Birth of Gerhart Hauptmann

Gerhart Hauptmann was born on 15 November 1862 in Szczawno-Zdrój. A German dramatist and novelist, Hauptmann was the leading figure of naturalism in German drama. His play The Weavers, about the revolt of Silesian textile workers in 1844, caused a political storm and was banned in Berlin for a time. He also wrote Before Dawn, The Beaver Coat and the fairy-tale drama Hannele, as well as novels and poems, and later drew on myth and symbolism. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1912, and remained in Germany during the Nazi period, a choice that has been criticized for his accommodations with the regime.

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