Bertolt Brecht Wiki: Height, Measurements, Parents, Nationality



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Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director. His work was influential in the development of the 20th-century theatre. Brecht was born in Augsburg, Bavaria, on February 10, 1898. His father, Bernhard Brecht, was a clerk in a paper factory, and his mother, Sophia Brecht, was a homemaker. He had four siblings: two brothers and two sisters. Brecht’s family was Catholic, and he was baptized into the faith. However, he later became an atheist. Brecht’s father died when he was nine years old, and his mother died when he was 14.

As a result, he was raised by his maternal grandparents. Brecht attended the Augsburg Gymnasium, where he excelled in languages and literature. He also developed an interest in politics. After graduating from the Gymnasium, Brecht enrolled at the University of Munich to study medicine. However, he dropped out after one semester to pursue his true passion: theatre. In 1918, Brecht began working as a dramaturg at the Munich Kammerspiele. He also began writing plays of his own.

His first play, Baal, was staged at the Kammerspiele in 1923. It was a success, and Brecht became known as a leading figure in the German Expressionist movement. In 1924, Brecht married the actress Helene Weigel. The couple had three children: Stefan, Barbara, and Hans-Otto. In 1925, Brecht’s second play, Drums in the Night, premiered at the Kammerspiele. The following year, his third play, In the Jungle of Cities, was staged at the Frankfurt Opera House. These early plays established Brecht as a leading voice in the German theatre.

In 1928, Brecht moved to Berlin, where he wrote his most famous plays: The Threepenny Opera (1928), The Mother (1930), and The Good Person of Szechwan (1943). These plays were groundbreaking in their use of music, dance, and song to tell a story. They were also highly political, with Brecht using his work to comment on social injustice and the human condition. In 1933, the Nazi Party came to power in Germany. Brecht opposed the Nazis and their policies of censorship and repression. As a result, he was forced to flee Germany in 1934. He settled in Denmark, where he wrote his play Life of Galileo (1938).

In 1941, Brecht moved to the United States. He lived in Hollywood for several years, working on film scripts and writing plays. In 1947, he returned to Europe. He settled in East Germany, where he founded the Berliner Ensemble, a theatre company that staged his plays. Brecht died in East Berlin on August 14, 1956.

Source: IMDb, Wikipedia