Walter Benjamin and Bertolt Brecht

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Erdmut Wizisla's groundbreaking work delves into the significant friendship between Walter Benjamin, a renowned critic and literary theorist, and Bertolt Brecht, a pivotal theater artist of the twentieth century, during the interwar years in Berlin. The narrative spans their initial meeting, their ideological debates leading up to World War II, and their experiences in exile, culminating in Benjamin's response to Brecht's death. Wizisla utilizes personal correspondence, journal entries, and notes, including previously unpublished materials, to illuminate their dynamic discussions on shared projects. The exploration includes insights from colleagues who influenced their relationship, such as Margaret Steffrin, Brecht's assistant and lover, as well as Theodor Adorno and Hannah Arendt. Wizisla highlights the ideological exchanges between Benjamin and Brecht, contrasting Benjamin's views on historical materialism, German idealism, and Jewish mysticism with Brecht's Marxist approach to art. Their differing perspectives foreshadowed the conflict between Communism and Socialism in Weimar Germany, preceding the rise of Nazi Fascism. This examination of their friendship, set against a backdrop of political turmoil, sheds light on nearly two decades of European intellectual life.