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Born in Augsburg, Germany as Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht to Berthold Friedrich Brecht and Sophie, née Brezing. He had a younger brother. -
War broke out when Brecht was 16 years old.
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Brecht enrolled as a medical student at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. In 1918, however, he had to serve as a medical orderly in World War I.
(http://educationatsignature.blogspot.com/2014/03/a-big-bertolt-brecht-biography.html) -
Brecht wrote his first play at the age of 20, featuring the protagonist Baal, who is "a romantic anti-hero, a decrepit poet at war with bourgeois society and values."
https://www.rimbaudverlaine.org/en/news/bertolt-brechts-baal-and-anti-heroes-decadence/ -
Frank Banholzer's mother was Paula Banholzer, who was a teacher and said to be Brecht's first love. He died a corporal on the Eastern Front. -
Bertolt married actress and opera singer Marianne Zoff. -
Bertolt won the Kilest prize in recognition for Drums in the Night.
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Hanne Hiob's mother was Marianne Zoff. She became a German actress. -
Bertolt had a son, named Stefan, with Helene Weigle. He went on to become a scholar of theater. -
In the late 1920's, Brecht began studying Marxist beliefs. Marxism is a social, economic, and political philosophy named after German Philosopher Karl Marx. It points towards the struggle between workers and capitalists. This influenced Brecht to sympathize with the communist cause.
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/marxism.asp#:~:text=Marxism%20posits%20that%20the%20struggle,inevitably%20to%20a%20communist%20revolution. -
His marriage with Zoff began to fall apart as early as 1923, but they did not divorce until 4 years later.
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Bertolt married Helene Wiegle after divorcing Marianne Zoff 2 years prior. -
Barbara Brecht-Schall was the second child that Brecht had with Helene Weigle. She was the guardian of Brecht's literary legacy until she died in 2015. -
Bertolt left Nazi Germany in order to avoid persecution and moved to Denmark. His works were burned soon after during the book burning of 1933.
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This play does its job of showing the audience how "ordinary life under the Nazis was subtly permeated by suspicion and anxiety".
https://stageagent.com/shows/play/1733/fear-and-misery-in-the-third-reich -
When Nazi troops invaded Poland in 1939, it sparked a response from Brecht in the form of art. Mother Courage and Her Children was written with a month.
https://hillsdalecollegian.com/2016/02/mother-courage-and-her-children-a-history-bertolt-brechts-classic-drama-opening-feb-24-in-markel-offers-themes-relevant-to-todays-political/#:~:text=Brecht's%20message%20in%20%E2%80%9CMother%20Courage,allows%20that%20fire%20to%20burn.%E2%80%9D -
During the war, Brecht wrote many plays that showed his criticism of the National Socialist and Fascist movements. Among them were plays such as, Mother Courage and Her Children, The Good Person of Szechwan, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, and Fear and Misery of the Third Reich.
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This play follows a woman who is determined to make a living off of the Thirty Years War. Along the way, she loses all three of her children.
https://stageagent.com/shows/play/3628/mother-courage-and-her-children -
After living in Scandinavia for a few years, Brecht moved to the United States where he did work in the Hollywood industry.
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The story of The Caucasian Chalk Circle follows a peasant who runs away with a wealthy family's baby and becomes a better mother to the child.
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Bertolt became extremely controversial due to his Marxist beliefs. As a anti-communist campaign, His works were not performed in Austria for a decade.
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The Stalin Peace prize was an award given by the Soviet government. Normally awarded to notable figures who they felt "strengthened peace" in the Soviet Union. -
Bertolt died at the age of 58 after suffering from cardiac arrest. It is believed that he suffered from an undiagnosed childhood illness that played a role in his health decline. His wife Helene was later buried next to him. He died having produced 31 plays and written more than 2,000 poems.