Bertoldt Brecht was born in 1898 in Munich and one of the most significant German writers of the 20th Century. Brecht objected to Germany's part in World War I (as he saw his classmates be "swallowed by the army") and was almost expelled from school for an essay criticising his country's part in the conflict. Besides being an influential dramatist and poet, some scholars have stressed the significance of Brecht's original contributions in political and social philosophy.