Hildegard Frieda Albertine Knef (; 28 December 19251 February 2002) was a German actress, voice actress, singer, and writer. She was billed in some English-language films as Hildegard Neff or Hildegarde Neff.

Early years

Hildegard Knef was born in Ulm in 1925. Her parents were Hans Theodor and Friede Augustine Knef. Her father, a decorated

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

veteran, died when she was only six months old, and her mother moved to Berlin and worked in a factory. Knef began studying acting at age 14 in 1940. She left school at 15 to become an apprentice animator with

Universum Film AG UFA GmbH, shortened to UFA (), is a film and television production company that unites all production activities of the media conglomerate Bertelsmann in Germany. Its name derives from Universum-Film Aktiengesellschaft (normally abbreviated ...

. After she had a successful screen test, she went to the State Film School at

Babelsberg Babelsberg () is the largest quarter ('' Stadtteil'') of Potsdam, the capital city of the German state of Brandenburg. The affluent neighbourhood named after a small hill on the Havel river is famous for Babelsberg Palace and Park, part of the Pala ...

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

, where she studied acting, ballet, and elocution.

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the '' Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to ...

, who was Hitler's propaganda minister, wrote to her and asked to meet her, but Knef's friends wanted her to stay away from him.

German film career

Knef appeared in several films before the fall of

Nazi Germany 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 ...

, but most were released only afterward. During the

Battle of Berlin The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula– ...

she dressed as a soldier to stay with her lover,

Ewald von Demandowsky Ewald von Demandowsky (21 October 1906 – 7 October 1946) was a German film producer who held the office of a Nazi German '' Reichsfilmdramaturg'' and was head of production at the Tobis Film company in the Third Reich. Career Demandowsky w ...

, and joined him in the defence of Schmargendorf. The

Soviets Soviet people ( rus, сове́тский наро́д, r=sovyétsky naród), or citizens of the USSR ( rus, гра́ждане СССР, grázhdanye SSSR), was an umbrella demonym for the population of the Soviet Union. Nationality policy in th ...

captured her and sent her to a prison camp. Her fellow prisoners helped her escape and return to

. Von Demandowsky was executed by the Russians on 7 October 1946, but before that he secured for Knef the protection of the well-known character actor Viktor de Kowa in

. De Kowa gave her the opportunity to be a mistress of ceremonies in the theatre that he had opened. Knef also got a part in Marcel Pagnol's ''Marius'', which was directed by Boleslaw Barlog and proved one of the German theatre's great plays. De Kowa also directed Knef in other plays by

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

, Pagnol, and

George Abbott George Francis Abbott (June 25, 1887 – January 31, 1995) was an American theatre producer, director, playwright, screenwriter, film director and producer whose career spanned eight decades. Early years Abbott was born in Forestville, New Y ...

. Her two best known film roles were "Susanne Wallner" in

Wolfgang Staudte Wolfgang Staudte (9 October 1906 – 19 January 1984), born Georg Friedrich Staudte, was a German film director, script writer and actor. He was born in Saarbrücken. After 1945, Staudte also looked at German guilt in the cinema. Alongside He ...

's film '' Die Mörder sind unter uns'' (''The Murderers Are Among Us''), produced in 1946 by the East German state film company, and the first film released after 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

; and "Marina" in '' Die Sünderin'' (''The Sinner''), in which she performed a brief nude scene, the first in German film history, which caused a scandal in 1950. The film was also criticised by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, which protested against the nude scene. Knef stated that she didn't understand the tumult that the film was creating. She wrote that it was totally absurd that people reacted in that manner and made a scandal because of her nudity as

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

was a country that had created Auschwitz and had caused so much horror. She also wrote, "I had the scandal, the producers got the money." She performed in many films. In 1948, she received the best-actress award from the

Locarno Film Festival The Locarno Film Festival is an annual film festival, held every August in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narrative, documentary, s ...

because of her role in the film ''Film Without a Title''. Her successful singing career started in the 1960s once her film career was not going very well. She wrote some songs by herself. She performed in television shows such as in episodes of '' Scarecrow and Mrs. King'' and in a 2000 documentary in which she was playing by herself ''Marlene Dietrich: Her Own Song''. In the 1960s she appeared in a number of such low-budget films as '' The Lost Continent''. She appeared in the 1975 screen adaptation of the

Hans Fallada Hans Fallada (; born Rudolf Wilhelm Friedrich Ditzen; 21 July 18935 February 1947) was a German writer of the first half of the 20th century. Some of his better known novels include '' Little Man, What Now?'' (1932) and ''Every Man Dies Alone'' ...

novel, '' Every Man Dies Alone'' directed by

Alfred Vohrer Alfred Vohrer (29 December 1914 – 3 February 1986) was a German film director and actor. He directed 48 films between 1958 and 1984. His 1969 film '' Seven Days Grace'' was entered into the 6th Moscow International Film Festival. His 1972 ...

, released in English as '' Everyone Dies Alone'' in 1976, and for which she won an award for best actress at the International Film Festival in

Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; german: Karlsbad, formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. It lies on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá. It is ...

, then

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

Career in the United States

David O. Selznick David O. Selznick (May 10, 1902June 22, 1965) was an American film producer, screenwriter and film studio executive who produced ''Gone with the Wind'' (1939) and ''Rebecca'' (1940), both of which earned him an Academy Award for Best Picture. E ...

invited her to Hollywood, but she refused to agree to the conditions of the contract which reportedly included changing her name to Gilda Christian and pretending to be

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n rather than German. Knef was cast as Hilde in the

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

film '' Decision Before Dawn'' (1951), directed by

Anatole Litvak Anatoly Mikhailovich Litvak (russian: Анатолий Михайлович Литвак; 21 May 1902 – 15 December 1974), better known as Anatole Litvak, was a Ukrainian-born American filmmaker who wrote, directed, and produced films in vari ...

and co-starring with Richard Basehart and Oskar Werner in a story about the later part of World War II. Hildegard Knef painting

The following year Knef's first husband, an American named Kurt Hirsch, encouraged her to try again for success in the U.S. She changed her name from Knef to Neff, but was only offered a supporting role in '' The Snows of Kilimanjaro'' (1952), an adaptation of an

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...

short story. Knef became a leading lady in films of Germany, France and Britain. Her reputation in the U.S. was hurt because of her nude scenes in the German film '' Die Sünderin'' (1950) and because she fell in love with a Nazi when she was 19. Finally, in 1955, Knef was offered a starring role in the Broadway musical ''

Silk Stockings ''Silk Stockings'' is a musical with a book by George S. Kaufman, Leueen MacGrath Leueen MacGrath (3 July 1914 – 27 March 1992) was an English actress and playwright and the second wife of George S. Kaufman, from 1949 until their divor ...

'' by

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...

, which was based on the 1939 film ''

Ninotchka ''Ninotchka'' is a 1939 American romantic comedy film made for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer by producer and director Ernst Lubitsch and starring Greta Garbo and Melvyn Douglas. It was written by Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett, and Walter Reisch, based o ...

'', which had starred

Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragic c ...

in the title role. Knef had acted in at least 30 films in the United States and Europe, but her triumph came in New York when she played Ninotchka, an unemotional Soviet commissar. ''The New York Times'' drama critic

Brooks Atkinson Justin Brooks Atkinson (November 28, 1894 – January 14, 1984) was an American theatre critic. He worked for ''The New York Times'' from 1922 to 1960. In his obituary, the ''Times'' called him "the theater's most influential reviewer of his ...

described her rendition as "an immensely skillful performance."

Singer

In the 1960s, Knef took a break from acting and started writing song lyrics. Then she started a successful concert and recording career. She began her singing career in the United States on Broadway. She began her new career in 1963 as a singer and surprised her audiences with the deep, smoky quality of her voice and the many lyrics, which she wrote herself. Fans around the world rallied in her support as she defeated cancer several times. She returned to Berlin after the reunification. In her peak, entertainment columnist called her the ""willowy blonde" who had "dusty voice" and "generous mouth". In the 1960s and 1970s, she enjoyed considerable success as a singer of German chansons, which she often co-wrote. The song she is mostly remembered for is "Für mich soll's rote Rosen regnen" ("Red roses are to rain for me"). She is also known for her version of the song "Ich hab noch einen Koffer in Berlin" ("I still have a suitcase in Berlin") and "Mackie Messer" ("

Mack the knife "Mack the Knife" or "The Ballad of Mack the Knife" (german: "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer", italic=no, link=no) is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their 1928 music drama ''The Threepenny Opera'' (german: Die Dreig ...

").English lyrics for Mackie Messer by Hildegard Knef
She sold more than three million records in total. She launched 23 original albums which counted for 320 different songs. She wrote the lyrics for 130 songs herself.

Publications

She published several books. Her autobiography ''Der geschenkte Gaul: Bericht aus einem Leben'' (''The Gift Horse: Report on a Life'', 1970) was a candid recount of her life in Germany during and after the

, and reportedly became the best-selling German book in the post-war years. Her second book ''Das Urteil'' (''The Verdict'', 1975) was a moderate success, and dealt with her struggle with

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or ...

. Knef not only achieved international best-seller status, her books were also widely praised by critics because her autobiographies were "better-than-the-average celebrity's". Arthur Cooper of ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...

'' claimed that the way in which Knef accounted in ''The Gift Horse: Report on a Life'' her childhood and difficult life being an actress and singer while living in Hitler's

and after the war in Europe and America, was "a bitterly honest book and a very good one". The book is not considered a book of "

- Broadway gossip. The book doesn't try to persuade the public depicting a made up celebrity's adventures. It seems a book that tells the real life of Knef. It refers to her struggles as a German woman who grew up in

under the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...

. The Gift Horse: Report on a Life was translated to English by Knef's second husband David Anthony Palastanga. In ''The Verdict'' which was also translated by Palastanga, Knef looked at her life in another perspective because she knew that she had cancer. Rachel MacKenzie wrote that Knef had her 56th operation, a mastectomy, in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

on 10 August 1973. MacKenzie stated that from that cancer surgery, life had to be thought of in terms of pre-verdict and post-verdict. The book is divided in these two sections but they are not chronologically ordered because Knef wrote the two sections in a way that the reader is moved forward and backward in time and space. ''The Verdict'' describes in great detail the hospital scenes as well as the doctors and nurses in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich () i ...

and

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

where she was hospitalised. During her career, she performed in over 50 films. Nineteen of her films were produced in different countries other than Germany; They were produced in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Austria and Spain.

Personal life

Knef was married three times and divorced twice. Her first marriage was in 1947 to Kurt Hirsch. He was a U.S. information officer. They divorced in 1952. The second time she married the actor and record producer David Anthony Palastanga, on 30 June 1962. Knef had a daughter with him. They named her Christina Antonia. She attended public schools in Germany. When Knef was 47, she wrote a letter for her 5-year-old daughter. She wrote what she had learned; of beauty; of her grandfather's legacy about anti-human beings, of unconditional love and truth. She also wrote that the only mission of humans in this world was to serve in one form or other because she had noticed that those who didn't serve ended up as slaves. When she died, she was still married to her third husband, Paul von Schell. Knef died of a lung infection in

, where she had moved after

German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

, at the age of 76. She smoked heavily for most of her life and suffered from

emphysema Emphysema, or pulmonary emphysema, is a lower respiratory tract disease, characterised by air-filled spaces ( pneumatoses) in the lungs, that can vary in size and may be very large. The spaces are caused by the breakdown of the walls of the a ...

Selected filmography

* ''

The Noltenius Brothers ''The Noltenius Brothers'' (german: Die Brüder Noltenius) is a 1945 German drama film directed by Gerhard Lamprecht and starring Willy Birgel, Karl Mathias and Hilde Weissner.Bock & Bergfelder p. 52 Released in Berlin on 7 April, it was, by ...

'' (1945) * '' Frühlingsmelodie'' (1945) - Zwilling ohne Leberfleck * '' Under the Bridges'' (1946) - Girl in Havelberg * '' Murderers Among Us'' (1946) - Susanne Wallner * '' Between Yesterday and Tomorrow'' (1947) - Das Mädchen Kat * '' Film Without a Title'' (1948) - Christine Fleming * ''

Journey to Happiness ''Journey to Happiness'' (German: ''Fahrt ins Glück'') is a 1948 German romantic drama film directed by Erich Engel and starring Käthe Dorsch, Rudolf Forster and Hildegard Knef. It was made at the Babelsberg Studios in Berlin while location sho ...

'' (1948) - Susanne Loevengaard * '' The Sinner'' (1951) - Marina * '' Miracles Still Happen'' (1951) - Anita Weidner * '' Decision Before Dawn'' (1951) - Hilde * '' Nights on the Road'' (1952) - Inge Hoffmann * ''

Diplomatic Courier A diplomatic courier is an official who transports diplomatic bags as sanctioned under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Couriers are granted diplomatic immunity and are thereby protected by the receiving state from arrest and ...

'' (1952) - Janine Betki * '' The Snows of Kilimanjaro'' (1952) - Countess Liz * '' Night Without Sleep'' (1952) - Lisa Muller * '' Alraune'' (1952) - Alraune * '' Henriette'' (1952) - Rita Solar * ''

Illusion in a Minor Key ''Illusion in a Minor Key'' (german: Illusion in Moll) is a 1952 West German drama film directed by Rudolf Jugert and starring Hildegard Knef, Sybille Schmitz and Hardy Krüger. It was made at the Bavaria Studios in Munich. It was one of the l ...

'' (1952) - Lydia Bauer * '' The Man Between'' (1953) - Bettina * '' A Love Story'' (1954) - Lili Schallweiß, Schauspielerin * '' It Was Always So Nice With You'' (1954) - Minor Role (uncredited) * '' Confession Under Four Eyes'' (1954) - Hilde Schaumburg-Garden * ''

Svengali Svengali () is a character in the novel ''Trilby'' which was first published in 1894 by George du Maurier. Svengali is a man who seduces, dominates and exploits Trilby, a young half-Irish girl, and makes her into a famous singer. Definition ...

'' (1954) - Trilby * ''

Escape from Sahara ''Escape from Sahara'' (German: ''Madeleine und der Legionär'') is a 1958 West German adventure drama film directed by Wolfgang Staudte and starring Hildegard Knef, Bernhard Wicki and Hannes Messemer. It was shot at the Tempelhof Studios in Be ...

'' (1958) - Madeleine Durand * ''

The Daughter of Hamburg ''The Daughter of Hamburg'' (French: ''La Fille de Hambourg'', German ''Das Mädchen aus Hamburg'') is a 1958 French drama film directed by Yves Allégret and starring Hildegarde Neff, Daniel Gélin and Jean Lefebvre.Broadbent & Hake p.123 Locatio ...

'' (1958) - Maria * '' Subway in the Sky'' (1959) - Lilli Hoffman * '' The Man Who Sold Himself'' (1959) - Martina Schilling * ''La strada dei giganti'' (1960) - Maria Luisa di Borbone * ''

No Orchids for Lulu ''Lulu'' (also released in the UK as ''No Orchids for Lulu'') is a 1962 Austrian crime drama film written and directed by Rolf Thiele. The film is an adaptation of Frank Wedekind's Lulu plays—'' Earth Spirit'' (''Erdgeist'', 1895) and '' Pandora' ...

'' (1962) - Baroness Geschwitz * ''Ipnosi'' (1962) * ''

Caterina di Russia ''Catherine of Russia'' ( it, Caterina di Russia is a 1963 biographical drama film directed by Umberto Lenzi, and starring Hildegard Knef. Cast * Hildegard Knef as Catherine the Great * Sergio Fantoni as Orlov * Giacomo Rossi Stuart as ...

'' (1963) - Catherine the Great * '' Landru'' (1963) - Mme X. / Madame Ixe * ' (1963) - Jenny Diver * ''Ballade pour un voyou'' (1963) - Martha Schwartz * ''

Das große Liebesspiel Das or DAS may refer to: Organizations * Dame Allan's Schools, Fenham, Newcastle upon Tyne, England * Danish Aviation Systems, a supplier and developer of unmanned aerial vehicles * Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad, a former Colombian ...

'' (1963) - Callgirl * '' Gibraltar'' (1964) - Elinor van Berg * '' Waiting Room to the Beyond'' (1964) - Laura Lorelli * '' Condemned to Sin'' (1964) - Alwine * ''

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Mala ...

'' (1964) - Ilona Valdez * '' The Dirty Dozen'' (1967) - (uncredited) * '' The Lost Continent'' (1968) - Eva Peters * '' Everyone Dies Alone'' (1976) - Anna Quangel * ''

Fedora A fedora () is a hat with a soft brim and indented crown.Kilgour, Ruth Edwards (1958). ''A Pageant of Hats Ancient and Modern''. R. M. McBride Company. It is typically creased lengthwise down the crown and "pinched" near the front on both sides ...

'' (1978) - The Countess * ' (1980) - Peter's Mother * ''Der Gärtner von Toulouse'' (1982) - Frau Théophot * ''

The Future of Emily ''The Future of Emily'' (german: Flügel und Fesseln) is a 1984 West German drama film directed by Helma Sanders-Brahms. Barbara Kosta, author of ''Recasting Autobiography: Women's Counterfictions in Contemporary German Literature and Film'', states ...

'' (1984) - Mutter Paula * '' Witchery'' (1988) - Lady In Black * ''

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter o ...

'' (1995) - (German Dub) * ''Eine fast perfekte Hochzeit'' (1999) - Marlene Wolf-Schönberg - Hennys Tante

References

External links

Hildegard Knef
in the German Dubbing Card Index * *
Fan site, officially authorized
(partly in English) * Ulrich E Bach: "The Woman Between: Hildegard Knef's Cold War Berlin Movie

In: Philip Broadbent & Sabine Hake (eds.) "Berlin: Divided City 1945-1989" (NYC: Berghahn Books, 2010): 115–125. {{DEFAULTSORT:Knef, Hildegard 1925 births 2002 deaths People from Ulm People from the Free People's State of Württemberg German film actresses German musical theatre actresses German stage actresses German women writers German autobiographers Actors from Baden-Württemberg Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of Merit of Berlin Deaths from emphysema Women autobiographers 20th-century German actresses 20th-century German women singers Burials at the Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union