Brecht – Kuhle Wampe, film, history

In 1929, Brecht married Helene Weigel (he had divorced Marianne Zoff in 1927) who had already borne him a son, Stefan. The new couple also had a daughter, Barbara, who was born shortly after the wedding and who, like Brecht’s other daughter, would go on to become an actress (she would also inherit the copyrights to all of Brecht’s literary work). During this period, he also formed an influential writing collective which aspired to create a new theatre for participants rather than for passive audiences. In 1932 he worked on a script for a semi-documentary feature-length film about the suffering caused by the then-rampant mass unemployment that was plaguing Germany. This film, Kuhle Wampe was effective in its subversive humor and still provides a vivid insight into the final years of the Weimar Republic.

Premier in Moscow, on 30 May 1932.