Hanns Eisler

July 6, 1898 — Leipzig, Germany

Hanns Eisler (1898–1962) was a German-Austrian composer. He is best known for composing the national anthem of East Germany, for his long artistic association with Bertolt Brecht, and for the scores he wrote for films. Because of his Jewish background and his communist convictions, Eisler was in exile during the 1930s and 1940s.