Switzerland Theater “The Deputy” Demonstration, 1963 (b/w photo)

On September 24, 1963, a poster with the inscription “Freedom for Art” was held up in the crowd in the streets of Basel in favor of the theater performance of Rolf Hochhuth's “The Deputy”. At this premiere of the play in Switzerland, in which the playwright Hochhuth critically examines Pope Pius Xii's attitude towards the Holocaust, thousands of Catholics demonstrated against the performance of the controversial play with a silent march. In front of the municipal theatre, there were violent clashes with counter-demonstrators who stood up for the freedom of art.