[1][4] The play was shown in Berlin in 1959, with Ekkehard Schall in the title role, and in Paris and London in 1960, where it marked Palitzsch's international recognition.

[6] In 1960/61, Wekwerth and Palitzsch produced with the DEFA a film Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder, starring Helene Weigel, Angelika Hurwicz, Regine Lutz [de], Ernst Busch, Wolf Kaiser, Ekkehard Schall and Heinz Schubert.

[1] On 1 September 1961, shortly after the Berlin Wall, he directed there the West German premiere of Brecht's Der Prozess der Jeanne d’Arc zu Rouen 1431 (after an audio play [de] by Anna Seghers),[1] while other theatres refrained from playing Brecht's works, due to the political situation.

His Stuttgart world premiere of Martin Walser's Der schwarze Schwan [de] was invited to the Berliner Theatertreffen.

His first production there of two works by Shakespeare combined as Rosenkriege I + II (Henry VI and Eduard IV) was invited to the Berliner Theatertreffen in 1967.

[1][10] He staged in 1968 Isaac Babel's Marija, in 1969 the world premiere of Tankred Dorst Toller [de], and in 1970 Diese Geschichte von Ihnen (This Story of Yours) by John Hopkins.

[1] He directed there Lessing's Emilia Galotti in 1972, Wedekind's Frühlings Erwachen (Spring Awakening) in 1974,[4] again invited to the Berliner Theatertreffen, and Brecht's Die Tage der Commune in 1977.

[15] During the following years, he worked freelance internationally, including Vienna where he staged at the Burgtheater, in Zürich, Rio de Janeiro and again Oslo.

[1][2][13] Palitzsch was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany on 6 September 2004, after having received the Theaterpreis Berlin in 1991.