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Back Story

Playwright Bertolt Brecht was born in Germany, and died in Germany. Yet, for 14 years, a period in which he wrote some of his best-known plays, Brecht was an exile who felt unable to return to his homeland.

Born in 1898, Brecht began writing in World War I’s aftermath. The devastation of conflict - which he experienced firsthand in an army hospital - would have a lasting impact on him. Disillusioned with a society that had devolved into war, Brecht adopted left-leaning, Marxist politics. This influenced his plays, which included anti-capitalist messages and encouraged audiences to change their perspectives.

1920s Germany was no safe place to be a Marxist, however. In 1923, Brecht’s work was under attack. The premiere of his play In the Jungle of Cities was disrupted by Nazi audience members who threw stink bombs onto the stage. As Nazism grew, and Hitler’s power with it, Brecht was worried about more than just stink bombs. In February 1933, Brecht fled. His works were publicly burned that year.

Brecht moved all over Europe in the 1930s. With the outbreak of World War II, Brecht had to look further afield. He got a US visa and travelled to California in 1941. It was as a refugee in Europe and America that much of his most famous work, including Mother Courage and her Children, was written. But, Brecht could not stand still for long. The end of WWII brought the Cold War, and American suspicion of Marxists. Brecht was investigated, being questioned on whether he had communist connections. Brecht denied this, but departed America the next day.

After a stint in Switzerland, Brecht moved back to Germany. He spent the rest of his life in East Berlin, where he established his own theatre company in peace.

In this post Thomas highlights the arty refugee experience of Bertolt Brech. He is a citizen journalist on a placement with us organised by Oxford University Career Services. He also organised the micro game to make the journalistic experience interactive.

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Stink Bombs to Exile: They Tried to Silence…