BERTOLT BRECHT TIMELINE

1898	February 10	Bertolt Brecht is born in Augsburg, Bavaria where his father runs a paper mill.
1914		His first poems are published.
1917		He enrolls as a medical student at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.
		He attends Arthur Kutscher's theatre seminar.
1918		He is drafted and serves as a medical orderly.
		He writes his first play, Baal.
1919		He joins the Independent Social Democratic party, beginning a lifelong association with communism.
		He has a son (Frank) with his girlfriend, Paula Banholzer.
		He begins writing theatre reviews for Volkswillen, a local independent Socialist newspaper.
1920		He is named chief adviser on play selection at the Munich Kammerspiele.
1922	November 3	He marries the opera singer and actress Marianne Zoff.
1923		His daughter, Hanne Hiob, is born. She will grow up to become a well-known German actress.
		In the Jungle of Cities premieres in Munich.
	December 8	Baal premieres at the Altes Theater in Leipzig.
1924		Brecht becomes a consultant at Max Reinhardt's Deutches Theater in Berlin.
		He has a son (Stefan) with the actress Helene Weigel.
1926		Man Equals Man premieres at Darmstadt and Düsseldorf.
1927		Brecht divorces Marianne Zoff.
		He publishes Hauspostille, a volume of poetry.
1928		The Threepenny Opera, a musical with a libretto by Brecht, opens at the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm. It is the hit of the season.
1929	April 10	Brecht marries Helene Weigel.
1930		He has a daughter (Barbara) with Weigel.
		The Rise and Fall of the City of Mohagonny, an opera with a libretto by Brecht, causes a riot when it premieres in Leipzig.
1932	May	Brecht's political film, Kuhle Wampe, named after an area of Berlin where the unemployed live in shacks, premieres in Moscow. It is banned from theaters in Germany.
		The Mother, Brecht's adaptation of a Maxim Gorky novel, opens in Berlin with music by Hanns Eisler.
1933	February 28	After Adolf Hitler comes to power, Brecht, fearing for his safety, flees Germany and eventually settles in Denmark.
	April 13	An English version of The Threepenny Opera opens at the Empire Theatre on Broadway. It closes after only 12 performances.
1935		Brecht is stripped of his German citizenship.
1938		Fear and Mistery of the Third Reich premieres in Paris.
1941		Brecht relocates to Santa Monica, California.
		Mother Courage and Her Children premieres in Switzerland.
1943		The Good Person of Szechwan and Life of Galileo premiere in Zurich.
1944		Brecht becomes a member of the Council for a Democratic Germany.
		He has a child with Ruth Berlau, but the baby does not survive.
1946		Brecht's adaptation of The Duchess of Malfi premieres in Boston.
1947	October 30	Brecht is subpoenaed to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). He testifies that he is not a member of the communist party. On the same day of this interrogation, Brecht leaves the U.S.
1948		After 15 years of exile, Brecht returns to Germany.
		Mr. Puntila and his Man Matti premieres in Zurich.
		Brecht's adaptation of Antigone premieres in Switzerland.
		He publishes A Short Organum for the Theatre.
1949		Brecht and Helen Weigel found the Berliner-Ensemble, a state-subsidized theatre company which will eventually become the most highly regarded progressive theatre in Europe.
1953		Brecht is elected president of the German section of PEN, a worldwide association of writers.
1954		The Berliner Ensemble's production of Mother Courage is named Best Play and Best Production at the Paris Théâtre des Nations festival.
	September 30	A revival of The Threepenny Opera opens at the Theater de Lys on Broadway. This time, it enjoys a run of 2,611 performances.
1955		Brecht receives the Stalin Peace Prize.
1956	August 14	Bertolt Brecht dies of a heart attack at the age of 58.
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