Gerhart Hauptmann 1862 – 1946

Biography

Gerhart Hauptmann was a German dramatist and novelist who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1912. Born in Obersalzbrunn, Silesia, in 1862, he became the leading figure of German naturalism with his play Before Sunrise in 1889, which shocked audiences with its frank depiction of social problems. His masterpiece, The Weavers, dramatised the desperate 1844 revolt of Silesian weavers and remains a landmark of socially engaged theatre. He also wrote the dream play The Sunken Bell and the comedy The Beaver Coat. His work combined realistic detail with symbolic and mystical elements, and he remained prolific for decades. After the Second World War he stayed in his home at Agnetendorf, where he died in 1946, shortly after the war’s end. His plays are still performed in Germany, and his Nobel Prize confirmed his standing as the foremost German dramatist of his generation.