The Drama of the German Democratic Republic since Brecht: An Outline

The Drama of the German Democratic Republic since Brecht: An Outline GOTTFRIED FISCHBORN translated by Peter Harris and Pia Kleber THE DIRECT INFLUENCE OF BERT OLT BRECHT When Bertolt Brecht came home in 1948 to what was at that time the Sovietoccupied zone of Gennany (later to become the Gennan Democratic Republic [GDR]), he had in his suitcase his latest dramatic works: a very free adaptation of Sophocles' Antigone and the historical drama The Days of the Commune (Die Tage der Commune). In his "thorough rationalisation" ("Durchrationalisierung "), as he put it, of the classical myth, he raised the question about that resistance against a fascist, dictatorial regime which - like the conspiracy of July 20th, 1944 - arose out of the ruling circles themselves, even though it was too late, too dilettantish, too inconsistent. The tragic history of the Paris communards in 1871, on the other hand, with its internal entanglements and its external threats, seemed to Brecht to be suitable as both an analogy to the situation and an admonition to the progressive powers in eastern Gennany: while political power was still being attained, new fonns of contradictions arose to be solved. Thus, both plays are programmatic for the historical situation ofa new social and political community in its beginning stages of development. This community had the task of combining two kinds of analysis: a critical examination of Hitler's only recently destroyed fascism and the battle against its causes and its remnants; and understanding itself as a historical alternative - an alternative notjust to Hitler's barbarism, but to the previous 200 years of Prussian-Gennan history, as well as to its socio-economic matrix, the capitalist social system (which was aboutto be restored in the western part ofGennany). In these plays, then, Brecht deepened for the people of the GDR their understanding of their historical situation. He further expanded this line of his work later with his adaptation of The Court Tutor (Der Hofmeister) by Reinhold Jakob Michael Lenz, a text which attacked above all the spiritual and ideological roots of the willingly submissive attitude ("Knechtsseligkeit") and the self-chosen political Drama of the GDR since Brecht 423 immaturity of the Germans. Until then a topical contemporary drama - admittedly not without some importance - had devoted itself predominantly to anti-fascist catharsis: by recognition of one's own complicity in fascism, one was supposed to be able to overcome a sense of crippling resignation, and be prepared to reform one's thoughts and join in the reconstruction ofthe country. In addition to the works of Friedrich Wolf (1888-1953; an important comrade of Brecht's in the battle for socialism ever since the days of the Weimar Republic), What Man Sows (Was der Mensch siiet; 1945) and Like Animals of the Forest (Wie Tiere des Waldes; 1946), two others should be mentioned here: Gunther Weisenborn's (1902-1969) dramatic monument to the Resistance, The Illegal Ones (Die Illegalen), and Wolfgang Borchert's (1921-1947) drama of the returning soldier, Before the Door (DrauJ3en vor der Tur), the imperishable literary testament of an entire generation (both plays, 1946/47).' Brecht's work in the theatre in the new GDR played an integral role in the character and development of its dramatic literature in yet another way. First, there was his practical work in the Berliner Ensemble, the theatre that was inspired by him. Because limitations of space prevent any detailed description of this work here, it must suffice to note that Brecht's achievement offered an extraordinary opportunity, extending long past his death in 1956, for playwrights to adapt reality in a new way: following the movement of the social contradictions in the structure of the dramatic text; illuminating their backgrounds ; "including and consolidating" ("einnehmend und befestigend" (Brecht]) the socialist standpoint - and all this in a naive and sensuous fashion. But in addition to this "long-term influence" (ULangzeitwirkung"), which can scarcely be overestimated, there were also very direct impulses. It is by no means a coincidence that Brecht's highly talented pupil Heiner Muller dealt anew in his play The Wage Slaver (Der Lohndrucker; 1958) - in a masterful and original fashion - with material that Brecht had already worked on (although he...