Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (1898 - 1956)

Born 10 Feb 1898 in Augsburg, Königreich Bayern, Deutsches Reich

Ancestors

Husband of Marianne Josefine (Zoff) Schmitz — married 3 Nov 1922 (to 22 Nov 1927) in München, Bayern, Deutsches Reich

Descendants

Died 14 Aug 1956 at age 58 in Berlin, Deutsche Demokratische Republik

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Biography

Bertolt Brecht is Notable.

Bertolt Brecht was a German playwright, poet, theatre director, theatre practitioner, and theatrical reformer, whose epic theatre departed from the conventions of theatrical illusion and developed drama as a social and ideological forum.^[1]

Eugen Berthold Friedrich was born on 10 Feb 1898 in Augsburg. He was the son of Berthold Friedrich Brecht of Achern, Baden, and Wilhelmine Friederike Sophie, née Brezing.^[2]

Bertolt's father, Berthold Friedrich, was a Catholic. He first worked as a clerk in a paper factory in Augsburg, and was later promoted to authorized signatory and then director of the sales department. Bertolt's mother, Sophie, came from a Pietistic Lutheran family. Her father was a station master.^[3] Due to his mother's influence, Brecht knew the Bible, a familiarity that would have a lifelong effect on his writing.^[4]

When Bertolt was 16, World War I broke out. Initially enthusiastic, he soon changed his mind. On his father's recommendation, Brecht sought to avoid being conscripted into the army by exploiting a loophole which allowed for medical students to be deferred. He subsequently registered for a medical course at Munich University, where he enrolled in 1917. There he studied drama with Arthur Kutscher, who inspired in the young Brecht an admiration for Frank Wedekind. Brecht was drafted into military service in the autumn of 1918, only to be posted back to Augsburg as a medical orderly in a military VD clinic; the war ended a month later.^[4]

In 1917, Bertolt began a relationship with Paula Banholzer (born 6 Aug 1901 in Markt Wald/Unterallgäu; died 25 Feb 1989 in Augsburg).^[5][6][7] They had a son:

• Frank Banholzer (born 30 Jul 1919; died 13 Nov 1943 as a German soldier on the Eastern Front).

Brecht had his first successes as a playwright in Munich. In 1918 he wrote his first full-length play, Baal.^[4]

Bertolt married first Austrian actress and opera singer Marianne Josephine Zoff on 3 Nov 1922 in Munich.^[3][8] They had one daughter:

• Hanne Marianne Brecht (born 12 Mar 1923 in Munich; died 23 Jun 2009 in Munich), married Joachim Hiob.

Bertolt and Marianne divorced on 22 Nov 1927 in Berlin.^[8]

In 1923, Bertolt began a relationship with the Austrian actress Helene Weigel.^[3][9] They married on 10 Apr 1929. They had the following children:

• Stefan Sebastian Brecht (born 3 Nov 1924 in Berlin; died 13 Apr 2009 in New York City),
• Maria Barbara Brecht (born 28 Oct 1930 in Berlin; died 31 Aug 2015 in Berlin), married Ekkehard Schall.

In 1924 Brecht moved to Berlin, where he worked as a dramaturg. There he met Kurt Weill and began collaborating with him. Their big breakthrough was The Threepenny Opera (Die Dreigroschenoper) in 1928. In Berlin, Brecht also began a life-long collaboration with the composer Hanns Eisler, creating several "Lehrstücke" (teaching plays) with avantgarde music, among other things. Brecht also formed a writing collective, which produced multiple Lehrstücke.^[3][4]

During the Nazi period, Bertolt Brecht and his family lived in exile, first in Prague, Vienna, Zürich, and Paris (1933), then in Denmark (1933-1939), Stockholm (1939-1940), Helsinki (1940-1941), and in the United States (1941-1947).^[3][4] They arrived in San Pedro, Los Angeles, on 21 July 1941 by ship "Annie Johnson" from Vladivostok, USSR. Their immigrant visa to the US were issued in Helsinki (their last permanent residence) on 3 May 1941.^[10]

In September 1944 Bertolt's collaborator, confidante, and lover Ruth Berlau gave birth to their son

• Michel (born prematurely in September 1944; died a few days after his birth).^[11]

After being blacklisted and interrogated by the U.S. House Un-American Activities Committee, Brecht returned to Europe in 1947, initially living in Switzerland and moving back to East Berlin in 1949. There, he established the theatre company Berliner Ensemble with his wife and long-time collaborator, Helene Weigel, who became the artistic director and who would continue his legacy after his death. Bertolt Brecht was one of the most important authors and playwrights of the 20th century.^[3][4]

He passed away on 14 Aug 1956 in East Berlin and was buried on 17 Aug 1956 at Dorotheenstädtischer Friedhof.^[12][13]

Sources

1. ↑ Britannica: Bertolt Brecht. German dramatist
2. ↑ Church book Augsburg, Bayern: Landeskirchliches Archiv der Evang.-Luth. Kirche > Dekanat Augsburg > Augsburg-Gesamtkirchengemeinde > Taufen 1898-1902 Archion
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5} German Wikipedia article on Bertolt Brecht
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5} English Wikipedia article on Bertolt Brecht
5. ↑ German Wikipedia article on Paula Banholzer
6. ↑ English Wikipedia article on Paula Banholzer
7. ↑ https://geneee.org/paula/banholzer?lang=de
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} German Wikipedia article on Marianne Zoff
9. ↑ German Wikipedia article on Helene Weigel
10. ↑ "California, Los Angeles Passenger Lists, 1907-1948," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GT93-2R3?cc=1916084&wc=M61N-GNL%3A202434201 : 20 May 2014), 110 - Jul 21, 1941 - Jan 7, 1942 > image 34 of 1010; citing NARA microfilm publication M1764 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
11. ↑ German Wikipedia article on Ruth Berlau
12. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #2972
13. ↑ https://grabsteine.genealogy.net/tomb.php?cem=4558&tomb=65&b=B&lang=de

See also:

• Wikidata: Item Q38757
• Brechts familiäre Wurzeln reichen bis nach Haiterbach. In: Schwarzwälder Bote, 3 Dec 2015
• Dr. Betsch, Gerhard. Brechts Großmutter. In: zeitreise bb
• Müller, Gerhard. Achern liegt nicht im Schwarzwald - Notizen zum dortigen Brecht’schen Haus. In: Dreigroschenheft 1/2016, S. 18 ff.
• Heiratsurkunde in München aufgetaucht: Nicht die einzige Frau. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung, 4 Jan 2013
• https://www.daserste.de/unterhaltung/film/brecht/lebensdaten-wichtige-stationen-leben-brecht-100.html
• Xlibris: Ausführliche Biographie Bertolt Brecht (1898 – 1956)
• Kai-Britt Albrecht, Antonia Meiners, Lutz Walther. Bertolt Brecht 1898-1956 - Dramatiker und Theaterregisseur. In: Lebendiges Museum Online. Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin, 23 Mar 2021
• Bloomsbury Collections. Extract from: Parker, Stephen. Bertolt Brecht – A Literary Life. Bloomsbury Academic, 2014
• Kinder eines Genies
• "United States Border Crossings from Canada to United States, 1895-1956", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XGLT-144 : 14 November 2019), Eugen Bertolt Fredrick (Unknown) Brecht, 1947.
• "New York, Northern Arrival Manifests, 1902-1956," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q23H-ZR1P : 2 March 2021), Eugen Bertolt Fredrick Brecht, New York, United States;citing Immigration, New York, United States, NARA microfilm publication M1480 and M1482. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.
• https://geneee.org/bertolt/brecht?lang=de
• https://gedbas.genealogy.net/person/ancestors/1128946390
• http://gedbas.de/person/show/1267535566
• https://www.geni.com/people/Bertolt-Brecht/4376889306840126333