A new translation of Peter Weiss's The insurance

Peter Weiss is a name with immediate and strong recognition in the fields of theatre and German literature. Late in the generation of ‘exile’ authors who had to escape Germany on account of Nazi persecution, he remained prolific in the creation of plays, novels, and films from the 50s through the 80s, reaching international fame primarily for his works of documentary theatre that were among the few contemporary works to get staged in both East and West Germany. With this kind of a record, it is astounding that he still has untranslated works; and yet he does. This thesis is one step towards finishing that project, as it includes a full translation of his second published play, The Insurance (Die Versicherung). Beyond just translating it, though, I must examine why it might have taken this long to get translated, and how the play functions on the stages of today, far removed from those of Europe in the 60s.