Erwin Geschonneck (27 December 1906 – 12 March 2008) was a German

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. His biggest success occurred in the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...

, where he was considered one of the most famous actors of the time.

Early life

Geschonneck was born in

Bartenstein Bartoszyce (pronounced , german: Bartenstein, ; lt, Barštynas) is a town on the Łyna River in northern Poland, with 22,597 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the capital of Bartoszyce County within the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. Geog ...

, East Prussia (now Bartoszyce,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

), the son of a poor

shoemaker Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or cobblers (also known as '' cordwainers''). In the 18th century, dozens or even hundreds of masters, journeymen ...

. The family moved to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

in 1909 so his father could work as a nightwatchman. In 1919, the younger Geschonneck joined the Communist Party of Germany. After the Nazi takeover in 1933, he emigrated to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

via

, but was expelled in 1938 and moved to Prague. After the German occupation of Bohemia and Moravia, he was arrested on 31 March 1939. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he was imprisoned in several

Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as con ...

. In 1945, Geschonneck was one of the few prisoners who survived the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

sinking of the

Cap Arcona SS ''Cap Arcona'', named after Cape Arkona on the island of Rügen, was a large German ocean liner, later a ship of the German Navy, and finally a prison ship. A flagship of the Hamburg Südamerikanische Dampfschifffahrts-Gesellschaft ("Hamburg- ...

Career

Immediately following the war, Geschonneck acted in theaters in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, Germany, and made his film debut in 1947 in '' In jenen Tagen''. He subsequently moved to

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

, worked with Bertolt Brecht, and became a successful actor. He was a member of the jury at the 6th and

7th Moscow International Film Festival The 7th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 20 July to 3 August 1971. The Golden Prizes were awarded to the Italian film '' Confessions of a Police Captain'' directed by Damiano Damiani, the Japanese film ''Live Today, Die Tomorrow! ...

s. Geschonneck was featured in the German film '' Jacob the Liar'' by

Frank Beyer Frank Paul Beyer (; 26 May 1932 – 1 October 2006) was a German film director. In East Germany he was one of the most important film directors, working for the state film monopoly DEFA and directed films that dealt mostly with the Nazi er ...

, which was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 1977

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

– the only nomination for the GDR. In December 2006, he turned 100. His last film, made in 1995 for the German television network ARD, was ', where he played alongside veteran actor

Fred Delmare Werner Vorndran (24 April 1922 – 1 May 2009), known professionally as Fred Delmare, was a German actor. Life and work Werner Vorndran was the son of a carpenter and a seamstress and grew up in Hüttensteinach at Sonneberg in Thuringia, wh ...

. Geschonneck's son directed.

Death

Geschonneck died in

on 12 March 2008, aged 101.

Filmography

* ''

Kuhle Wampe ''Kuhle Wampe'' (full title: ''Kuhle Wampe, oder: Wem gehört die Welt?'', translated in English as ''Kuhle Wampe or Who Owns the World?'', and released in the USA as ''Whither Germany?'' by Kinematrade Inc.) is a 1932 German feature film abou ...

'' (1932) – Arbeitersportler (uncredited) * ''

In Those Days ''In Those Days'' (german: In jenen Tagen) is a 1947 German drama film directed by Helmut Käutner and starring Gert Schäfer, Erich Schellow and Winnie Markus. It was one of the cycle of Rubble films made in the wake of Germany's defeat during ...

'' (1947) – Schmitt / 6. Geschichte * ''Finale'' (1948) – Wilke * '' The Last Night'' (1949) – Oskar, Fahrer * '' Love '47'' (1949) – Kriminalbeamter * '' The Beaver Coat'' (1949) – Motes * ''

Harbour Melody ''Harbour Melody'' (german: Hafenmelodie) is a 1950 West German crime film directed by Hans Müller and starring Kirsten Heiberg, Paul Henckels and Catja Görna. It is part of a group of postwar German film noirs.Spicer p.109 A gang of criminal ...

'' (1950) – Emil * '' Das Kalte Herz'' (1950) – Holländer-Michel * '' Das Beil von Wandsbek'' (1951) – Albert Teetjen * '' Schatten über den Inseln'' (1952) – Dr. Sten Horn * ''Die Unbesiegbaren'' (1953) – Wilhelm Liebknecht * ''

Alarm im Zirkus ''Alarm in the Circus'' (german: Alarm im Zirkus) is an East German crime film directed by Gerhard Klein. It was released in 1954. Plot Klaus and Max are two poor boys from West Berlin, whose families are to poor to pay for their higher educatio ...

'' (1954) – Klott * '' Das Stacheltier: Das Haushaltswunder'' (1955) – Abteilungsleiter Vogel * '' Das Stacheltier: Es geht um die Wurst'' (1955) – Leo Weiß, Friseur * ''Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder'' (1955, unfinished film) – Feldprediger * ''

Les Aventures de Till L'Espiègle ''Les Aventures de Till L'Espiègle'' is a French-East German film, based on ''The Legend of Thyl Ulenspiegel and Lamme Goedzak''. It was released in 1956. Cast * Gérard Philipe: Till Eulenspiegel * Jean Vilar: The Duke of Alva * Fernand Ledoux ...

'' (1956) – Bras d'Acier * '' Der Hauptmann von Köln'' (1956) – Hans Karjanke * '' Schlösser und Katen'' (1957) – Bröker * ''Katzgraben'' (1957) – Großmann, ein Großbauer * ''

Der Lotterieschwede ''Der Lotterieschwede'' is an East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution ...

'' (1958) – Johan Jönsson * ''

Geschichte vom armen Hassan ''Geschichte vom armen Hassan'' is an East German film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates i ...

'' (1958) – Machmud * '' SAS 181 antwortet nicht'' (1959) * '' Musterknaben'' (1960) – Arthur Wedel * ''Leute mit Flügeln'' (1960) – Bartuscheck * '' Five Cartridges'' (1960) – Kommissar Wittig * '' Ach, du fröhliche'' (1962) – Walter Lörke * ''Wind von vorn'' (1962) – Schorsch * '' Naked Among Wolves'' (1963) – Walter Kraemer * '' Carbide and Sorrel'' (1963) – Kalle * ''Tiefe Furchen'' (1965) – Roter Schuster * ''Berlin um die Ecke'' (1965) – Paul Krautmann * ''Geschichten jener Nacht'' (1967) – Willi Lenz (segment "Der grosse und der kleine Willi") * '' Die Fahne von Kriwoj Rog'' (1967) – Otto Brosowski Sr. * ''Ein Lord am Alexanderplatz'' (1967) – Ewald Honig * ''Wir kaufen eine Feuerwehr'' (1970) – Herr Clasen * '' Sonnensucher'' (1972) – Jupp König * '' Tüzolto Utca 25'' (1973) – Szentiványi * ''Der Untergang der Emma'' (1974) – Fährmann Kluge * '' Jacob the Liar'' (1974) – Kowalski * ''Looping'' (1975) – Bienes Vater * ''Bankett für Achilles'' (1975) – Meister Achilles * ''Das Licht auf dem Galgen'' (1976) – Bering * ''Tambari'' (1977) – Luden Dassow * '' Anton, der Zauberer'' (1978) – Vater Grubske * ''Das Ding im Schloß'' (1979) – Prof. Bunzberger * ''Circus maximus'' (1980) – Szakállas * ''Levins Mühle'' (1980) – Johann * ''Asta, mein Engelchen'' (1981) – Otto Gratzick / Hermann Gschwinder * ''Der Mann von der Cap Arcona'' (1982) – Erwin Gregorek * ''Wie die Alten sungen...'' (1986) – Walter Lörke * ''Mensch, mein Papa...!'' (1988) – Erich Zarling

Television

* ''Die Gewehre der Frau Carrar'' (1953) – Pedro * ''Gewissen in Aufruhr'' (TV miniseries, 1961) – Oberst Joachim Ebershagen * ''Der Andere neben dir'' (1963) – Prof. Marschner * ''Asphalt-Story'' (1964) – Robby Assmann * '' Die Ermittlung – Oratorium in 11 Gesängen'' (1966) – Zeuge 9 * ''Rendezvous mit Unbekannt'' (TV miniseries, 1969) * '' Jeder stirbt für sich allein'' (TV miniseries, 1970) – Otto Quangel * ''Das Geheimnis der Anden'' (TV miniseries, 1972) – Don Pineto / Prof. Binder * ''Im Schlaraffenland'' (1975) – James Luis Türkheimer * ''Ein altes Modell'' (1976) – Bruno Nakonz * ''Ein Wigwam für die Störche'' (1976) – Opa Fritz * ''Die Insel der Silberreiher'' (1976) – Oberst von Bülow * ''Des kleinen Lokführers große Fahrt'' (1978) – Großvater * ''Plantagenstraße 19'' (1979) – Richard Matuschke * ''Verlobung in Hullerbusch'' (1979) – Ernst / Walter Wagemühl * ''Herbstzeit'' (1979) – Paul Wositschka * ''Meschkas Enkel'' (1981) – Meschka * ''Benno macht Geschichten'' (1982) – Oskar Schrader * ''Das Graupenschloß'' (1982) – Waldemar * ' (1995) – Matulla (final film role)

References

External links

* *
Hollywood Reporter: German film star Erwin Geschonneck dies

International Herald Tribune: Famed East German actor, jailed by Nazis for communist sympathies, dies at 101

* ttp://film.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/0,,2265282,00.html The Guardian: Erwin Geschonneck, A respected actor, he survived Hitler's camps to become a star in East Germany
Variety Magazine: Actor Erwin Geschonnek dies at 101

Erwin Geschonneck

"Geschonneck in Bildern"
article in

Berliner Zeitung The ''Berliner Zeitung'' (, ''Berlin Newspaper'') is a daily newspaper based in Berlin, Germany. Founded in East Germany in 1945, it is the only East German paper to achieve national prominence since reunification. It is published by Berliner ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geschonneck, Erwin 1906 births 2008 deaths People from Bartoszyce People from East Prussia Communist Party of Germany members Socialist Unity Party of Germany members Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany) politicians The Left (Germany) politicians German male film actors German male television actors 20th-century German male actors German centenarians Refugees from Nazi Germany in the Soviet Union Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in gold Recipients of the National Prize of East Germany German Film Award winners Men centenarians