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1-50 of 197
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Bertolt Brecht was born on 10 February 1898 in Augsburg, Germany and one of the country's most influential poets, playwrights and screenwriters. His most famous work was the musical "The Threepenny Opera" (with Kurt Weill), but his dramas such as "Mother Courage and Her Children" or "The Good Person of Sezuan" were equally successful. As he opposed the upcoming Nazi movement, he fled Germany in 1933 and finally emigrated to the United States. After testifying before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947, he left Hollywood and returned to Europe. He settled down in East Germany, where he founded the famous "Berliner Ensemble" and became the state's intellectual hero. He died on 14 August 1956 in East Berlin.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
He was the son of the German dramatist Friedrich Wolf. He left Germany with his family for the USSR and came back to Germany as a nineteen year old Lieutenant in the Russian Army in 1945. Was a short time commander of the town Bernau near Berlin in Spring 1945. _Ich war 19 (1968)_ is an autobiographical movie about this time.- Hertha Thiele was born on 8 May 1908 in Leipzig, Germany. She was an actress, known for Mädchen in Uniform (1931), Little Man What Now (1933) and Elisabeth und der Narr (1934). She was married to Heinz Klingenberg and Wolfgang Wohlgemuth. She died on 5 August 1984 in East Berlin, East Germany.
- Seghers grew up in a wealthy Jewish home. From 1919 she studied art history, philosophy, history and sinology in Cologne and Heidelberg. In 1924 she completed her studies with the doctoral thesis "Jews and Judaism in the Works of Rembrandt". In the same year she wrote her first story entitled "The Dead of the Island of Djal", which was only published after her death (1985). In 1925 she married the Hungarian social scientist Lásló Radványi, with whom she had two children. In 1927 she first published a story called "Grubetsch". The work appeared in the Frankfurter Zeitung and was marked with Segher's name.
Since then she has published all of her works under this pseudonym; Behind the name lies a contemporary of the painter Rembrandt. In 1928 the story "Uprising of the Fishermen of St. Barbara" was published, for which she was awarded the Kleist Prize. The German theater manager and director Erwin Piscator adapted the play into a film in the Soviet Union in 1934. In the same year, Anna Seghers became a member of the KPD, the German Communist Party. The following year, 1929, she joined the "Association of Proletarian-Revolutionary Writers" (BPRS). Her novel "The Companions" was published in 1932, in which she warned about the dangers of the emerging fascist rule. After the National Socialists came to power in 1933, Seghers was briefly arrested. She then emigrated to France.
There she supported anti-fascist organizations and magazines. Her first exile novel was written in 1933, entitled "The Head Wage," in which she traces the causes of National Socialism. Two years later the novel "The Road Through February" was published. In the years 1938 and 1939 she maintained correspondence with the philosopher Georg Lukács. In the year that German troops invaded France, Anna Seghers withdrew from Paris to unoccupied Marseille. In 1941 she left for Mexico. There she founded the Heinrich Heine Club, which was a German literary and cultural institution that pursued anti-fascist goals under her leadership. The novel "The Seventh Cross" was published in 1942. The work established her international reputation as a writer who defended herself against fascism.
The original was filmed in 1944 by the American director Fred Zinnemann with Spencer Tracy. The novel was first published in English and then published in German by a Mexican exile publisher. "The Seventh Cross" sensitively tells the story of the escape of seven prisoners from a concentration camp in Rhine-Hesse and everyday life in the Third Reich. Seghers used cinematic design tools that realized the narrative structure in a complex way. In 1944 the novel "Transit" was published. It appeared first in Spanish and then in English, and in German it came out in 1948. Seghers had already started the work in France. It describes the author's personal experiences and fears in exile, which she connects with the theme of loss and preservation of identity. The successful book is one of the most important works about the fears in exile.
In 1947 Anna Seghers returned to Europe and initially settled in West Berlin. She joined the SED, the Socialist Unity Party of Germany. In the same year she was honored with the Georg Büchner Prize, Germany's most prestigious literary award, for her novel "The Seventh Cross". Anna Seghers was committed to reconstruction in Germany. In 1948 she became vice president of the "Culture Association for the Democratic Renewal of Germany". The following year her social novel "The Dead Stay Young" was published. The work was made into a film in 1968. In 1950, Anna Seghers moved to East Berlin. She became a co-founder of the peace movement in the GDR and joined the presidium of the World Peace Council. In the same year she was one of the co-founders of the German Academy of Arts.
In 1951 she was awarded the GDR's first national prize. A trip to China followed. Anna Seghers was a co-founder of the GDR Writers' Association and headed it from 1952 to 1978. Hermann Kant later became her successor. In 1957 the novella "The Just Judge" was completed. For political reasons, the work was not published until 1990. The University of Jena awarded her an honorary doctorate in 1959. Anna Seghers dealt with the time of Mexican exile again in the story "The Real Blue," which was published in 1967. One of her important late works is the title "The Crossing", a love story that came onto the market in 1971. In 1981 she was made an honorary citizen of Mainz. - Theo Shall was born on 24 February 1896 in Metz, Alsace-Lorraine, Germany [now Moselle, France]. He was an actor, known for Anna Christie (1930), Ten Minute Alibi (1935) and Ernst Thälmann - Führer seiner Klasse (1955). He died on 4 October 1955 in East Berlin, East Germany.
- Walter Richter-Reinick was born on 14 April 1911 in Berlin, Germany. He was an actor, known for Der letzte der Mohikaner (1956), Der Raub der Sabinerinnen (1960) and Der Fächer der Madame de Pompadour (1964). He died on 14 December 1984 in East Berlin, East Germany.
- Siegfried Seibt was born on 19 August 1920 in Görlitz, Germany. He was an actor, known for Das Zaubermännchen (1960), Spuk unterm Riesenrad (1979) and Bärchens Traum (1979). He died on 6 January 1982 in East Berlin, East Germany.
- Margarete Kupfer was born on 10 April 1881 in Freystadt in Schlesien, Lower Silesia, Germany [now Kozuchów, Lubuskie, Poland]. She was an actress, known for Nathan der Weise (1922), Woman in the Moon (1929) and Sumurun (1920). She died on 11 May 1953 in East Berlin, East Germany.
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Hans Székely was born on 7 July 1901 in Budapest, Austria-Hungary. He was a writer, known for Arise, My Love (1940), Paris Calling (1941) and Die singende Stadt (1930). He was married to Erzsi Bársony. He died on 16 December 1958 in East Berlin, East Germany.- Nico Turoff was born on 6 December 1899 in Kremenchuk, Poltava Governorate, Russian Empire. He was an actor, known for Trenck - Der Roman einer großen Liebe (1932), G.P.U. (1942) and The Devious Path (1928). He died on 22 June 1978 in East Berlin, East Germany.
- Actor
- Director
Wolfgang Heinz was born on 18 May 1900 in Pilsen, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Plzen, Czech Republic]. He was an actor and director, known for Nosferatu (1922), A Blonde Dream (1932) and Professor Mamlock (1961). He was married to Erika Pelikowsky. He died on 30 October 1984 in East Berlin, East Germany.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Kurt Jung-Alsen was born on 18 June 1915 in Tutzing, Germany. He was a director and writer, known for Betrogen bis zum jüngsten Tag (1957), Hochmut kommt vor dem Knall (1960) and Die heute über 40 sind (1960). He was married to Elisabeth Schmitt-Walter. He died on 17 December 1976 in East Berlin, East Germany.- Actress
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
- Script and Continuity Department
Helene Weigel was born on 12 May 1900 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]. She was an actress, known for Mother Courage and Her Children (1961), Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder (1955) and Señora Carrar's Rifles (1953). She was married to Bertolt Brecht. She died on 6 May 1971 in East Berlin, East Germany.- Günther Simon was born on 11 May 1925 in Berlin, Germany. He was an actor, known for Ernst Thälmann - Sohn seiner Klasse (1954), Ernst Thälmann - Führer seiner Klasse (1955) and Das Lied vom Trompeter (1964). He was married to Margaritha. He died on 25 June 1972 in East Berlin, East Germany.
- Friedrich Gnaß was born on 13 November 1892 in Langendreer, Bochum, Province of Westphalia, Prussia [now Bochum, North-Rhine Westphalia], Germany. He was an actor, known for M (1931), Danton (1931) and Rasputin, Demon with Women (1932). He died on 8 May 1958 in East Berlin, East Germany.
- Carola Braunbock was born on 9 January 1924 in Vseruby, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic]. She was an actress, known for Der Untertan (1951), Frau Venus und ihr Teufel (1967) and Three Wishes for Cinderella (1973). She died on 4 July 1978 in East Berlin, East Germany.
- Sabine Thalbach was born on 4 August 1932 in Berlin, Germany. She was an actress, known for Kleiner Mann - was nun? (1967), The Small White Mouse (1964) and Musterknaben (1959). She was married to Benno Besson. She died on 30 September 1966 in East Berlin, East Germany.
- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Gerhard Klein was a native Berliner (born 1920) whose film work keeps coming back to his fascination for that city. He was arrested during World War II for being part of the Resistance against the National Socialists. Self educated, he turned the after the war to work as a cartoonist and in documentary filmmaking. He joined the DEFA company in the East as a screenwriter in 1946 at first for short subjects and documentaries and then starting in 1952 on fiction features.Several of his later films did not meet with regime approval, such as his depiction of rebellious 50s teens or his recreation in The Gleiwitz Case of the justification for the Nazi invasion of Poland. He died in 1970 at age 50.- Johannes Maus was born on 27 December 1916 in Berlin, Germany. He was an actor, known for The Small White Mouse (1964), Geheimakten Solvay (1953) and Die Suche nach dem wunderbunten Vögelchen (1964). He died on 5 February 1985 in East Berlin, German Democratic Republic.
- Adolf Peter Hoffmann was born on 29 January 1906 in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He was an actor, known for Austeria (1982), Der ungebetene Gast (1981) and Die Kleinbürger (1968). He was married to Gaby Jäh. He died on 23 July 1982 in East Berlin, East Germany.
- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Hanns Eisler was a German-Austrian-American composer and lyricist. He was known for his "Das Lied von der Moldau" ("La Chanson du Moldau", "The Song of the Moldau") used in the TV film Schweyk im zweiten Weltkrieg (1961) and also sang by Zarah Leander on TV. He did so many more songs in Hollywood, France, Austria and Germany.- Amy Frank was born on 15 December 1896 in Schüttenhofen, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Susice, Czech Republic]. She was an actress, known for Affairs of a Rogue (1948), Pygmalion (1957) and While the Sun Shines (1947). She was married to Friedrich Richter. She died on 6 May 1980 in East Berlin, East Germany.
- Friedrich Karl Kaul was born on 21 February 1906 in Posen, Prussia, Germany [now Poznan, Wielkopolskie, Poland]. He was a writer and actor, known for Der Fackelträger (1957), Der Mord, der nie verjährt (1968) and Lebende Ware (1969). He was married to Luise. He died on 16 April 1981 in East Berlin, East Germany.
- Inge van der Straaten was born on 31 December 1897 in Dresden, Germany. She was an actress, known for Reise in die Vergangenheit (1943), Die Buntkarierten (1949) and Robert und Bertram (1939). She died on 20 October 1950 in East Berlin, East Germany.
- Heinz Scholz was born on 15 March 1910 in Berlin, Germany. He was an actor, known for Jeder stirbt für sich allein (1970), Der Auftrag Höglers (1950) and Wolf unter Wölfen (1964). He died on 31 May 1978 in East Berlin, East Germany.
- Actor
- Director
Wolfgang Langhoff was born on 6 October 1901 in Berlin, Germany. He was an actor and director, known for Die kleinen Füchse (1958), Der Bär (1965) and Iphigenie auf Tauris (1969). He died on 25 August 1966 in East Berlin, East Germany.- Jörg Knochée was born on 6 December 1944 in Druxberge, Germany. He was an actor, known for Das unsichtbare Visier (1973), Karla (1965) and Kit & Co. (1974). He was married to Heike. He died on 27 October 1989 in East Berlin, East Germany.
- Rolf Herricht was born on 5 October 1927 in Magdeburg, Germany. He was an actor, known for Maxe Baumann (1976), The Small White Mouse (1964) and Der Weihnachtsmann heißt Willi (1969). He was married to Christa Herricht. He died on 23 August 1981 in East Berlin, East Germany.
- From 1907 to 1914, Zweig studied German, art history, modern languages, philosophy and psychology in Breslau, Göttingen and Berlin, in accordance with his family's wishes, in order to later become a teacher. Zweig became active in literature while he was still a student; he and others founded the student magazine "The Guests," in which he published his first works. He did not complete his studies. In the early drama "Abigal and Nabal", published in 1913, Zweig's Jewish identity is revealed in the Old Testament story on which it is based, but this is also evident in later works such as "The Mission of Semael" (1918) or "The Repentance of the Apostate" (written in 1914 , published in 1925).
The symbiosis between German and Jewish identity at the time was expressed in the fact that Zweig was enthusiastic about the First World War and volunteered to fight. The writer first ended up on the Western Front in Verdun, France, then in the press department of the Commander-in-Chief in the East. The Prussian enthusiasm for war can be found literary in the stories in the book "The Beast" (1914). However, due to the cruelty and hopelessness of his wartime experiences, Arnold Zweig became a determined opponent of the war. He moved to Lake Starnberg and worked there as a freelance writer. In 1923 he worked as an editor for the "Jüdische Rundschau" in Berlin. In 1933, the year Adolf Hitler came to power, Zweig emigrated via Prague and Vienna, Switzerland and France to Haifa in Palestine. There the Jewish consciousness condensed into a Zionist attitude.
After the end of the war, Zweig returned to Germany, where he settled in the Soviet-occupied eastern part of Berlin and became a communist. After the founding of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), Zweig was a member of the GDR People's Chamber from 1949 to 1967. From 1950 to 1953 he was president of the Academy of Arts. In 1957 he was appointed president of the "German P.E.N. - Center East and West", and since 1967 of the "P.E.N. - Center GDR". Arnold Zweig dealt with the Jewish faith in numerous early plays, such as "Ritual Murder in Hungary". For this work he received the Kleist Prize in 1915. He brought his psychological novel style to its climax in "Novellen um Claudia" (1912), which also became the most important work of this genre. The novel is characterized by the sensitive description of marriage and love shocks, mental anguish and the transgression of social norms, which fit entirely into the literary aesthetic of its time.
With the war experiences there was also a turn to humanistic and anti-war themes in Zweig's stories. He made a name for himself as a German realist novelist who dealt with war and its moral and human consequences. In 1927 his novel "The Controversy of Sergeant Grischa" was published as a preprint in the "Frankfurter Zeitung". This gave Arnold Zweig his breakthrough as a writer. His pacifist attitude is also reflected in this, as Zweig shows the reversal of state legal and moral concepts through the state of war and thus processes his experiences and insights from the First World War. From this, Zweig had planned a cycle entitled "The Great War of the White Men" within the period from the First World War to the October Revolution. But the work remained fragmented.
The novels "Young Woman of 1914" (1931), "Education before Verdun" (1935), "Appointment of a King" (1937), "The Ceasefire" (1954) and "The Time is Ripe" (1957) were completed. . During his time in Palestine, Zweig wrote the novel "The Hatchet of Wandsbek", which also deals with the topic of fascism and bandwagonism in a psychologically sensitive way. The novel was first published in Hebrew. Zweig's interest in psychology and psychoanalysis went back, among other things, to his friendly relationship with Sigmund Freud. There are three main influences in Zweig's work - Zionism, communism and psychoanalysis. Zweig's literary work is in the tradition of the Russian and French novelists of the 19th century. Theodor Fontane, but also Gottfried Keller and Thomas Mann can be named as role models. Zweig's epic works take a critical look at current events and analyze them in depth psychology.
In addition, Arnold Zweig also worked as an editor for works by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Georg Büchner and Heinrich von Kleist. In his essays he dedicated himself, for example, to Carl Sternheim. His study of "Caliban, or Politics and Passion" (1927) treats anti-Semitism as a collective phenomenon. To the other works of Arnold Zweig include, among others, "The East Jewish Face" (1920), "Called Shadows" (1923), "The New Canaan" (1925), "Jews on the German Stage" (1927), "De Vriendt returns home" (1932 ) or "Balance of the German Jewish era in 1933" (1934).
Arnold Zweig died on November 26, 1968 in East Berlin. - Eckart Friedrichson was born on 14 January 1930 in Wernigerode, Germany. He was an actor, known for Eine Berliner Romanze (1956), Wer seine Frau lieb hat (1955) and Drei Mädchen im Endspiel (1956). He was married to Margitta Friedrichson. He died on 7 June 1976 in East Berlin, East Germany.
- Arnolt Bronnen was born on 19 August 1895 in Vienna, Austria. Arnolt was a writer, known for S.O.S. Die Insel der Tränen (1923) and Die ungeraden Wege des Arnolt Bronnen (1980). Arnolt was married to Renate Kleinschmidt, Hildegard von Lossow and Olga Förster-Prowe. Arnolt died on 12 October 1959 in East-Berlin, Germany.
- Kurt Kachlicki was born on 19 May 1934 in Berlin, Germany. He was an actor, known for Verwirrung der Liebe (1959), Ohne Paß in fremden Betten (1965) and Sasiedzi (1969). He died on 17 February 1978 in East Berlin, East Germany.
- Else Wolz was born on 14 January 1908 in Kleinschwalbach, Germany. She was an actress, known for Johnny Belinda (1960), Die schwarze Galeere (1962) and The Rabbit Is Me (1965). She was married to Walter Ohm. She died on 10 July 1983 in East Berlin, East Germany.
- Krista Siegrid Lau was born on 16 November 1917 in Ebersbach, Germany. She was an actress, known for A Lord of Alexander Square (1967), Entlassen auf Bewährung (1965) and Die letzte Nacht (1961). She died on 27 December 1969 in East Berlin, East Germany.
- Actor
- Production Manager
- Additional Crew
Gustav Püttjer was born on 15 May 1886 in Hamburg, Germany. He was an actor and production manager, known for Die lustigen Weiber (1936), Wie der Hase läuft (1937) and Comradeship (1931). He died on 11 August 1959 in East Berlin, East Germany.- Dieter Franke was born on 13 October 1934 in Harthau, Germany. He was an actor, known for Dach überm Kopf (1980), Jeder stirbt für sich allein (1970) and Wer reißt denn gleich vorm Teufel aus (1977). He died on 23 October 1982 in East Berlin, German Democratic Republic.
- Director
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- Additional Crew
Walter Felsenstein was born on 30 May 1901 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]. He was a director and writer, known for Fidelio (1956), Ein Windstoß (1942) and Hoffmanns Erzählungen (1970). He was married to Ellen Brenner and Maria ?. He died on 8 October 1975 in Berlin, East Germany.- Fritz Links was born on 24 September 1896 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary. He was an actor, known for Tecumseh (1972), Die Kleinbürger (1968) and Herr Puntila und sein Knecht Matti (1960). He died on 9 April 1976 in East Berlin, East Germany.
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Robert Trösch was born on 25 November 1911 in Zürich, Switzerland. He was an actor and director, known for Das Stacheltier - Achtung, Selbstschüsse! (1963), Das Stacheltier - Der Herr Direktor (1962) and Die gleiche Strecke (1961). He was married to Gisela Pyrkan, Ellen Lilienthal and Georgia Kullmann. He died on 14 January 1986 in East Berlin, East Germany.- Günter Karau was born on 20 April 1929 in Berlin, Germany. He was a writer, known for Chiffriert an Chef - Ausfall Nr. 5 (1979), Der Mensch neben dir (1966) and Der lange Ritt zur Schule (1982). He died on 26 April 1986 in East Berlin, East Germany.
- Bärbel Wachholz was born on 20 October 1938 in Angermünde, Brandenburg, Germany. She was an actress, known for Liebe auf den letzten Blick (1960), Zwischen Frühstück und Gänsebraten (1959) and Schlager einer kleinen Stadt (1964). She died on 13 November 1984 in Berlin-Buchholz, East Germany.
- Kurt Mikulski was born on 15 October 1882 in Hamburg, Germany. He was an actor, known for Goal in the Clouds (1939), Die Sache mit Styx (1942) and Großstadtmelodie (1943). He died on 25 May 1958 in East Berlin, East Germany.
- Actor
- Director
- Additional Crew
Hans Klering was born on 8 November 1906 in Berlin, Germany. He was an actor and director, known for Wege übers Land (1968), Rauschende Melodien (1955) and The Rainbow (1944). He was married to Else Korén and Antonia Nizkowskaja. He died on 30 October 1988 in East Berlin, East Germany.- Mathilde Danegger was born on 2 August 1903 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]. She was an actress, known for Frau Holle (1963), Die mißbrauchten Liebesbriefe (1940) and Der fliegende Holländer (1964). She was married to Walter Lesch, Herbert Crüger and Herbert Waniek. She died on 27 July 1988 in East Berlin, East Germany.
- Lutz Götz was born on 12 August 1891 in Munich, Germany. He was an actor, known for Tragödie einer Leidenschaft (1949), Patriots (1937) and Kongo-Express (1939). He was married to Anneliese Körner. He died on 3 October 1958 in East Berlin, East Germany.
- Friedrich Richter was born on 5 June 1894 in Brünn, Austria-Hungary. He was an actor, known for The Adventures of Tartu (1943), Ein idealer Gatte (1962) and Jacob the Liar (1974). He was married to Amy Frank. He died on 3 March 1984 in East Berlin, East Germany.
- Ada Mahr was born on 5 January 1897. She was an actress, known for Natürlich die Nelli (1959), Frauenschicksale (1952) and Stärker als die Nacht (1954). She died on 13 March 1980 in East Berlin, East Germany.
- Heino Winkler was born on 22 April 1912 in Reppen, Pomerania, Germany [now Rzepin, Lubuskie, Poland]. He was an actor, known for Die Unbesiegbaren (1953), Geheimakten Solvay (1953) and Alter Kahn und junge Liebe (1957). He died on 18 November 1964 in East Berlin, East Germany.
- Hanns Groth was born on 9 December 1911 in Heidelberg, Germany. He was an actor, known for Die Unbesiegbaren (1953), Story of a Young Couple (1952) and Frauenschicksale (1952). He died on 23 January 1953 in East Berlin, East Germany.
- Gert Andreae was born on 16 March 1927 in Berlin, Germany. He was an actor, known for On the Sunny Side (1962), Reportage 57 (1959) and Die Leute von Karvenbruch (1968). He was married to Helga Piur. He died on 2 October 1972 in East Berlin, East Germany.