Ferdinand Heinrich Johann Haschkowetz (14 August 1902 – 7 August 1946), known by the stage name Ferdinand Marian, was an Austrian actor. Though a prolific stage actor in

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 ...

and a popular

matinée idol Matinée idol is a term used mainly to describe film or theatre stars who are adored to the point of adulation by their fans. The term almost exclusively refers to adult male actors. Matinée idols often tend to play romantic and dramatic lead ...

throughout the 1930s and early '40s, he is best remembered for playing the lead role of

Joseph Süß Oppenheimer Joseph Süß Oppenheimer (1698? – February 4, 1738) was a German Jewish banker and court Jew for Duke Karl Alexander of Württemberg in Stuttgart. Throughout his career, Oppenheimer made scores of powerful enemies, some of whom conspired to b ...

in the notorious 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 ...

'' (1940).

Early life and career

Born in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, the son of an opera singer, Marian turned to the stage early, though he never attended any drama classes. He ran away from home and abandoned his studies as an engineer to work as an extra at several Austrian and German theatres. In 1938 he joined the ensemble of the Deutsches Theater in

, where he was acclaimed for his performance as

Iago Iago () is a fictional character in Shakespeare's ''Othello'' (c. 1601–1604). Iago is the play's main antagonist, and Othello's standard-bearer. He is the husband of Emilia, who is in turn the attendant of Othello's wife Desdemona. Iago ha ...

in Shakespeare's '' Othello''. Marian had also appeared in movies like

Curtis Bernhardt Curtis Bernhardt (15 April 1899 – 22 February 1981) was a Jewish film director born in Worms, Germany, under the name Kurt Bernhardt. He trained as an actor in Germany, and performed on the stage, before starting as a film director in 1924, wi ...

's ''Der Tunnel'' since 1933, and had his breakthrough starring together with

Zarah Leander Zarah Leander (; 15 March 1907 – 23 June 1981) was a Swedish singer and actress whose greatest success was in Germany between 1936 and 1943, when she was contracted to work for the state-owned Universum Film AG (UFA). Although no exact record ...

in 1937's '' La Habanera'', directed by

Douglas Sirk Douglas Sirk (born Hans Detlef Sierck; 26 April 1897 – 14 January 1987) was a German film director best known for his work in Hollywood melodramas of the 1950s. Sirk started his career in Germany as a stage and screen director, but he left for ...

. His role as the suave but amoral Don Pedro Avila added to his image as an adorable but devious womanizer.

''Jud Süß''

Marian's career was overshadowed by his appearance as the title character in ''

'', a notorious antisemitic German movie directed by

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 ...

. This 1940 film, made under the supervision of Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels, is widely considered to be one of the most hateful depictions of Jews in film. Several top stars had rejected the title role; Marian, urged by Goebbels and fearing consequences by the

Reichsfilmkammer The Reichsfilmkammer (RFK; en, Reich Chamber of Film) was a statutory corporation controlled by the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda that regulated the film industry in Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1945. Membership in the associa ...

, did not dare to refuse. His depiction of the title character followed

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

propaganda

stereotypes In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...

of Jews as being materialistic, immoral, cunning and untrustworthy. With the exception of Marian's character – who shaved off his beard and wore Gentile attire for most of the story – the actors playing Jewish male characters were made up to look unappealing and alien (non-German). There were also scenes that purported to show Jewish religious services, which were in fact largely fabricated by the filmmakers. The film was a great success, both commercially and ideologically.

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...

ordered that the film be shown to SS units about to be sent against Jews, to non-Jewish populations of areas where Jews were about to be deported, and to concentration camp guards.

Stefan Baretzki Stefan Baretzki ( – ) was an Auschwitz guard of Bukovina German origin. He was conscripted into the Waffen-SS and stationed at the Auschwitz concentration camp from 1942 until 1945. There he participated in the mass murder by making selection ...

, a guard at Auschwitz concentration camp, later said that after they were shown ''Jud Süß'' and similar films, guards would beat up Jewish prisoners the next day. Marian's willing participation in ''Jud Süß'' and his belief in its message remains contentious. During his lifetime he was considered apolitical, never holding membership in any political party or expressing support for Nazism. His personal life seemingly contradicted the antisemitism of his best-known role. He had a daughter from his first marriage to Jewish pianist Irene Saager. His second wife's former husband Julius Gellner was also Jewish and Marian and his wife protected him from reprisals by hiding him in their home.Jud Süss
Film Reference, retrieved on September 26, 2010. Friedrich Knilli, author of the Marian biography ''Ich war Jud Süß – Die Geschichte des Filmstars Ferdinand Marian'' ('I Was I was Jud Suss - The Story of the Movie Star Ferdinand Marian') indicated that Marian acted was at minimum pressured and at maximum coerced by Goebbles into participating in the film, which he had initially considered distasteful, through implicit threats against his family. Knilli's assertions match those of director

, who claimed in a war crimes trial that he was coerced by Goebbles into making the film, and attempted to minimize or sanitize the antisemitic elements to little avail. According to Knilli, Marian never came to terms with his involvement in the film, and the guilt lead to a spiraling pattern of alcoholism that dominated his later life.

Later roles

The same year as ''Jud Süß'', Marian starred in another propaganda film directed by Veit Harlan, ''

Ohm Krüger ''Ohm Krüger'' (English: ''Uncle Krüger'') is a 1941 German biographical film directed by Hans Steinhoff and starring Emil Jannings, Lucie Höflich, and Werner Hinz. It was one of a series of major propaganda films produced in Nazi Germany ...

.'' The film was a biopic of

Boer Boers ( ; af, Boere ()) are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled this are ...

political leader

Paul Kruger Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger (; 10 October 1825 – 14 July 1904) was a South African politician. He was one of the dominant political and military figures in 19th-century South African Republic, South Africa, and President of the So ...

, and portrayed the British as the villains of the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

, with Marian playing British mastermind Cecil Rhodes. The film co-starred

Emil Jannings Emil Jannings (born Theodor Friedrich Emil Janenz, 23 July 1884 – 2 January 1950) was a Swiss born German actor, popular in the 1920s in Hollywood. He was the first recipient of the Academy Award for Best Actor for his roles in '' The La ...

and

Gustaf Gründgens Gustaf Gründgens (; 22 December 1899 – 7 October 1963), born Gustav Heinrich Arnold Gründgens, was one of Germany's most famous and influential actors of the 20th century, and artistic director of theatres in Berlin, Düsseldorf, and Hamburg ...

, who both had rejected the role of ''Jud Süß'' the year before. In 1943 he starred as

Cagliostro Count Alessandro di Cagliostro (, ; 2 June 1743 – 26 August 1795) was the alias of the Italian occultist Giuseppe Balsamo (; in French usually referred to as Joseph Balsamo). Cagliostro was an Italian adventurer and self-styled magician. ...

Josef von Báky Josef may refer to *Josef (given name) *Josef (surname) Josef is the surname of the following people: * Jens Josef (born 1967), German composer of classical music, a flutist and academic teacher * Michelle Josef (born 1954), Canadian musician and tr ...

's fantasy comedy '' Münchhausen,'' in ''Romance in a Minor Key,'' in ''Tonelli (film), Tonelli.'' His last film role was in ' (1945).

Death

Marian died in a road accident in 1946 near the village of Dürneck (today part of Freising) in Bavaria, probably driving under the influence of alcohol. It is said that he was on his way to Munich with a borrowed car to collect denazification papers that with the permission of US film officer Eric Pleskow would allow him to work again, having celebrated this news just beforehand. Friedrich Knilli suggested the death was suicide, as Marian had been unable to cope with his participation in ''Jud Süß''.

In popular culture

Marian is played by Tobias Moretti in the 2010 film ''Jew Suss: Rise and Fall'', a biopic about the production and release of ''

,'' based on Friedrich Knilli's biography. The film takes many liberties with the true story, fictionalizing Marian's personal life by combining his two wives into a single character, and expanding the role of Julius Gellner (renamed 'Wilhelm Adolf Deutscher').

Filmography

* ''The Tunnel (1933 film), The Tunnel'' (1933, dir.

) as The Agitator * ''A Wedding Dream'' (1936, dir. Erich Engel) as Paul Puschkinow * ''The Voice of the Heart (1937 film), The Voice of the Heart'' (1937, dir. Karlheinz Martin) as Prince Konstantin * ''Madame Bovary (1937 film), Madame Bovary'' (1937, dir. Gerhard Lamprecht) as Rodolphe Boulanger * '' La Habanera'' (1937, dir.

) as Don Pedro de Havila * ''Nordlicht'' (1938, dir. Herbert B. Fredersdorf) as Halvard * ''Der Vierte kommt nicht'' (1939, dir. Max W. Kimmich) as Generaldirektor Kolman * ''Morgen werde ich verhaftet'' (1939, dir. Karl Heinz Stroux) as Juan Perez * ''Dein Leben gehört mir'' (1939, dir. Johannes Meyer) * ''The Fox of Glenarvon'' (1940, dir. Max W. Kimmich) as Justice of the peace Grandison * ''Aus erster Ehe'' (1940, dir. Paul Verhoeven (Germany), Paul Verhoeven) as Professor Walter Helmerding * ''

'' (1940, dir.

) as

* ''

'' (1941, dir. Hans Steinhoff) as Cecil Rhodes * ''Ein Zug fährt ab'' (1942, dir. Johannes Meyer (director), Johannes Meyer) as Michael Garden * '' Münchhausen'' (1943, dir.

) as Count Cagliostro * ''Romance in a Minor Key'' (1943, dir. Helmut Käutner) as Michael * ''Tonelli (film), Tonelli'' (1943, dir. Viktor Tourjansky) as Tonio Torelli / Jaro * ''Reise in die Vergangenheit'' (1943, dir. Hans H. Zerlett) as Carlo Ernst * ''In flagranti'' (1944, dir. Hans Schweikart) as Ing. Alfred Peters * ''Freunde'' (1944, dir. E. W. Emo) as Guido * ''Night of the Twelve'' (1945, dir. Hans Schweikart) as Agent Leopold Lenski * ''Dreimal Komödie'' (1945, dir. Viktor Tourjansky) as Professor Viktor Arnim * ' (1945, dir. Hans Schweikart) as Baron Pistolecran (final film role)

References

External links

*
Short biography of Ferdinand Marian

(in German)
Photographs and literature
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marian, Ferdinand 1902 births 1946 deaths Austrian male film actors Austrian male stage actors Male actors from Vienna 20th-century Austrian male actors Road incident deaths in Germany