„Los schnell“. Peter Weiss liest H.G. Adler

Abstract

This essay documents the importance of the book Auschwitz – Zeugnisse und Berichte (Auschwitz—Documents and Reports), published in 1962, conceived and edited by H.G. Adler, Hermann Langbein, and Ella Lingens-Reiner. On the one hand, the article points out how significant this irreplaceable volume with its numerous texts by Holocaust survivors was for the attorneys who prepared the first Auschwitz trial in Frankfurt, Germany (December 20, 1963–August 20, 1965). On the other hand, and based on Peter Weiss’s personal copy, now in possession of the Berlin Academy of the Arts, this article analyzes the hitherto barely realized role of this document for the genesis of Weiss’ oratorio Die Ermittlung (The Investigation). (MA; in German)