Erdmut Wizisla's groundbreaking work explores for the first time the important friendship between Walter Benjamin, the acclaimed critic and literary theorist, and Bertolt Brecht, one of the twentieth century's most influential theater artists and poets, during the crucial interwar years in Berlin. From the first meeting between Benjamin and Brecht to their experiences in exile, the events in this friendship are illuminated by personal correspondence, journal entries, and notes--including previously unpublished materials--from the friends' electric discussions of shared projects. In addition to exploring correspondence between the two, Wizisla presents documents by colleagues who shaped and shaded their relationship, including Margarete Steffin, Theodor Adorno, and Hannah Arendt. Wizisla shows us the fascinating ideological exchanges between Benjamin and Brecht, including the first account of Berlin Marxist journal planned for 1931. The Minutes of its meetings record the involvement of Benjamin and Brecht, and offer a window onto the discussions on literature and politics that took place under the increasing threat of the German left's political defeat. Wizisla's examination of the friendship between Benjamin and Brecht, two artists at the height of their creative powers during a time of great political crisis, throws light on nearly two decades of European intellectual life.

Berlin-born Fanny von Arnstein married a financier to the Austro-Hungarian imperial court, and in 1798 her husband became the first unconverted Jew in Austria to be granted the title of baron. Soon Fanny hosted an ever more splendid salon which attracted the leading figures of her day, including Madame de Stael and Arthur Schopenhauer. Hilde Spiel's biography provides a vivid portrait of a brave and passionate woman, illuminating a central era in European cultural and social history. "Von Arnstein represents one of the most fascinating and paradoxical eras in modern Jewish history ...For an American Jewish reader, Fanny von Arnstein is fascinating above all as a cautionary tale -- and a reminder of our luck at having avoided the excruciating choices that Fanny, and so many Jews like her, had to face." - Adam Kirsch, Tablet Magazine "An elegant edition ...fascinating ...We must be grateful to have this biography."--The Jewish Review of Books "This book is indispensable for those interested in the history of culture, the role of women, and the transition of the Jewish community out of the ghetto toward the center of European life." - Leon Botstein, President of Bard College, author of Judentum und Modernitat and co-editor of Vienna: Jews and the City of Music "In capturing the fascination of Fanny von Arnstein and her times, Hilde Spiel provides both a finely drawn portrait of a defining figure of her era, but also of the times themselves." - John Kornblum, former U.S. Ambassador to Germany

Germany in the mid 1920s, a place and time of looming turmoil, brought together Walter Benjamin-acclaimed critic and extraordinary literary theorist-and Bertolt Brecht, one of the twentieth century's most influential playwrights. It was a friendship that would shape their writing for the rest of their lives. In this groundbreaking work, Erdmut Wizisla explores what this relationship meant for them personally and professionally, as well as the effect it had on those around them. From the first meeting between Benjamin and Brecht to their experiences in exile, these eventful lives are illuminated by personal correspondence, journal entries and private miscellany-including previously unpublished materials-detailing the friends' electric discussions of their collaboration. Wizisla delves into the archives of other luminaries in the distinguished constellation of writers and artists in Weimar Germany, which included Margarete Steffin, Theodor Adorno, Ernst Bloch and Hannah Arendt. Wizisla's account of this friendship opens a window on nearly two decades of European intellectual life.