront wartime responsibility. The reviewer rates it very highly and calls it essential reading.