Bertolt Brecht, the German poet, playwright, and theater director, is famous for developing "epic theater" during the 1920s and 1930s. His approach challenged traditional dramatic norms by emphasizing intellectual engagement over emotional response, encouraging audiences to critically reflect on societal issues. His focus was on political and social issues. 

Similar to his plays, his poetry employs a plain, unembellished style, clear language, and striking imagery to convey ideas without excess decoration. His poetry addresses themes such as social justice, class struggle, and the human condition, capturing the tumultuous era of the two World Wars and the ascent of fascism.

I'm sharing his poem, “From a German War Primer,” which highlights the contradictions between elite rhetoric and workers' struggles. Composed during the rise of Nazi Germany and a global economic crisis, the poem captures interwar concerns about nationalism, militarism, and capitalist exploitation. 

Brecht was uneasy about Hitler's rise to Chancellor in 1933, leading him to flee Germany for Denmark. He perceived that the working class suffered the most from war and its shame. Conversely, the wealthy profited the most from war, frequently backing it through propaganda and disguising their greed with patriotic language. 

The wealthy, who control weapons manufacturing and are already profiting from the war buildup, urge the poor to cooperate. They promote 'contentment' and stress sacrifice, advocating for the common good and patriotic commitment.

The wealthy promote war by depicting it as noble and glorious, the “way to glory.” However, for the working-class poor, war simply results in the “grave.”

The poet advises working-class soldiers that their real adversary isn't the opposing side. Instead, it is the “voice which gives them orders," representing the elite class that initiates war and benefits from it. 

In the final stanza, the poet implies that eventually, the working class will realize they are being exploited by the wealthy, who spread falsehoods about patriotism and the glory of war. 

AMONGST THE HIGHLY PLACED
 It is considered low to talk about food.
 The fact is:  they have
 Already eaten.
 
 The lowly must leave this earth
 Without having tasted
 Any good meat.
 
 For wondering where they come from and
 Where they are going
 The fine evenings find them
 Too exhausted.
 
 They have not yet seen
 The mountains and the great sea
 When their time is already up.
 
 If the lowly do not
 Think about what's low
 They will never rise.
 
 THE BREAD OF THE HUNGRY HAS
 ALL BEEN EATEN
 Meat has become unknown.  Useless
 The pouring out of the people's sweat.
 The laurel groves have been
 Lopped down.
 From the chimneys of the arms factories
 Rises smoke.
 
 THE HOUSE-PAINTER SPEAKS OF
 GREAT TIMES TO COME
 The forests still grow.
 The fields still bear
 The cities still stand.
 The people still breathe.
 
 ON THE CALENDAR THE DAY IS NOT
 YET SHOWN
 Every month, every day
 Lies open still. One of those days
 Is going to be marked with a cross.
 
 THE WORKERS CRY OUT FOR BREAD
 The merchants cry out for markets.
 The unemployed were hungry. The employed
 Are hungry now.
 The hands that lay folded are busy again.
 They are making shells.
 
 THOSE WHO TAKE THE MEAT FROM THE TABLE
 Teach contentment.
 Those for whom the contribution is destined
 Demand sacrifice.
 Those who eat their fill speak to the hungry
 Of wonderful times to come.
 Those who lead the country into the abyss
 Call ruling too difficult
 For ordinary men.
 
 WHEN THE LEADERS SPEAK OF PEACE
 The common folk know
 That war is coming.
 When the leaders curse war
 The mobilization order is already written out.
 
 THOSE AT THE TOP SAY:  PEACE
 AND WAR
 Are of different substance.
 But their peace and their war
 Are like wind and storm.
 
 War grows from their peace
 Like son from his mother
 He bears
 Her frightful features.
 
 Their war kills
 Whatever their peace
 Has left over.
 
 ON THE WALL WAS CHALKED:
 They want war.
 The man who wrote it
 Has already fallen.
 
 THOSE AT THE TOP SAY:
 This way to glory.
 Those down below say:
 This way to the grave.
 
 THE WAR WHICH IS COMING
 Is not the first one. There were
 Other wars before it.
 When the last one came to an end
 There were conquerors and conquered.
 Among the conquered, the common people
 Starved. Among the conquerors
 The common people starved, too.
 
 THOSE AT THE TOP SAY COMRADESHIP
 Reigns in the army.
 The truth of this is seen
 In the cookhouse.
 In their hearts should be
 The selfsame courage. But
 On their plates
 Are two kinds of rations.
 
 WHEN IT COMES TO MARCHING MANY DO NOT
 KNOW
 That their enemy is marching at their head.
 The voice which gives them their orders
 Is their enemy's voice and
 The man who speaks of the enemy
 Is the enemy himself.
 
 IT IS NIGHT
 The married couples
 Lie in their beds. The young women
 Will bear orphans.
 
 GENERAL, YOUR TANK IS A POWERFUL VEHICLE
 It smashes down forests and crushes a hundred men.
 But it has one defect:
 It needs a driver.
 
 General, your bomber is powerful.
 It flies faster than a storm and carries more than an elephant.
 But it has one defect:
 It needs a mechanic.
 
 General, man is very useful.
 He can fly, and he can kill.
 But he has one defect:
 He can think.