[2] The play was Brecht's first production which featured work from the German Classical Era for the Berliner Ensemble.
As a lesson to the German people, Brecht adapted a play from its past, Lenz's 'The Tutor', to serve as a pointed warning and reminder of the nation's history.
[8] Lenz wrote 'The Tutor' prior to the French Revolution in 1789, which changed not only the social structure of Europe, but also Germany.
In the play, Lauffer's self-castration was representative of the moral collapse of German intellectuals and educators during the Nazi era.
Brecht aimed to portray this as negative in order to prevent the cycle of blind servitude from beginning again.