BERTOLT BRECHT

Bertolt Brecht was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet from the 1920s to 1956. He was the main proponent of the genre named epic theater. During the Nazi period and World War II (WWII) he lived in exile, first in Scandinavia and then in the United States. In the years of the Cold War and "Red Scare", Brecht was blacklisted by movie studio bosses and interrogated by the House Un-American Activities Committee. In 1947, Brecht testified to HUAC that he had never been a member of the Communist Party and made wry jokes throughout the proceedings. Brecht's decision to appear before the committee led to criticism, including accusations of betrayal. The day after his testimony, Brecht returned to Europe, and eventually moved to East Berlin in 1949, where he established the theatre company Berliner Ensemble with his wife and long-time collaborator, actress Helene Weigel. Some of his works include: The Threepenny Opera, Life of Galileo, and Mother Courage and Her Children. Brecht passed away in 1956 at the age of 58.