The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui
49 pages • 1-hour read
Bertolt BrechtThe Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui
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Background
Authorial Context: Bertold Brecht and the Theatre
Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) was a revolutionary German playwright, poet, and theatre theorist. He was born Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht on February 10, 1898, in Augsburg, Bavaria, into a middle-class family. During World War I, Brecht served as a medical orderly rather than as a soldier. The brutality of the war left a lasting impression on him, fueling his later Marxist leanings and deep suspicion of nationalism and authority.
After the war, Brecht studied medicine at the University of Munich but soon gravitated toward theatre and writing. By 1918, he had written his first major play, Baal, which introduced many of the rebellious, anti-bourgeois themes that would characterize his later work. In the 1920s, Brecht quickly made a name for himself in the German theatrical world. Plays like Drums in the Night (1922) won awards, while In the Jungle of Cities (1923) and Man Equals Man (1926) revealed his growing experimentation with form and structure. He also collaborated with composers like Kurt Weill, producing works such as The Threepenny Opera (1928), a biting, satirical take on capitalist society.
The rise of Nazism in 1933 forced Brecht into exile. A committed Marxist and outspoken critic of fascism, he fled Germany, spending years in countries such as Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and the United States. His time in exile was both creatively productive and personally challenging. During these years, Brecht wrote some of his most important works, including Mother Courage and Her Children (1939), The Good Woman of Setzuan (1943), and The Caucasian Chalk Circle (1944). These plays exemplified his concept of “epic theatre,” which sought to engage audiences intellectually rather than emotionally, encouraging them to critically analyze the social realities portrayed on stage rather than passively consuming entertainment.
A key tool Brecht employed to achieve this effect was the Verfremdungseffekt, or “alienation effect.” Traditional theatre, Brecht argued, lulled audiences into a state of emotional identification with characters, which distracted them from recognizing the societal forces at play. Instead, Brecht wanted audiences to remain critically detached, to question what they saw and consider how the world could be changed. To create this distance, he used techniques such as direct addresses to the audience, visible lighting and stage mechanics, projections of text and images, songs that interrupted the action, and abrupt shifts in tone and style, many of which can be found in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui.
Brecht’s relationship with the United States during his exile was fraught. Though he found refuge there, he remained suspicious of American capitalism and felt alienated from the theatrical scene. In 1947, during the height of anti-communist hysteria, Brecht was summoned before the House Un-American Activities Committee. Although he denied being a communist and cleverly evaded the committee’s questions, he left the US the next day, disillusioned.
Brecht eventually returned to Europe, settling in East Berlin in 1949. There, he founded the Berliner Ensemble with his wife and collaborator, Helene Weigel. The Berliner Ensemble became one of the world’s most influential theatre companies, dedicated to producing Brecht’s plays and embodying his theatrical principles. Productions like Mother Courage with Weigel in the lead role became iconic, showcasing the full realization of Brechtian theatre. Despite his initial hopes for socialism, Brecht’s relationship with the East German authorities was complex and often strained, as he criticized aspects of their regime while remaining committed to the broader ideals of socialism. Bertolt Brecht died of a heart attack on August 14, 1956, in East Berlin.
Historical Context: The Rise of Adolf Hitler
The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui is an allegory for the rise of Adolf Hitler in Germany, which Brecht witnessed firsthand. Hitler was born in Austria in 1889. After an unsuccessful early life as an artist, he moved to Munich in 1913 and volunteered to fight for Germany in World War I. The war deeply shaped him, reinforcing his intense German nationalism and his hatred for Germany’s enemies. Hitler viewed Germany’s defeat in 1918 as a humiliation that needed to be avenged. Like many other Germans, he believed the false idea that Germany’s military had not been defeated on the battlefield but had been betrayed by civilian leaders, especially Jews, Communists, and Socialists. In the chaotic years after the war, Germany faced severe economic hardship, political instability, and social unrest.
In 1919, Hitler joined the German Workers’ Party (DAP), a small, nationalist, antisemitic organization. His skills as a passionate public speaker quickly made him a leading figure. By 1920, the party was renamed the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP), or Nazi Party. Hitler’s vision combined extreme nationalism, racial “purity” (especially antisemitism), anti-communism, and a desire to overturn the Treaty of Versailles. He blamed Germany’s problems on a combination of internal “enemies” such as Jews, Marxists, and democratic politicians, as well as external oppressors like Britain and France.
In 1923, Hitler made his first attempt to seize power in the Beer Hall Putsch in Munich. Inspired by Mussolini’s successful March on Rome, Hitler and the Nazis tried to overthrow the Bavarian government. However, the coup failed miserably. Hitler was arrested and charged with treason. The trial became a platform for him to spread his ideas to a national audience. He served only about nine months, during which he wrote Mein Kampf (My Struggle), outlining his ideology and plans.
Hitler initially appeared to be a marginal figure in the late 1920s. Under the leadership of Gustav Stresemann, the Weimar Republic stabilized somewhat, and the German economy recovered with American loans under the Dawes Plan. Extremist parties, including the Nazis, lost support. However, this stability was short-lived. The onset of the Great Depression in 1929 was a turning point. The economic crisis devastated Germany. Millions were thrown out of work, banks collapsed, and poverty spread rapidly. Desperation grew, and many Germans began to lose faith in traditional political parties and democratic processes. Hitler and the Nazis capitalized on this discontent by offering simple solutions and scapegoats. They promised to restore German pride, rebuild the economy, crush communism, and punish those they blamed for Germany’s suffering, especially Jews and leftists.
Between 1929 and 1932, Nazi support surged. In the 1930 elections, the Nazis became the second-largest party. By 1932, Hitler ran for president against the aging Paul von Hindenburg. Although Hitler lost, the campaign elevated his national profile. Meanwhile, no single party could form a stable government. Conservative elites, increasingly fearful of the Communist Party’s rise and desperate for stability, began to see Hitler as a potential ally whom they could control from behind the scenes. In January 1933, backroom negotiations led to a political deal: President Hindenburg, under pressure from advisers like Franz von Papen, appointed Hitler as Chancellor on January 30, 1933. They believed that Hitler, lacking a parliamentary majority, would cooperate with traditional conservatives.
Hitler, however, had very different plans. His appointment as Chancellor marked the beginning of the end for the Weimar Republic. Within months, Hitler would consolidate power, dismantle democratic institutions, and establish a dictatorship. The play ends with Arturo Ui consolidating power in just such a fashion.
Literary Context: Exilliteratur and Brecht
Exilliteratur, or “literature of exile,” refers to the body of German-language literary work produced by writers who fled Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1945. After Adolf Hitler’s rise to power, as depicted in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, countless artists, intellectuals, and political opponents were forced to leave Germany to escape persecution, censorship, imprisonment, or death. This period of exile created a distinct literary movement that was marked by political resistance, a deep sense of loss, and reflections on dictatorship, war, and displacement. Brecht himself was among the most important figures in Exilliteratur.
The writers of Exilliteratur were typically opposed to the Nazi regime and used their art to warn of its dangers, document its crimes, and imagine alternative political futures. This body of literature was often fiercely political, blending art with activism. Writers struggled with their sense of identity, torn between loyalty to a Germany that no longer existed and the new, often hostile environments they inhabited abroad.
Many writers moved from country to country, seeking safety and freedom of expression. They faced language barriers, financial hardships, and cultural isolation. Despite these challenges, exile literature flourished, with writers producing novels, plays, essays, poems, and journalism in a range of styles and forms. Exilliteratur was not only a means of survival but also an act of political defiance: Authors like Thomas Mann, Anna Seghers, and Lion Feuchtwanger created works that exposed the brutality of Nazism and kept alive the values of humanism, democracy, and critical thought.
Bertolt Brecht’s experience of exile was typical in some ways but unique in others. After Hitler seized power in 1933, Brecht, already a well-known Marxist and outspoken critic of fascism, was forced to flee Germany. During these years, Brecht produced some of his most important works, which are central to Exilliteratur. His plays, poems, and essays were deeply political, designed to awaken audiences to the dangers of fascism and the injustices of capitalism.
One of Brecht’s most significant contributions to Exilliteratur was his ability to maintain a Marxist perspective while grappling with the immediate realities of fascism and war. Unlike some exiled writers who clung nostalgically to a pre-Nazi Germany, Brecht was unsentimental. He viewed the Weimar Republic as a deeply flawed system that had paved the way for Hitler. For Brecht, the goal was not simply to defeat Nazism but to build a radically new, just society.
Even in exile, Brecht continued to struggle with the limitations imposed on exiled writers. His works were often difficult to stage, his political views were controversial, and he was constantly dependent on unstable sources of funding and support. Nevertheless, Brecht’s perseverance ensured that his voice—and the voices of other exiled writers—continued to challenge the dominance of fascist narratives. In 1949, after World War II, Brecht returned to Europe, settling in East Berlin. His postwar work continued to bear the marks of exile: a deep commitment to political engagement, a critical perspective on society, and a recognition of the fragility of human rights and freedoms.
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