Bertolt Brecht's Furcht und Elend des Dritten Reiches

Brecht's Furcht und Elend des Dritten Reiches (Fear and Misery of the Third Reich) gives a compelling documentary picture of life in Nazi Germany. Close readings of individual scenes are accompanied by a detailed analysis of their role within the play's overall structure. Contrary to the assumption that it is a work of Aristotelian realism, Brecht is shown to employ covert alienation devices that are an integral part of his literary campaign against Third Reich Germany.
This first study in English on the subject of Brecht and fascism offers a corrective to the overconcentration on the play's artistic aspects. It considers Brecht's relationship to the Popular Front's campaign against the National Socialist regime. Attention is paid to the play's genesis, and, in the case of The Private Life of the Master Race, to the partial shift from the Third Reich of 1933-38 to the war period predicted in the original Furcht und Elend cycle.
The play's central theme of resistance, its propaganda value, and its political and artistic reception are addressed within their historical and ideological framework. The result is a challenging assessment of the play's strengths and limitations as a response to German totalitarianism.

John J. White is Emeritus Professor of German and Comparative Literature at King's College London, and Ann White is Senior Lecturer in German at Royal Holloway, University of London.

Details

First Published: 30 Jun 2010
13 Digit ISBN: 9781571133731
Pages: 274
Size: 9 x 6
Binding: Hardback
Imprint: Camden House
Series: Studies in German Literature Linguistics and Culture
Subject: German Literature
BIC Class: DSB

Details updated on 02 Sep 2010

Contents

• 1  The Historical Context of the Furcht und Elend Project
• 2  Brecht and Fascism
• 3  Fear and Misery in Brecht's Depiction of Third Reich Germany
• 4  "Der Widerstand, und zwar der wachsende Widerstand": Brecht's Dramatized Typology of Forms of Opposition
• 5  Songs, Poems, and Other Commenting Devices in Furcht und Elend and The Private Life of the Master Race
• 6  Epic Structure, Alienation Effects, and Aristotelian Theater
• 7  Concluding Remarks
• 8  Appendix A: Furcht und Elend Scene -Titles and their English Equivalents
• 9  Appendix B: The First Four Verses of "Die deutsche Heerschau" in German and English
• 10  Works Consulted
• 11  Index