Hermann Braun (November 1, 1917 – January 18 or 20, 1945) was a German film actor, and the son of chamber singer Carl Braun.

Biography

New York City-born, Braun made his film debut in 1933 with ''Der Jäger aus Kurpfalz''. Braun was initially slated for the role of "Heini Völker" in ''Hitlerjunge Quex''. However, much to his regret, illness, prevented his from doing so. The part was played by

Jürgen Ohlsen Jürgen Ohlsen (15 March 1917 – 23 September 1994) was a German actor best remembered for portraying "Heini "Quex" Völker" in the 1933 Nazi propaganda film ''Hitlerjunge Quex'' (''Our Flag Leads Us Forward''). Career Ohlsen was born in Sch� ...

. Braun is credited with a minor role in this film. He was

Pola Negri Pola Negri (; born Apolonia Chalupec ; 3 January 1897 – 1 August 1987) was a Polish stage and film actress and singer. She achieved worldwide fame during the silent and golden eras of Hollywood and European film for her tragedienne and femme ...

's leading man in her Third Reich film ''

The Secret Lie ''The Secret Lie'' (german: Die fromme Lüge) is a 1938 German drama film directed by Nunzio Malasomma and starring Pola Negri, Hermann Braun, and Herbert Hübner. The film's sets were designed by the art directors and Erich Czerwonski Erich C ...

'' (1938), where he plays a young man in her life who we are led to believe is her young lover but turns out to be her son. Braun also played in the Emil Jannings picture '' The Dreamer'' (1936) and in the Veit Harlan-directed ''Jugend'' (1938). His final film was ''Kleine Mädchen - große Sorgen'' (1941), opposite actress

Hannelore Schroth Hannelore Emilie Käte Grete Schroth (; 10 January 1922 – 7 July 1987) was a German film, stage, and television actress whose career spanned over five decades. Career Born in Berlin in 1922, she was the daughter of popular stage and film actor ...

. Unlike his father who was an early sympathizer with the Nazis and a member of the anti-Semitic

Kampfbund für deutsche Kultur The ''Kampfbund'' ("Battle-league") was a league of nationalist fighting societies and the German National Socialist party in Bavaria, Germany, in the 1920s. It included Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party (NSDAP) and its '' Sturmabteilung'' (SA), the Oberl ...

, Hermann Braun held an anti-Nazi stance and retired from (or was forced out of) the Nazi-controlled motion picture industry. Drafted into the German military, he saw action on the Russian front during World War II. Most sources state that he was killed in heavy fighting on January 18, 1945, near Łódź, Poland. However, the German War Graves Commission memorial for Braun states that he rose to the rank of Lieutenant and died on January 20, 1945. He was possibly wounded on January 18, with his death occurring two days later. He is buried at Lodz. Braun was 27 years old. Braun descended from an artistic family. His father was a famous opera singer, his mother Gertrude Botz was a stage actress at the Lübeck Theater, and his sister Anne-Mary Braun was also an actress.

Filmography

* '' ''Hitlerjunge Quex'''' (1933; 95 mins), directed by

Hans Steinhoff Hans Steinhoff (10 March 1882 – 20 April 1945) was a German film director, best known for the propaganda films he made in the Nazi era. Life and career Steinhoff started his career as a stage actor in the 1900s and later worked as a stag ...

. Unable to perform title role due to illness. After recovering he was given the role of Grundler. * ''

The Hunter from Kurpfalz ''The Hunter from Kurpfalz'' (German: ''Der Jäger aus Kurpfalz'') is a 1933 German comedy film directed by Carl Behr and starring Hans Adalbert Schlettow, Walter Rilla and Fritz Kampers. It was produced by Carl Froelich and shot at the Johannist ...

'' (1933; 82 mins.) Directed by

Carl Behr Carl Julius Peter Behr (28 October 1874 – 16 November 1943) was a German ophthalmologist born in Hamburg. In 1909 he described an hereditary syndrome of optic and neurologic disorders now known as Behr's syndrome. After attending several univer ...

. Braun played the role of Jupp, Försterjunge. * '' Holiday From Myself'' (1934) Directed by

Hans Deppe Hans Deppe (; 12 November 1897 – 23 September 1969) was a German actor and film director. Filmography As director As actor References External links * 1897 births 1969 deaths German male film actors German television dire ...

. Braun played a supporting role. * ''Achte mir auf Gakeki'' (1935; "short") Directed by Alwin Elling. Braun played an unnamed supporting role. * ''

Punks Arrives from America ''Punks Arrives from America'' (German: ''Punks kommt aus Amerika'') is a 1935 German comedy film directed by Karl Heinz Martin and starring Attila Hörbiger, Lien Deyers, Ralph Arthur Roberts and Sybille Schmitz. Produced and distributed by U ...

'' (1935; 90 mins.) Directed by

Karlheinz Martin Karlheinz Martin (May 6, 1886 – January 13, 1948) was a German stage and film director, best known for his expressionist productions. After enjoying success with experimental productions in Frankfurt am Main and Hamburg, Martin went to Berlin, ...

. Braun played "Caddy im Golfclub." (Title translation: "Punks Arrive from America.") * '' The Dreamer'' (1936; 100 mins.) Directed by

Carl Froelich Carl August Hugo Froelich (5 September 1875 – 12 February 1953) was a German film pioneer and film director. He was born and died in Berlin. Biography Apparatus builder and cameraman From 1903 Froelich was a colleague of Oskar Messter, one of ...

. Braun played a supporting role as an unnamed man. * ''

Ride to Freedom ''Ride to Freedom'' (german: Ritt in die Freiheit) is a 1937 German historical war film directed by Karl Hartl and starring Willy Birgel, Viktor Staal and Hansi Knoteck. The film is set in the 1830s during Poland's November Uprising against the Ru ...

'' (1937; 92 mins.) Directed by

Karl Hartl Karl Hartl (10 May 1899 – 29 August 1978) was an Austrian film director. Life Born in Vienna, Hartl began his film career at the Austrian Sascha-Film company of Alexander Kolowrat and from 1919 was assistant to the Hungarian director Alexande ...

. Braun played the role of a Polish Fähnrich (ensign) named Milewski. * ''Jugend'' (1938; 93 mins.) 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 controversial ...

. Braun played the role of Hans. (Title translation: "Youth.") *''

'' (1938; 80 mins) Directed by

Nunzio Malasomma Nunzio Malasomma (4 February 1894 – 12 January 1974) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed 41 films between 1923 and 1968. Selected filmography * '' Mister Radio'' (1924) * '' Orient'' (1924) * '' The Doll Queen'' (1 ...

. Braun played the role of Cecil Lasko. (Title translation: "The White Lie" or "The Pious Lie") * ''Was tun, Sybille?'' (1938; 86 mins.) Directed by

Peter Paul Brauer Peter Paul Brauer (16 May 1899, in Elberfeld – 28 April 1959, in Berlin) was a German film producer and film director. In 1928, he became involved in film production in the Netherlands. That same year he returned to Germany and, over several ye ...

. Braun played the role of a schoolboy named Primanier Peter Kurre. (Title translation: "What to Do Sybil?") * ''

D III 88 ''D III 88'' (sometimes written as ''DIII 88'') is a 1939 German drama film directed by Herbert Maisch and Hans Bertram and starring Christian Kayßler, Otto Wernicke and Heinz Welzel. It was made as a propaganda film with the support of Luftwaff ...

'' (1939) Co-directed by

Hans Bertram Hans Bertram (26 February 1906 – 8 January 1993) was a German aviator, screenwriter and film director. Biography Early life Hans Bertram was born on 26 February 1906 in Remscheid, Germany. Career During 1920, Bertram trained under fly ...

and

Herbert Maisch Herbert Maisch (born 10 December 1890in Nürtingen, Württemberg, died 10 October 1974 in Köln) was a German film director. Selected filmography * '' The Royal Waltz'' (1935) * ''Boccaccio'' (1936) * '' Love's Awakening'' (1936) * '' Men Witho ...

. Braun played the role of Obergefreiter (Corporal) Robert Eckhard. * ''

The Fox of Glenarvon ''The Fox of Glenarvon'' (German: ''Der Fuchs von Glenarvon'') is a German propaganda film from the Nazi era portraying the years of the Irish fight for independence during World War I. It was produced in 1940 by Max W. Kimmich and starred Olga T ...

'' (1940; 91 mins.) Directed by

Max W. Kimmich Max Wilhelm Kimmich (4 November 1893 in Ulm – 16 January 1980 in Icking, Upper Bavaria), also known as M. W. Kimmich, was a German film director and screenwriter during the first half of the 20th century. He was the brother-in-law of Nazi Propaga ...

. Braun played the role of Desmond O'Morrow. * ''Verwandte sind auch Menschen'' (1940; 79 mins.) Directed by

. Braun played the role of Kurt Thiele. (Title translation: "Relatives Are People Too.") * ''Kleine Mädchen - große Sorgen'' (1941; 79 mins.) Directed by

Boleslaw Barlog Boleslaw Stanislaus Barlog (28 March 1906 – 17 March 1999) was a German stage, film, and opera director primarily known for his work in reviving the theatrical life of Berlin after World War II. From 1951 until 1972 he served as the Intendant of ...

. Braun played the role of Hannes Fürst (Prince). (Title translation: "Little Girl—Very Worried.") * ''Kampfgeschwader Lützow'' (1941; 97 mins.) Directed by

. Braun played the role of Unteroffizier (Sergeant) Eckhard. (Title translation: "Battle Squadron Lützow.")

References

Bibliography

*Schlamp, Hans-Joacham. "Jugend, die den Film erobert 1. Folge-Hermann Braun." ''Reihe der Filmschriften'' (Germany), Vol. (Heft) 6, No. 1 (1934), pp. (Folgen) 20–24. * Weniger, Kay. ''Zwischen Bühne und Baracke. Lexikon der verfolgten Theater-, Film- und Musikkünstler 1933 bis 1945.'' Metropol, Berlin 2008, , S. 429 f.

External links

*
Hermann Braun (1918-1945) at the German Film website Cyranos.ch

Hermann Braun at Filmportal.de

Hermann Braun

Photographs of Hermann Braun

Biography

Filmography

References

Bibliography

External links

External links—Complete Films with Hermann Braun