This article was written by Annette Aryanpour
I would have never guessed fifteen years ago when I was introduced to his plays, that one day Bertolt Brecht and I would share the Hollywood experience. Of course, there are a few minor details that separate us, such as fame and the urgency that propelled him into this kind of life. But let's just say ... I can relate.
For the German playwright of The Threepenny Opera the aphorism 'it's a small world' never rang truer. Brecht's socio-critical and highly satirical writings made him a favorite enemy of the National Socialists in pre-war Germany. In 1933 he was forced out of the country by the Nazi government. A detour via Paris led him to Denmark. Little did he know that this was only the beginning of his odyssey. Like the pestilence, the Nazis roared their ugly heads wherever Brecht decided to go. His travels took him to the Soviet Union and even Mali, but there seemed no end to the Nazi expansion. Last, but not least, Brecht arrived in the US in 1941. With the help of his good friend and fellow exile writer Lion Feuchtwanger, he settled in Los Angeles.
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