Brecht de l’exil au procès

From exile: Two characters fleeing Nazi Germany meet on a railway platform. A sword of Damocles hangs over their heads. But grave as the era was, Brecht believed it deserved to be treated with humour. Over the course of their conversations, they address personal, political, social and historical themes. Brecht uses dialectical irony, applying it to serious matters through the mouths of his two speakers.

At the trial: On 19 September 1947, Brecht, in exile in the United States, received a subpoena to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee to answer for his political views. This was one of the darkest chapters in American society, orchestrated by Senator Joseph McCarthy. Lest we forget, Brecht had fled his country in 1933 because of his anti-Nazi activities and works.