Artur Heinrich Theodor Christoph Kutscher (sometimes wrongly written ''Arthur''; 17 July 1878 in

Hannover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

– 29 August 1960 in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

historian of literature and researcher in

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

Life

Artur Kutscher settled in Munich after studying philosophy, literature, art history and Germanistik in Munich, Kiel and Berlin (doctorate in 1904). In 1907, he completed his habilitation in literary studies in Berlin, became a private lecturer in the same year and an ''außerordentlicher'' or extraordinary professor (not holding a chair) in Munich in 1915. Together with Max Herrmann he can be seen as a founding father of theatre studies in Germany. He was a professor at

Munich University The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

, where he taught a famous seminar in theatre history.Willett (1978, 43). Kutscher was a friend of the iconoclastic dramatist and

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

-star

Frank Wedekind Benjamin Franklin Wedekind (July 24, 1864 – March 9, 1918) was a German playwright. His work, which often criticizes bourgeois attitudes (particularly towards sex), is considered to anticipate expressionism and was influential in the developme ...

. His work influenced many playwrights, poets, and directors. His students included

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

(studied in 1917),

Erwin Piscator Erwin Friedrich Maximilian Piscator (17 December 1893 – 30 March 1966) was a German theatre director and Theatrical producer, producer. Along with Bertolt Brecht, he was the foremost exponent of epic theatre, a form that emphasizes the socio- ...

(studied in 1913),

Peter Hacks Peter Hacks (21 March 1928 – 28 August 2003) was a German playwright, author, and essayist. Hacks was born in Breslau (Wrocław), Lower Silesia. Displaced by World War II, Hacks settled in Munich in 1947, where he made acquaintance with T ...

Hanns Johst Hanns Johst (8 July 1890 – 23 November 1978) was a German poet and playwright, directly aligned with Nazi philosophy, as a member of the officially approved writers’ organisations in the Third Reich. The statement “When I hear the word cult ...

Klabund Alfred Henschke (4 November 1890 – 14 August 1928), better known by his pseudonym Klabund, was a German writer. Life Klabund, born Alfred Henschke in 1890 in Krosno Odrzańskie, Crossen, was the son of an apothecary. At the age of 16 he came ...

, and

Erich Mühsam Erich Mühsam (6 April 1878 – 10 July 1934) was a German Antimilitarism, antimilitarist anarchism, anarchist essayist, poet and playwright. He emerged at the end of World War I as one of the leading agitators for a Federalism, federated Bavari ...

. Brecht's first full-length play, ''

Baal Baal (), or Baʻal, was a title and honorific meaning 'owner' or 'lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The ...

'' (written 1918), was written in response to an argument in one of Kutscher's drama seminars. While Kutscher was responsible for inspiring an admiration for Wedekind in the young Brecht, he was "bitterly critical" of Brecht's own early dramatic writings.Thomson (1994, 24) and Willet and Manheim (1970, vii). During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he served as an officer (1st Lieutenant in the

Landwehr ''Landwehr'' (), or ''Landeswehr'', is a German language term used in referring to certain national army, armies, or militias found in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Europe. In different context it refers to large-scale, low-strength fo ...

) on the Western Front and led the 8th company of the Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 92. He earned the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

, but also the Order of Military Merit, 4th Class with Swords. In 1933, he joined the

National Socialist Teachers League The National Socialist Teachers League ( German: , NSLB), was established on 21 April 1929. Its original name was the Organization of National Socialist Educators. Its founder and first leader was former schoolteacher Hans Schemm, the Gauleiter ...

. In 1938, he also became a member of the NSV and the NS-Reichskriegerbund. After becoming a professor in 1940, he applied for admission to the

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor, the German Workers ...

on 12 December 1941 and was accepted on 1 January 1942 (membership number 8,802,675). He retired in 1951. In 1958, two years before his death, he was awarded the Great Cross of Merit (''Großes Verdienstkreuz'') of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

Works (excerpt)

* ''Friedrich Hebbel als Kritiker des Dramas. Seine Kritik und ihre Bedeutung'', Berlin 1907 * ''Die Kunst und unser Leben'', 1909 * ''Kriegstagebuch'', 2 volumes, 1915 * ''Das richtige Soldatenlied. Verse und Singweisen im Felde gesammelt'', G. Grothe, Berlin 1917 * ''Frank Wedekind, sein Leben und seine Werke. With plates, including portraits'' (Frank Wedekind, his Life and his Work), 192
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* ''Grundriss der Theaterwissenschaft'' (Compendium of Dramatics), 2 Vols., 1932-1937 * ''Stilkunde des deutschen Dichtung'' (Stylistics of German Fiction), 1949 * ''Der Theaterprofessor'' (The Theatre Professor), 1960 (autobiography)

Works cited

* Thomson, Peter. 1994. "Brecht's Lives". In ''The Cambridge Companion to Brecht''. Ed. Peter Thomson and Glendyr Sacks. Cambridge Companions to Literature Ser. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 22-39. . * Willett, John. 1967. ''The Theatre of Bertolt Brecht: A Study from Eight Aspects.'' Third rev. ed. London: Methuen, 1977. . * ---. 1978. ''The Theatre of Erwin Piscator: Half a Century of Politics in the Theatre''. London: Methuen. . * Willett, John and

Ralph Manheim Ralph Frederick Manheim (April 4, 1907 – September 26, 1992) was an American translator of German and French literature, as well as occasional works from Dutch, Polish and Hungarian. He was one of the most acclaimed translators of the 20th ...

. 1970. Introduction. In ''Collected Plays: One'' by Bertolt Brecht. Ed. John Willett and Ralph Manheim. Bertolt Brecht: Plays, Poetry and Prose Ser. London: Methuen. . p.vii-xvii.

External links

*
Image of Kutscher in the uniform of the Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 92

References

1878 births 1960 deaths 20th-century German historians German philologists German theatre critics Theatrologists Writers from Hanover Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany German male non-fiction writers {{theat-bio-stub