Eugen Gottlob Klöpfer (10 March 1886 in Talheim, Heilbronn – 3 March 1950 in

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

) was a German actor.

Early life

Born to Karl Klöpfer and his wife Karoline, née Hörsch, Eugen attended the

Realschule ''Realschule'' () is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), ...

("secondary school") in Heilbronn. He subsequently attended the

Lateinschule The Latin school was the grammar school of 14th- to 19th-century Europe, though the latter term was much more common in England. Emphasis was placed, as the name indicates, on learning to use Latin. The education given at Latin schools gave gre ...

(

Latin School The Latin school was the grammar school of 14th- to 19th-century Europe, though the latter term was much more common in England. Emphasis was placed, as the name indicates, on learning to use Latin. The education given at Latin schools gave gre ...

) in

Lauffen Lauffen am Neckar () or simply Lauffen is a town in the district of Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is on the river Neckar, southwest of Heilbronn. The town is famous as the birthplace of the poet Friedrich Hölderlin and for its ...

and then the Karlsgymnasium in Heilbronn.

Career

Although he started an apprenticeship with a lumber business in Munich, Klöpfer soon discovered that his passion was the theater. He joined the Theatre Association of Munich and performed at various provincial theaters. In 1905 he was cast in his first role in Landshut, afterwards playing in Ingolstadtand Biel. In 1909 he came to the Volkstheater München ("Munich People's Theater). From 1914 to 1918, he performed in Colmar, Erfurt, Bonn and Frankfurt am Main. After the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Klöpfer relocated to Berlin. There he played from 1920 to 1923 at the Deutsches Theater , then at various stages, starting in 1925 in Vienna and Salzburg. Finally, he toured Europe and South America. He played the title role in

Carl Zuckmayer Carl Zuckmayer (27 December 1896 – 18 January 1977) was a German writer and playwright. His older brother was the pedagogue, composer, conductor, and pianist Eduard Zuckmayer. Life and career Born in Nackenheim in Rhenish Hesse, he was ...

's 1927 play ''

Schinderhannes Johannes Bückler (c.1778 – 21 November 1803) was a German outlaw who orchestrated one of the most famous crime sprees in German history. He has been nicknamed Schinderhannes and Schinnerhannes in German and John the Scorcher, John the Flaye ...

''. In the twenties, he appeared in numerous silent films.

Nazi era

After the Nazi seizure of power, he was promoted to the Presiding Board of the Reich Film Chamber, under Joseph Goebbels, and was also chairman of Goebbels' artist donation. In 1934, Klöpfer was designated as a '' Staatsschauspieler'' (i.e. an actor of national importance). He was also appointed the director of the

Volksbühne The Volksbühne ("People's Theatre") is a theater in Berlin. Located in Berlin's city center Mitte on Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz (Rosa Luxemburg Square) in what was the GDR's capital. It has been called Berlin's most iconic theatre. About The Vol ...

("People's Theatre") in Berlin. From 1935 he was appointed Vice President of the Ministry of Arts and joined the board of

UFA Ufa ( ba, Өфө , Öfö; russian: Уфа́, r=Ufá, p=ʊˈfa) is the largest city and capital city, capital of Bashkortostan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Belaya River (Kama), Belaya and Ufa River, Ufa rivers, in the centre-n ...

. In 1936 he was appointed general director of Berlin's Theater am Nollendorfplatz. In 1937, Klöpfer joined the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

. In 1940, he played the role of Landschaftskonsulenten Sturm in

Veit Harlan Veit Harlan (22 September 1899 – 13 April 1964) was a German film director and actor. Harlan reached the highpoint of his career as a director in the Nazi era; most notably his antisemitic film '' Jud Süß'' (1940) makes him controversia ...

's anti-Semitic Nazi propaganda film ''

Jud Süß (, "Süss the Jew") is a 1940 Nazi German historical drama and propaganda film produced by Terra Film at the behest of Joseph Goebbels. It is considered one of the most antisemitic films of all time. The film was directed by Veit Harlan, who ...

''. In August 1944, towards the end of the Second World War, Klöpfer was added by Adolf Hitler to the '' Gottbegnadeten-Liste'', a list of important German artists, which exempted him from military service, including service on the

home front Home front is an English language term with analogues in other languages. It is commonly used to describe the full participation of the British public in World War I who suffered Zeppelin raids and endured food rations as part of what came t ...

Postwar

After 1945, Klöpfer was banned and spent two months in prison in 1948. After a denazification trial, he was exonerated from the charge of complicity in the death of Joachim Gottschalk. In 1949, he began performing again with his own ensemble in Cologne and Neustadt in der Pfalz, but he died in 1950 of pneumonia. His grave is located in the South Cemetery in Wiesbaden.

Filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Klopfer, Eugen 1886 births 1950 deaths People from Heilbronn (district) People from the Kingdom of Württemberg Nazi Party members German male silent film actors German male stage actors Germany articles needing attention 20th-century German male actors