Harry Buckwitz (13 March 1904 – 28 December 1987) was a German actor,

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

and theatre manager. He was general manager of the Städtische Bühnen Frankfurt from 1951 and 1967, where he was responsible for opera and plays, and initiated a new house for them after the formerly separate theatres had been destroyed in World War II. He is known for

Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

productions, in Frankfurt and at the

Schauspielhaus Zürich The Schauspielhaus Zürich ( en, Zürich playhouse) is one of the most prominent and important theatres in the German-speaking world. It is also known as "Pfauenbühne" (Peacock Stage). The large theatre has 750 seats. The also operates three s ...

from 1970 to 1977.

Career

Actor

Born in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

as the son of a merchant, Buckwitz studied German, art history and theatre science. He then decided to become an actor and completed an acting course. His first engagement as an actor was at the Münchner Kammerspiele. From 1925, he worked at different German theatres in Mainz, Bochum, Augsburg and Freiburg. In Augsburg, he began to also direct plays. In 1937, Buckwitz was expelled from the as ''Halbjude'' (

half-Jew The term Halbjude (English: Half-Jew) is a derogatory term for people with a non-Jewish and a Jewish parent. The overwhelming majority of the so-called half-Jews were legally classified as " first-degree Jewish hybrids" during the era of Nazi Germ ...

). He worked internationally. At the beginning of World War II, he ran a hotel in Tanganyika to 1940. He was interned by the Allies, but soon sent back to Germany. From 1941, Buckwitz was director of the Savoy Hotel in

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of cant ...

. In 1944, he was drafted to the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

Frankfurt

After World War II, Buckwitz became manager of Münchner Kammerspiele in 1946. He moved to the Städtische Bühnen Frankfurt in 1951, where he was

general director A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer, within a government ...

(''Generalintendant''). In 1952, he recruited Georg Solti as Generalmusikdirektor for the

Oper Frankfurt The Oper Frankfurt (Frankfurt Opera) is a German opera company based in Frankfurt. Opera in Frankfurt am Main has a long tradition, with many world premieres such as Franz Shrek's ''Der ferne Klang'' in 1912, '' Fennimore und Gerda'' by Frede ...

. Buckwitz suggested housing both opera and theatre under one roof. The separate theatres of the company, which had been destroyed during the war, were replaced by one house, inaugurated in December 1963. Its official name is Opern- und Schauspielhaus Frankfurt. Buckwitz focused on productions of Bertolt Brecht's plays which he directed himself, such as ''

Der kaukasische Kreidekreis ''The Caucasian Chalk Circle'' (german: Der kaukasische Kreidekreis) is a play by the German Modernism, modernist playwright Bertolt Brecht. An example of Brecht's epic theatre, the play is a parable about a peasant girl who rescues a baby and be ...

'' in 1955 and '' Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder'' in 1958, with

Therese Giehse Therese Giehse (; 6 March 1898 – 3 March 1975), born Therese Gift, was a German actress. Born in Munich to German-Jewish parents, she first appeared on the stage in 1920. She became a major star on stage, in films, and in political cabaret. In t ...

in the title role. He also produced works by contemporary authors such as

Friedrich Dürrenmatt Friedrich Dürrenmatt (; 5 January 1921 – 14 December 1990) was a Swiss author and dramatist. He was a proponent of epic theatre whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author's work included avant-g ...

Max Frisch Max Rudolf Frisch (; 15 May 1911 – 4 April 1991) was a Swiss playwright and novelist. Frisch's works focused on problems of identity, individuality, responsibility, morality, and political commitment. The use of irony is a significant featur ...

Rolf Hochhuth Rolf Hochhuth (; 1 April 1931 – 13 May 2020) was a German author and playwright, best known for his 1963 drama '' The Deputy'', which insinuates Pope Pius XII's indifference to Hitler's extermination of the Jews, and he remained a controversial ...

, Eugène Ionesco,

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are ''All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and lit ...

and

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thr ...

, some of them performed in Germany for the first time. He tried to open the theatre to all social classes, achieving an occupancy rate of up to 90 percent. His programs were criticised by some as communist propaganda. After health problems and budget disputes with the city government, Buckwitz announced his resignation in January 1967, serving until his contract ended in August 1968. In 1962, Buckwitz became vice president of the

Deutsche Akademie der Darstellenden Künste The Deutsche Akademie der Darstellenden Künste (German Academy of the Performing Arts) is an academy founded in Hamburg in 1956, representing members from theatre, film, television and radio. Their activities and events are supported by foundations ...

Zürich

Buckwitz was director of the

from 1970 to 1977. His appointment there led to a fierce controversy with the journalist

Hans Habe Hans Habe (born János Békessy; 12 February 1911, Budapest – 29 September 1977, Locarno) was a Hungarian and American writer and newspaper publisher. From 1941, he held United States citizenship. He was also known by such pseudonyms as Anto ...

, who accused him of having once been a henchman of Adolf Hitler, in an article for the newspaper ''

Welt am Sonntag Welt, welts or variants may refer to: Media * ''Die Welt'' (''The World''), a German national newspaper ** '' Welt am Sonntag'' (''World on Sunday''), the Sunday edition of ''Die Welt'' * ''Die Welt'', former weekly newspaper in Vienna, Austria ...

''. Habe based his accusation on quotations from the book ''Heimkehr: Vertrieben aus deutschem Land in Afrika'', published in 1940 by the

Reichskolonialbund The Reichskolonialbund (RKB) ( en, Reich Colonial League) was a collective body that absorbed all German colonial organisations during the time of the Third Reich. It was led by Franz Ritter von Epp. The Reichskolonialbund was active between 193 ...

under Buckwitz's name. Buckwitz replied that parts of his manuscripts written in 1940 on his return from internment in Tanganyika in a camp at Berchtesgaden had been altered without his knowledge before publication, while

and

, among others, took sides for Buckwitz. Buckwitz was confirmed in office with a vote of confidence from the Board of Directors of the Zurich Schauspielhaus, which he fulfilled until 1977.

Late years

In December 1977 Buckwitz appeared as an actor in the role of Luis Concha Córdoba in the German television film ''Der Tod des Camilo Torres oder: Die Wirklichkeit hält viel aus'', directed by . He worked as a freelance director until his death. At his request, he was not buried in his last place of residence, Zürich, but in Frankfurt. His extensive written legacy is held by the

Academy of Arts, Berlin The Academy of Arts (german: Akademie der Künste) is a state arts institution in Berlin, Germany. The task of the Academy is to promote art, as well as to advise and support the states of Germany. The Academy's predecessor organization was fo ...

Awards

* 1964:

Goethe Plaque of the City of Frankfurt Goethe Plaque of the City of Frankfurt (german: Goethe-Plakette der Stadt Frankfurt am Main, links=no) is an award conferred by Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany and named after Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The plaque was originally designed by sculptor ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Buckwitz, Harry German theatre directors German television directors German male television actors German male stage actors 1904 births 1987 deaths Theatre people from Munich