(University of Oregon, 2015-08-18) Kilian, Anika; Ostmeier, Dorothee
This thesis examines selected poems from the German author Bertolt Brecht. It critically investigates the claim that expressionist art can be held responsible for opening the door to fascism in Germany. It will place Brecht’s own expressionistic works and his counterfactual approach to traditional church hymns in the context of the Expressionism debate. In 1933 Brecht wrote a collection of songs and poems entitled “Lieder, Gedichte, Choere” during his exile in Paris. Brecht realized early on that with Hitler’s rise, society as he knew it was coming to an end. Because of his sharp and satirical anti-war poetry after WWI, his name was prominent on the black list of the Fascists, and in order to escape prosecution he had to leave Germany in 1933. However, he did not stop criticizing Fascist ideology and especially its re-appropriation of Christian rhetoric.
