“The human race tends to remember the abuses to which it has been subjected rather than the endearments. What’s left of kisses? Wounds, however, leave scars.” ― Bertolt Brecht
A fantastic documentary on the 2006 New York production of Mother Courage and her Children, translated by Tony Kushner and starring Meryl Streep. Available to watch in four parts on YouTube:
There’s some great information here on Brecht, his career, his family, and his politics, as well as the contemporary resonance/impact of Brecht for this modern creative team.
onlar yarının dünyasını ister istemez yaratmaktadırlar. her adımda geri çekilmek istemeleri ve tutarsızlıkları en güçlü çelişkileri, boşluklarıdır. çünkü yaratmakta oldukları bu dünyanın kendilerini içine almayacağını içgüdüsel olarak bilmektedirler.
»Befragt über sein Verhältnis zur Natur, sagte Herr K.: ›Ich würde gern mitunter aus dem Haus tretend ein paar Bäume sehen. Besonders da sie durch ihr der Tages- und Jahreszeit entsprechendes Andersaussehen einen so besonderen Grad von Realität erreichen. Auch verwirrt es uns in den Städten mit der Zeit, immer nur Gebrauchsgegenstände zu sehen, Häuser und Bahnen, die unbewohnt leer, unbenutzt sinnlos wären. Unsere eigentümliche Gesellschaftsordnung läßt uns ja auch die Menschen zu solchen Gebrauchsgegenständen zählen, und da haben Bäume wenigstens für mich, der ich kein Schreiner bin, etwas beruhigend Selbständiges, von mir Absehendes, und ich hoffe sogar, sie haben selbst für die Schreiner einiges an sich, was nicht verwertet werden kann.‹›Warum fahren Sie, wenn Sie Bäume sehen wollen, nicht einfach manchmal ins Freie?‹ fragte man ihn. Herr Keuner antwortete erstaunt: ›Ich habe gesagt, ich möchte sie sehen aus dem Hause tretend.‹ (Herr K. sagte auch: ›Es ist nötig für uns, von der Natur einen sparsamen Gebrauch zu machen. Ohne Arbeit in der Natur weilend, gerät man leicht in einen krankhaften Zustand, etwas wie Fieber befällt einen.‹)«
AMONGST THE HIGHLY PLACED It is considered low to talk about food. The fact is: they have Already eaten.
The lowly must leave this earth Without having tasted Any good meat.
For wondering where they come from and Where they are going The fine evenings find them Too exhausted.
They have not yet seen The mountains and the great sea When their time is already up.
If the lowly do not Think about what’s low They will never rise.
THE BREAD OF THE HUNGRY HAS ALL BEEN EATEN Meat has become unknown. Useless The pouring out of the people’s sweat. The laurel groves have been Lopped down. From the chimneys of the arms factories Rises smoke.
THE HOUSE-PAINTER SPEAKS OF GREAT TIMES TO COME The forests still grow. The fields still bear The cities still stand. The people still breathe.
ON THE CALENDAR THE DAY IS NOT YET SHOWN Every month, every day Lies open still. One of those days Is going to be marked with a cross.
THE WORKERS CRY OUT FOR BREAD The merchants cry out for markets. The unemployed were hungry. The employed Are hungry now. The hands that lay folded are busy again. They are making shells.
THOSE WHO TAKE THE MEAT FROM THE TABLE Teach contentment. Those for whom the contribution is destined Demand sacrifice. Those who eat their fill speak to the hungry Of wonderful times to come. Those who lead the country into the abyss Call ruling too difficult For ordinary men.
WHEN THE LEADERS SPEAK OF PEACE The common folk know That war is coming. When the leaders curse war The mobilization order is already written out.
THOSE AT THE TOP SAY: PEACE AND WAR Are of different substance. But their peace and their war Are like wind and storm.
War grows from their peace Like son from his mother He bears Her frightful features.
Their war kills Whatever their peace Has left over.
ON THE WALL WAS CHALKED: They want war. The man who wrote it Has already fallen.
THOSE AT THE TOP SAY: This way to glory. Those down below say: This way to the grave.
THE WAR WHICH IS COMING Is not the first one. There were Other wars before it. When the last one came to an end There were conquerors and conquered. Among the conquered the common people Starved. Among the conquerors The common people starved too.
THOSE AT THE TOP SAY COMRADESHIP Reigns in the army. The truth of this is seen In the cookhouse. In their hearts should be The selfsame courage. But On their plates Are two kinds of rations.
WHEN IT COMES TO MARCHING MANY DO NOT KNOW That their enemy is marching at their head. The voice which gives them their orders Is their enemy’s voice and The man who speaks of the enemy Is the enemy himself.
IT IS NIGHT The married couples Lie in their beds. The young women Will bear orphans.
GENERAL, YOUR TANK IS A POWERFUL VEHICLE It smashes down forests and crushes a hundred men. But it has one defect: It needs a driver.
General, your bomber is powerful. It flies faster than a storm and carries more than an elephant. But it has one defect: It needs a mechanic.
General, man is very useful. He can fly and he can kill. But he has one defect: He can think.
– Bertolt Brecht, “A German War Primer,” from the “Svendborg Poems,” 1938
