Poetry as Protest: Brecht’s German War Primer and the Politics of Wartime Trauma

Abstract

In German War Primer, Bertolt Brecht responds to the terrible events of World War II with poems that look closely at violence, suffering and how humans can still endure. Untamed realism and transformational ideals collide in Brecht’s writings and it becomes clear that his poetry answers to a widespread sense of wartime shock. This work argues that suffering should be fought against, not accepted quietly and that poetry serves not only as a way to create art but also to bring about social and political changes. Brecht’s plays reveal that trauma is mainly about living violence and loss, with resistance and remind us of the importance of struggling against the ways wars reduce people to barbarity. This paper looks at how poetry plays a part in working through, sharing and healing the mental and emotional injuries that follow events such as war, being driven from your home, ongoing violence and losing someone. The purpose is to explore how poetry serves to release inner emotions, gives a platform to hidden voices and aids in the sharing of experience with other members of society about conflict and its results.