Ruth Berlau
Encyclopedia
Ruth Berlau was a Danish
actress, director, photographer and writer, known for her collaboration with Bertolt Brecht
and for founding the Bertolt-Brecht-Archiv in Berlin.
Born to a merchant family, she learned French at a convent school but had to drop out due to a pregnancy at the age of thirteen. She studied acting and established her Danish reputation playing Anna in Brecht's Drums in the Night
. During her teenaged years she financed a bicycle tour of France by writing up a somewhat fictionalized account her travels for a Danish newspaper. In 1930 she toured the Soviet Union
by bicycle and on her return joined the communist party
. Later she took part behind the front lines in the Spanish civil war
.
In 1933 she presented herself to the newly arrived Brecht and his wife Helene Weigel
, then staying on the island of Fyn
, and within two years had become his lover. in 1936 she divorced the doctor Robert Lund and threw herself into the collaboration with Brecht, acting as a secretary as well as writing, translating, photographing and directing. With Brecht she published the short story collection Jedes Tier kann es, considered obscene in its time. In 1940 she followed the Brecht clan to Sweden, Finland, the USSR and finally to the United States, where a rupture with Brecht took place in 1944. In New York she gave birth to her only child who was premature and only lived a few days.
After the war she followed the Brechts to Berlin but was blacklisted from the Berliner Ensemble
by Weigel after Brecht's death in 1956. She died in the Charité
hospital after setting her bed alight with a cigarette.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
actress, director, photographer and writer, known for her collaboration with Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
and for founding the Bertolt-Brecht-Archiv in Berlin.
Born to a merchant family, she learned French at a convent school but had to drop out due to a pregnancy at the age of thirteen. She studied acting and established her Danish reputation playing Anna in Brecht's Drums in the Night
Drums in the Night
Drums in the Night is a play by the German modernist playwright Bertolt Brecht. Brecht wrote it between 1918 and 1920, and it received its first theatrical production in 1922. It is in the expressionist style of Ernst Toller and Georg Kaiser...
. During her teenaged years she financed a bicycle tour of France by writing up a somewhat fictionalized account her travels for a Danish newspaper. In 1930 she toured the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
by bicycle and on her return joined the communist party
Communist Party of Denmark
Communist Party of Denmark is a communist political party in Denmark which was founded as Venstresocialistiske Parti in 1919. VSP was a split from the Danish Social Democratic Party. The party assumed its present name in 1920...
. Later she took part behind the front lines in the Spanish civil war
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
.
In 1933 she presented herself to the newly arrived Brecht and his wife Helene Weigel
Helene Weigel
Helene Weigel was a distinguished German actress. She was the second wife of Bertolt Brecht, and together they had a son Stefan Brecht and daughter Barbara Brecht-Schall .The daughter of a Jewish lawyer, she became a Communist Party member from 1930 and Artistic Director of the...
, then staying on the island of Fyn
Funen
Funen , with a size of 2,984 km² , is the third-largest island of Denmark following Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy, and the 163rd largest island of the world. Funen is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 454,358 inhabitants . The main city is Odense, connected to the...
, and within two years had become his lover. in 1936 she divorced the doctor Robert Lund and threw herself into the collaboration with Brecht, acting as a secretary as well as writing, translating, photographing and directing. With Brecht she published the short story collection Jedes Tier kann es, considered obscene in its time. In 1940 she followed the Brecht clan to Sweden, Finland, the USSR and finally to the United States, where a rupture with Brecht took place in 1944. In New York she gave birth to her only child who was premature and only lived a few days.
After the war she followed the Brechts to Berlin but was blacklisted from the Berliner Ensemble
Berliner Ensemble
The Berliner Ensemble is a German theatre company established by playwright Bertolt Brecht and his wife, Helene Weigel in January 1949 in East Berlin...
by Weigel after Brecht's death in 1956. She died in the Charité
Charité
The Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin is the medical school for both the Humboldt University and the Free University of Berlin. After the merger with their fourth campus in 2003, the Charité is one of the largest university hospitals in Europe....
hospital after setting her bed alight with a cigarette.
Writings
- Brechts Lai-Tu. Erinnerungen und Notate. Hrsg. und mit einem Nachwort von Hans BungeHans BungeHans Bunge was a German Dramaturg, Director and Author.Bunge became famous through his conversations with Hanns Eisler about Brecht.- Life :...
. Gudrun Bunge (Mitarbeit). Sammlung Luchterhand. Bd 698, Darmstadt, Neuwied, Luchterhand 1987, ISBN 3-472-61698-9 - Jedes Tier kann es. Erzählungen. Mit einem Nachwort von Klaus Völker. Mannheim, Persona-Verlag 1989, ISBN 3-924652-12-0 (originally published as Maria Sten (pseud.): Ethvert dyr kan det, København, Arthur Jensens Forlag, 1940)
External links
- sketch at fembio (in German)
- Red Ruth a film documentary
- Fuegi’s review of the memoirs edited by Hans Bunge