Otto Karl Heinrich Greif (11 March 1907 – 16 July 1946) was a German actor and social activist.

Biography

Heinrich Greif was born 11 March 1907 in Dresden. Since 1926, he studied in the studio at the theater

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 ...

under the direction of

Erwin Piscator Erwin Friedrich Maximilian Piscator (17 December 1893 – 30 March 1966) was a German theatre director and producer. Along with Bertolt Brecht, he was the foremost exponent of epic theatre, a form that emphasizes the socio-political content of ...

. In 1933, he joined the

Communist Party of Germany The Communist Party of Germany (german: Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands, , KPD ) was a major political party in the Weimar Republic between 1918 and 1933, an underground resistance movement in Nazi Germany, and a minor party in West German ...

. After the Nazis' rise to power led to party and trade union work being made illegal, he published the theater magazine ''Rampa''. Soon, he emigrated to Switzerland. In 1934–1935 he worked in Zurich, then in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, where he worked until 1945 as chief editor of the German edition of Radio Moscow and acted in films. In 1945, he returned to Germany. He played in Deutsches Theater, and also worked in the administration of culture in Dresden. He died 16 July 1946 in Berlin during a hernia operation at the clinic

Charité The Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Charité – Berlin University of Medicine) is one of Europe's largest university hospitals, affiliated with Humboldt University and Free University Berlin. With numerous Collaborative Research Cen ...

. The operation was carried out personally by the head of surgical department, 71-year-old Ferdinand Sauerbruch. By this time, Sauerbruch already showed symptoms of cerebral sclerosis: mistakes were made during the routine operation that caused the death of the actor.Генрих Грайф
/ref> In 1951, 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 **Ger ...

was approved

Heinrich Greif Prize The Heinrich Greif Prize (German: ''Heinrich-Greif-Preis'') was an East German state award bestowed on individuals for contribution to the state's cinema and television industry. History The prize was awarded by the East German Ministry of Cultur ...

for outstanding achievements in the field of cinema.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Greif, Heinrich 1907 births 1946 deaths German male actors Soviet male actors German emigrants to the Soviet Union Communist Party of Germany politicians German-language writers German male stage actors