Hannes Stelzer (20 June 1910 – 27 December 1944) was an Austrian

film 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 (), lite ...

. Stelzer was a leading actor in

German cinema The film industry in Germany can be traced back to the late 19th century. German cinema made major technical and artistic contributions to early film, broadcasting and television technology. Babelsberg Studio, Babelsberg became a household synon ...

during the

Nazi era Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. As well as appearing in dramas and light comedies, Stelzer also featured in more

propagandistic Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

works, including leading roles in the war films ''

Stukas The Orchestre Stukas (also referred to as the Stukas Boys, the Stukas or the Stukas of Zaire) was a congolese soukous band of the 1970s. It was based in Kinshasa, Zaire (now DR Congo). At the apex of their popularity, the Stukas were led by singe ...

'' and ''

The Crew of the Dora ''The Crew of the Dora'' (german: Besatzung Dora) is a 1943 German film about ''Luftwaffe'' pilots. It depicts a love triangle involving two of them being overcome by their participation in battle together. The film was banned in 1944, because ...

'' (1943), his final film. During the

Second World War 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 opposin ...

Stelzer served in the

German Air Force The German Air Force (german: Luftwaffe, lit=air weapon or air arm, ) is the aerial warfare branch of the , the armed forces of Germany. The German Air Force (as part of the ''Bundeswehr'') was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War a ...

. In 1944 he was killed in a

plane crash An aviation accident is defined by the Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft, which takes place from the time any person boards the aircraft with the ''intention of fl ...

near Komáron, Hungary, possibly as the result of enemy action. By Reichskulturkammer, dated 27 January 1945, he was returning from mission during heavy snowstorm and hit the power lines. Stelzer married Johanna Weyand in 1935 and, after they divorced, the German actress

Maria Bard Maria Bard (7 July 1900 – April 1944) was a German stage actress, who made a handful of films in the silent era for Rimax, her first husband Wilhelm Graaff's company. By 1930, her marriage with Graaff was over, and she appeared with Werner Kr ...

in 1940, whom he remained married to until her death in 1944.

Selected filmography

* '' The Dreamer'' (1936) * ''

Truxa ''Truxa'' is a 1937 German drama film directed by Hans H. Zerlett and starring La Jana, Hannes Stelzer, and Ernst Fritz Fürbringer. It is a Circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may inclu ...

'' (1937) * ''

The Ruler ''The Ruler'' (German: ''Der Herrscher'') is a 1937 German drama film directed by Veit Harlan. It was adapted from the play of the same name by Gerhart Hauptmann. Erwin Leiser calls it a propagandistic demonstration of the Führerprinzip of Na ...

'' (1937) * ''

Signal in the Night ''Signal in the Night'' (German: ''Signal in der Nacht'') is a 1937 German war drama film directed by Richard Schneider-Edenkoben and starring Sybille Schmitz, Inge List and Hannes Stelzer.Moeller p.74 Location shooting took place at Grünwald Ca ...

'' (1937) * '' Travelling People'' (1938) * ''

A Hopeless Case ''A Hopeless Case'' (german: Ein hoffnungsloser Fall) is a 1939 German comedy film directed by Erich Engel and starring Jenny Jugo, Karl Ludwig Diehl and Hannes Stelzer. The film's sets were designed by Karl Weber. Synopsis A determined female ...

'' (1939) * ''

'' (1941) * ''

Venus on Trial ''Venus on Trial'' (german: Venus vor Gericht) is a 1941 German drama film directed by Hans H. Zerlett and starring Hannes Stelzer, Hansi Knoteck, and Paul Dahlke. The film was part of the Nazis' campaign against 'degenerate art', and depicts ...

'' (1941) * ''

Above All Else in the World ''Above All Else in the World'' (german: link=no, Über alles in der Welt) is a 1941 German drama film directed by Karl Ritter and starring Paul Hartmann, Hannes Stelzer and Fritz Kampers.Kreimeier p. 312 The title refers to the second line of ...

'' (1941) * ''

'' (1943)

References

Bibliography

* Kreimeier, Klaus: ''The Ufa Story: A History of Germany's Greatest Film Company, 1918–1945''. Oakland, CA:

University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty ...

, 1999. * Giesen, Rolf: ''Nazi propaganda films: a history and filmography''. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2003. * Gillespie, William: ''Karl Ritter. His Life and 'Zeitfilms' under National Socialism''. 2nd exp. edition. Potts Points, NSW: German Films Dot Net 2014. (Chapter: 6. ''Ritter, Hannes Stelzer and a Hero's Death'').

External links

* * http://www.germanfilms.net/hannes-stelzer/ 1910 births 1944 deaths Austrian male film actors Actors from Graz 20th-century Austrian male actors German World War II pilots Luftwaffe personnel killed in World War II Luftwaffe personnel of World War II Military personnel from Graz {{Austria-actor-stub