Helene Weigel (German:[heˈleːnəˈvaɪɡl̩]ⓘ; 12 May 1900–6 May 1971) was an Austrian actress and artistic director. She was the second and last wife of Bertolt Brecht until his death in 1956; together they had two children.

Personal life

Weigel was born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, the daughter of Leopoldine (née Pollak) and Siegfried Weigel, an accountant-general in a textile factory. Her family was Jewish. She and husband Brecht had two children, Stefan Brecht and Barbara Brecht-Schall. Weigel was a Communist Party member from 1930.

Career

Weigel became the artistic director of the Berliner Ensemble on 16 February 1949.[citation needed] She is best remembered for creating several Brecht roles, including: Pelagea Vlassova, The Mother of 1932; Antigone in Brecht's version of the Greek tragedy; the title role in his civil war play, Señora Carrar's Rifles; and the iconic Mother Courage.[citation needed]

Between 1933 and 1947, as a refugee from Adolf Hitler's Germany, she was seldom able to pursue her acting craft, even during the family's six-year period in Los Angeles.[citation needed] It was only with the foundation of the Berliner Ensemble in East Germany in 1949 that Brecht's theatre began to be recognized worldwide.[citation needed] She died in 1971, still at the helm of the company, and many of the roles that she created with Brecht are still in the theatre's repertoire today.[citation needed]

Death

East German commemorative stamp for Helene Weigel

Weigel died in East Berlin on 6 May 1971, six days before her 71st birthday.

Notable understudies

External links

  • Jennifer Marston Willia, , Jewish Women Encyclopedia
  • atIMDb