Associated Press
BERLIN - Germany's Academy of Arts has taken possession of a trove of letters and other personal effects once owned by Bertolt Brecht that officials hope will shed new light on the playwright's life.
The material, previously part of the private collection of a deceased Swiss businessman, includes manuscripts, notes, bills and photos. The material also includes 140 letters from Brecht and 220 received by him.
The largely unpublished collection, dating from Brecht's years in exile during and after the Nazi era, includes 36 letters and three telegrams that he wrote to his wife, Helene Weigel, between 1944 and 1947.
The prestigious Academy of Arts said it plans to present the collection, which it bought for an undisclosed sum, in April, after cataloguing the material. The academy took possession of the materials Tuesday.
Erdmut Wizisla, the head of its Brecht Archive, said it planned to publish some of the documents, which he said would give readers new information on Brecht's works and on his personal circumstances. The letters between Brecht and Weigel should appear later this year.
Brecht, one of Germany's most popular playwrights, fled the country in 1933 and his citizenship was later revoked by the Nazi regime.
He joined other German exiles, including Thomas Mann, in the United States. He left the U.S. after appearing before the House Committee on Un-American Activities, which was set up after World War II.
Brecht then lived in Switzerland before returning to 1949 to Germany and setting up the Berliner Ensemble theater in communist East Berlin. He died in 1956.