Bertolt Brecht, born Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht on February 10, 1898, in Augsburg, Germany, emerged from a middle-class family-his father was a paper company director and his mother the daughter of a civil servant. He began writing poetry as a youth, publishing his first poems in 1914. Brecht attended the Königliches Realgymnasium and gained a reputation as an enfant terrible. In 1917, he enrolled at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich to study medicine, but his studies were interrupted by service as a medical orderly during World War I.
Early Career and Artistic Development
After the war, Brecht attended Arthur Kutscher’s theater seminar in Munich, where his interest in drama deepened. He wrote his first play, Baal, in 1918, which was produced in 1923. His early works, including Drums in the Night (1922) and A Manual of Piety (1927), reflected a rebellious, antibourgeois attitude shaped by the disillusionment of postwar Germany. During this period, Brecht was influenced by Marxist thought and the Dadaist movement, which sought to challenge traditional bourgeois art through satire and iconoclasm.
Epic Theatre and Theoretical Innovations
Brecht became a leading figure in developing "epic theatre," a style that broke from traditional theatrical illusion in favor of a narrative approach that encouraged critical detachment in the audience. Central to this was the Verfremdungseffekt (alienation effect), a set of techniques designed to remind spectators they were watching a performance, prompting them to reflect on the social and political issues presented rather than becoming emotionally absorbed. Brecht’s theoretical writings, such as Kleines Organon für das Theater (1949), articulated his vision for a Marxist, dialectical theatre that fostered social change.
Major Works and Collaborations
Brecht's most celebrated works include:
The Threepenny Opera (1928, with Kurt Weill)
Mother Courage and Her Children
The Good Person of Szechuan
The Caucasian Chalk Circle
The Life of Galileo
The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui
He frequently collaborated with composers such as Kurt Weill and Hanns Eisler, and his wife, actress Helene Weigel, was a key artistic partner.
Exile and Later Life
With the rise of the Nazi regime in 1933, Brecht fled Germany, living in Scandinavia before relocating to the United States in 1941. In California, he wrote several major plays but struggled to find theatrical opportunities. During the anti-communist investigations of the late 1940s, Brecht was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee. Shortly after testifying in 1947, he returned to Europe.
Settling in East Berlin in 1949, Brecht founded the Berliner Ensemble with Helene Weigel. The company became a leading force in postwar theatre, renowned for its innovative productions and commitment to Brecht’s epic theatre principles.
Legacy
Brecht died of a heart attack on August 14, 1956, in East Berlin. He is remembered as one of the most influential playwrights and theorists of the 20th century, whose works and ideas continue to shape modern theatre worldwide.