Ernst Schumacher

Ernst Schumacher studied at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München and Leipzig University. Frank Castorf is recorded as having studied under Ernst Schumacher. The recorded working language is German. The field of work recorded is theatre studies, theatre criticism and literary criticism. Places of work recorded in the authority are Berlin. Employment is recorded with Theatre Studies Institute Humboldt University.

• Name — Ernst Schumacher • Born — 12 September 1921 • Birthplace — Urspring, Bavaria • Died — 7 June 2012 • Place of death — Schwerin, Brandenburg • Fields — theater studies, theater criticism and literary criticism • Workplaces — Institute of Theater Studies, Humboldt University of Berlin • Education — Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München Leipzig University • Doctoral Advisor — Hans Mayer • Doctoral Students — Frank Castorf • Known for — expertise on the work of B. Brecht • Awards — Silver, 2nd class Goethe Prize of the City of Berlin

Ernst Schumacher was born in Bavaria in a poor peasant family. Thanks to the financial support of his uncle, a priest, in 1940 he graduated from the gymnasium in Kempten and in the same year he was drafted into the army. In 1943, after being seriously wounded on the Eastern Front, Schumacher was demobilized and entered the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, where he studied germanistics and theater studies. In the post-war years, Schumacher worked mainly as a journalist in Munich, published the anti-fascist magazine Ende und Anfang (Ende und Anfang); after joining the CPG in 1949 became a Bavarian correspondent East German "Deutsche Radio"; from 1954 to 1962 he was editor of the Munich newspaper "Deutsche Woche" (Die Deutsche Woche). During the Third Reich, when the name of Bertolt Brecht in Germany remained in the memory of only a few, according to Ilya Fradkin, like some kind of oral legend, Schumacher nevertheless was able to get acquainted with his works of the 20s, and already in his student years, Brecht's work became the main topic of his research. By establishing personal contact with the playwright after his return to Germany and received from him the necessary materials, Schumacher wrote a dissertation on the topic "Dramaturgical Experiences of Bertolt Brecht, 1918-1933" (Die dramatischen Versuche Bertolt Brechts 1918–1933). However, at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, the topic of the dissertation did not arouse interest, and Schumacher in 1953 defended it at Leipzig University, from Hans Mayer, having received PhD. Published two years later, that dissertation laid the foundation for scientific Brecht studies. In 1956 the KPD was banned in West Germany, and in 1962 Schumacher, fearing persecution, moved to the GDR. In 1965, he defended his doctoral thesis at Leipzig University on the topic “Drama and History. “The Life of Galileo” by B. Brecht and other plays” (Drama und Geschichte. B. Brechts “Leben des Galilei” und andere Stücke) and since 1966 was a professor at the Institute of Theater Studies at the Humboldt University of Berlin, where he taught performing arts theory. Since 1971, Schumacher was a member of the Academy of Arts of the GDR, President of the National Section of the International Association of Theater Critics, and since 1981 - honorary vice-president of the Association.