''Schweyk in the Second World War'' (''Schweyk im Zweiten Weltkrieg'') is a play by German dramatist and poet Bertolt Brecht. It was written by Brecht in 1943 while in exile in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, and is a sequel to the 1923 novel '' The Good Soldier Švejk'' by Jaroslav Hašek.

Background

''Schweyk in the Second World War'' is set in Nazi-occupied Prague and on the Russian Front during World War II. In a summary written for potential composer

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fru ...

, it was written: "The Good Soldier Schweyk, after surviving the First World War, is still alive. Our story shows his successful efforts to survive the Second as well. The new rulers have even more grandiose and all-embracing plans than the old, which makes it even harder for today's Little Man to remain more or less alive." Hanns Eisler, ultimately, became Brecht's chief musical collaborator for the work.

Plot

As Schweyk is forced into war, he manages to survive while overcoming dangerous situations in

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one or ...

Headquarters, a military prison, and a Voluntary Labor Service. The ending finds Schweyk lost in a snowstorm near Stalingrad. He meets an equally lost and bewildered

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

, whose path is blocked by snow, frozen corpses, the Soviet Army, and the German people. Finally, Hitler does a grotesque dance and disappears into the snow.

TV Production

Portuguese TV made an adaptation in 197
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Stage production

''Schweyk in the Second World War'' was not staged during the lifetime of its writer Brecht, though it has been staged innumerable times across the world in various languages, including Bengali, since its 1957 premiere in Warsaw. The National Theatre in London staged a major revival directed by

Richard Eyre Sir Richard Charles Hastings Eyre (born 28 March 1943) is an English film, theatre, television and opera director. Biography Eyre was born in Barnstaple, Devon, England, the son of Richard Galfridus Hastings Giles Eyre and his wife, Minna Ma ...

with the same company of actors he had directed in his famous 1982 production of '' Guys and Dolls''. Red Theater Chicago staged it in October 2012 starring Kevin Cox. It was directed by Aaron Sawyer with original music composed by Michael Evans. Forum Three Bangalore staged it for the first time in September 2014 in Bangalore and later at Auroville for an international audience. Directed by Ranjon Ghoshal, the original music recreating the Eastern European melodies of the 1940s was composed by Sudipto Das, with Sihi Kahi Chandru playing Schweyk.

References

Bibliography