Hans Bunge
Encyclopedia
Hans Bunge was a German Dramaturg, Director and Author.
Bunge became famous through his conversations with Hanns Eisler
about Brecht
.
a year later, fighting in the Second World War. He was involved in the invasions of Poland, France and the Soviet Union. He served until 1943 when he was captured and held as a prisoner of war in the Soviet Union
.
He returned to Germany
after six years in various prison camps. In January 1950 he married Renate Künzel and his first son Wolf was born.
From 1950 to 1953 he studied German Literature, Aesthetics and Theatre History in Greifswald
.
Through the mediation of Ruth Berlau
(who first introduced Bunge to Brecht) he was appointed assistant director and assistant dramaturg at the Berliner Ensemble
.
From 1953-1956 he recorded the Berliner Ensemble rehearsals of Caucasian Chalk Circle and Life of Galileo
and then from 1956-1959 he managed the Bertolt Brecht Archive and conducted many noteworthy interviews with colleagues and students of Bertolt Brecht
, about whom he had written a PhD thesis in 1957.
In 1954 his son Steffen was born.
After personal differences with Helene Weigel
, Bunge joined the German Academy of Arts where he oversaw the first historical-critical edition of Brecht’s works, and later published special editions of the literary journal, Sinn und Form, dedicated to Hanns Eisler
, Thomas Mann
, Willi Bredel
and others.
In 1963 he married Therese Gottschalk and a year later his daughter Sabine was born.
On 7 January 1966, the politically unconventional Bunge, who was friends with Wolf Biermann
, Heiner Muller
and Robert Havermann, was dismissed from the Academy as a result of the 11th Plenum of the Central Committee of the SED (Socialist Unity Party
).
Bunge worked as a director and dramaturg at the Volkstheater Rostock
, 1968–1970, and at the Deutsches Theater Berlin, 1970-1978. He subsequently worked as a freelance writer in Berlin. In 1972 he married his third wife Gudrun Weinert and in 1973 his son Johannes was born. In 1976 he was one of the signatories of a letter protesting against the expatriation of Wolf Biermann
.
Bunge became famous through his conversations with Hanns Eisler
Hanns Eisler
Hanns Eisler was an Austrian composer.-Family background:Eisler was born in Leipzig where his Jewish father, Rudolf Eisler, was a professor of philosophy...
about Brecht
Brecht
Brecht is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of Brecht proper, Sint-Job-in't-Goor and Sint-Lenaarts. On January 1, 2006 Brecht had a total population of 26,464...
.
Life
Hans Bunge, the son of a doctor was the oldest of four brothers. He enrolled in the Hitlerjugend in 1934 at the age of fourteen. He became a member of the NSDAP (Nazi Party) in 1938 when he was nineteen and enlisted in the WehrmachtWehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
a year later, fighting in the Second World War. He was involved in the invasions of Poland, France and the Soviet Union. He served until 1943 when he was captured and held as a prisoner of war in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
He returned to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
after six years in various prison camps. In January 1950 he married Renate Künzel and his first son Wolf was born.
From 1950 to 1953 he studied German Literature, Aesthetics and Theatre History in Greifswald
Greifswald
Greifswald , officially, the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald is a town in northeastern Germany. It is situated in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, at an equal distance of about from Germany's two largest cities, Berlin and Hamburg. The town borders the Baltic Sea, and is crossed...
.
Through the mediation of Ruth Berlau
Ruth Berlau
Ruth Berlau was a Danish actress, director, photographer and writer, known for her collaboration with Bertolt Brecht and for founding the Bertolt-Brecht-Archiv in Berlin....
(who first introduced Bunge to Brecht) he was appointed assistant director and assistant dramaturg at the Berliner Ensemble
Berliner Ensemble
The Berliner Ensemble is a German theatre company established by playwright Bertolt Brecht and his wife, Helene Weigel in January 1949 in East Berlin...
.
From 1953-1956 he recorded the Berliner Ensemble rehearsals of Caucasian Chalk Circle and Life of Galileo
Life of Galileo
Life of Galileo , also known as Galileo, is a play by the twentieth-century German dramatist Bertolt Brecht. The first version of the play was written between 1937 and 1939; the second version was written between 1945–1947, in collaboration with Charles Laughton...
and then from 1956-1959 he managed the Bertolt Brecht Archive and conducted many noteworthy interviews with colleagues and students of Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
, about whom he had written a PhD thesis in 1957.
In 1954 his son Steffen was born.
After personal differences with Helene Weigel
Helene Weigel
Helene Weigel was a distinguished German actress. She was the second wife of Bertolt Brecht, and together they had a son Stefan Brecht and daughter Barbara Brecht-Schall .The daughter of a Jewish lawyer, she became a Communist Party member from 1930 and Artistic Director of the...
, Bunge joined the German Academy of Arts where he oversaw the first historical-critical edition of Brecht’s works, and later published special editions of the literary journal, Sinn und Form, dedicated to Hanns Eisler
Hanns Eisler
Hanns Eisler was an Austrian composer.-Family background:Eisler was born in Leipzig where his Jewish father, Rudolf Eisler, was a professor of philosophy...
, Thomas Mann
Thomas Mann
Thomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual...
, Willi Bredel
Willi Bredel
Willi Bredel was a German writer and president of the Akademie der Künste. Born in Hamburg, he was a pioneer of socialist realist literature....
and others.
In 1963 he married Therese Gottschalk and a year later his daughter Sabine was born.
On 7 January 1966, the politically unconventional Bunge, who was friends with Wolf Biermann
Wolf Biermann
Karl Wolf Biermann is a German singer-songwriter and former East German dissident.-Early life:Biermann's father, who worked on the Hamburg docks, was a German Jew and a member of the German Resistance....
, Heiner Muller
Heiner Müller
Heiner Müller was a German dramatist, poet, writer, essayist and theatre director. Described as "the theatre's greatest living poet" since Samuel Beckett, Müller is arguably the most important German dramatist of the 20th century after Bertolt Brecht...
and Robert Havermann, was dismissed from the Academy as a result of the 11th Plenum of the Central Committee of the SED (Socialist Unity Party
Socialist Unity Party of Germany
The Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990. The SED was a communist political party with a Marxist-Leninist ideology...
).
Bunge worked as a director and dramaturg at the Volkstheater Rostock
Rostock
Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
, 1968–1970, and at the Deutsches Theater Berlin, 1970-1978. He subsequently worked as a freelance writer in Berlin. In 1972 he married his third wife Gudrun Weinert and in 1973 his son Johannes was born. In 1976 he was one of the signatories of a letter protesting against the expatriation of Wolf Biermann
Wolf Biermann
Karl Wolf Biermann is a German singer-songwriter and former East German dissident.-Early life:Biermann's father, who worked on the Hamburg docks, was a German Jew and a member of the German Resistance....
.
Works
- Werner Hecht, Hans-Joachim Bunge, Käthe Rülicke-Weiler: Bertolt BrechtBertolt BrechtBertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
. Leben und Werk, Berlin 1963 - Fragen Sie mehr über Brecht. Hanns EislerHanns EislerHanns Eisler was an Austrian composer.-Family background:Eisler was born in Leipzig where his Jewish father, Rudolf Eisler, was a professor of philosophy...
im Gespräch, München 1970 - Brechts Lai-tu. Erinnerungen und Notate von Ruth Berlau, Darmstadt und Neuwied 1985
- Die Debatte um Hanns Eislers „Johann Faustus“ (Hrsg.), Berlin 1991