Ida Ehre (; 9 July 1900 in

Přerov Přerov (; german: Prerau) is a city in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 41,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Bečva River. In the past it was a major crossroad in the heart of Moravia in the Czech Republic. The historic centre ...

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The me ...

– 16 February 1989 in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

) was an Austrian-German actress and theatre director and manager.

Biography

Ehre’s father was a

hazzan A ''hazzan'' (; , lit. Hazan) or ''chazzan'' ( he, חַזָּן , plural ; Yiddish ''khazn''; Ladino ''Hasan'') is a Jewish musician or precentor trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the congregation in songful prayer. In English, this pr ...

. She learned acting at the

University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna The University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien, abbreviated MDW) is an Austrian university located in Vienna, established in 1817. With a student body of over three thousa ...

. She made her acting debut at the Stadttheater in

Bielitz Bielsko (german: Bielitz, cs, Bílsko) was until 1950 an independent town situated in Cieszyn Silesia, Poland. In 1951 it was joined with Biała Krakowska to form the new town of Bielsko-Biała. Bielsko constitutes the western part of that tow ...

, and appeared in theatres in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

Cottbus Cottbus (; Lower Sorbian: ''Chóśebuz'' ; Polish: Chociebuż) is a university city and the second-largest city in Brandenburg, Germany. Situated around southeast of Berlin, on the River Spree, Cottbus is also a major railway junction with exten ...

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

and at the

National Theatre Mannheim The Mannheim National Theatre (german: Nationaltheater Mannheim) is a theatre and opera company in Mannheim, Germany, with a variety of performance spaces. It was founded in 1779 and is one of the oldest theatres in Germany. History In the 18 ...

. From 1930, she appeared at the

Lessing Theater The Lessing Theater was a theatre in the Mitte district of Berlin, Germany. It opened in 1888 and was destroyed in April 1945 in a bombing raid; its ruins were demolished after World War II. The construction of the theatre, for around 900,000 M ...

in Berlin. In

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 ...

, she was not allowed to work as an actress because she was Jewish, and so she helped in the gynaecolological practice of her husband, Dr. Bernhard Heyde (1899–1978), in

Böblingen Böblingen (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Beblenga'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, seat of Böblingen (district), Böblingen District. Sindelfingen and Böblingen are Geographic contiguity, contiguous. History Böblingen was found ...

. After the

Kristallnacht () or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (german: Novemberpogrome, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) paramilitary and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from ...

, she planned to emigrate to Chile with her husband and her daughter Ruth (born 20 October 1927 in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...

), but the ship they were on was ordered to return to Hamburg because of the outbreak of

World War II 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 ...

. She was later arrested by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

and interned in the concentration camp Fuhlsbüttel for six weeks. After the war, on 10 December 1945 she opened the Hamburger Kammerspiele theatre in the Hartungstraße in

Rotherbaum Rotherbaum () is a quarter of Eimsbüttel, a borough of Hamburg, Germany. In 2020 the population was 17,114. In German, "roter Baum" means ''red tree''. The "th", which in general was abolished in the spelling reform of 1900, was preserved in name ...

in a theatre building that had been used by the

Jüdischer Kulturbund , or (with the definite article) , was a Cultural Federation of German Jews, established in 1933. It hired over 1300 men and 700 women artists, musicians, and actors fired from German institutions, and grew to about 70,000 members, according to som ...

until 1941. In addition to modern German drama such as

Wolfgang Borchert Wolfgang Borchert (; 20 May 1921 – 20 November 1947) was a German author and playwright whose work was strongly influenced by his experience of dictatorship and his service in the ''Wehrmacht'' during the Second World War. His work is among t ...

‘s ‘’

The Man Outside ''The Man Outside'' (, literally ''Outside, at the door'') is a play by Wolfgang Borchert, written in a few days in the late autumn of 1946. It made its debut on German radio on 13 February 1947. ''The Man Outside'' describes the hopelessness of ...

’’ (German: ‘’Draußen vor der Tür’’), she brought modern pieces by playwrights from other countries for the first time in Germany, including plays by

Jean Anouilh Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh (; 23 June 1910 – 3 October 1987) was a French dramatist whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1944 play ''Antigone'', an ad ...

, T. S. Eliot,

Jean Giraudoux Hippolyte Jean Giraudoux (; 29 October 1882 – 31 January 1944) was a French novelist, essayist, diplomat and playwright. He is considered among the most important French dramatists of the period between World War I and World War II. His work ...

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 litera ...

and

Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes — for the novel ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and ''The Skin of Our Teeth'' — a ...

. She continued managing the theatre until her death from a heart attack in 1989. After her death, she was given an honorary grave in

Ohlsdorf Cemetery Ohlsdorf Cemetery (german: Ohlsdorfer Friedhof or (former) ) in the Ohlsdorf quarter of the city of Hamburg, Germany, is the biggest rural cemetery in the world and the fourth-largest cemetery in the world. Most of the people buried at the cemete ...

next to

Gustaf Gründgens Gustaf Gründgens (; 22 December 1899 – 7 October 1963), born Gustav Heinrich Arnold Gründgens, was one of Germany's most famous and influential actors of the 20th century, and artistic director of theatres in Berlin, Düsseldorf, and Hamburg ...

Honours

In 1971, she was a member of the jury at the

21st Berlin International Film Festival The 21st annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 26 June – 6 July 1971. The ''Young Filmmakers Forum'' (in 1987 renamed ''International Forum for New Cinema'') section was introduced at the festival. The Golden Bear was awarded ...

. In 1984, she became the first female honorary citizen of Hamburg. She was also made an honorary doctor by the

University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg (german: link=no, Universität Hamburg, also referred to as UHH) is a public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('' Allgemeines Vor ...

. In 1971, she won the

Schiller Prize of the City of Mannheim The Schiller Prize of the City of Mannheim has been awarded by the City of Mannheim since 1954. It was donated on the occasion of the 175th anniversary of the National Theatre. The prize is awarded every two years and endowed with €20,000. It i ...

. In 1984, she received the Silberne Blatt (silver leaf) of the (dramatists' union). In the

Altstadt ''Altstadt'' is the German language word for "old town", and generally refers to the historical town or city centre within the old town or city wall, in contrast to younger suburbs outside. '' Neustadt'' (new town), the logical opposite of ''Alt ...

quarter of Hamburg, part of the square of

Gerhart-Hauptmann-Platz Gerhart-Hauptmann-Platz (''Gerhart Hauptmann Square'') is a central square in Altstadt quarter, Hamburg, Germany. The former Pferdemarkt (''Horse Market'') is located at the junction of the streets of Mönckebergstraße, Spitalerstraße and Alster ...

, named after

Gerhart Hauptmann Gerhart Johann Robert Hauptmann (; 15 November 1862 – 6 June 1946) was a German dramatist and novelist. He is counted among the most important promoters of literary naturalism, though he integrated other styles into his work as well. He recei ...

, was renamed Ida-Ehre-Platz in 2000. In 2001, the Jahn-Schule in

Eimsbüttel Eimsbüttel () is one of the seven boroughs (Bezirke) of Hamburg, Germany. In 2020 the population was 269,118. History On March 1, 2008 Eimsbüttel lost part of its area to the borough Altona where it formed the Sternschanze quarter. Geography ...

, Hamburg was renamed the Ida-Ehre-Gesamtschule following a second vote after a first vote had preferred the name Gesamtschule am Grindel.

Films

* ''

In Those Days ''In Those Days'' (german: In jenen Tagen) is a 1947 German drama film directed by Helmut Käutner and starring Gert Schäfer, Erich Schellow and Winnie Markus. It was one of the cycle of Rubble films made in the wake of Germany's defeat during ...

'' (German: ''In jenen Tagen''), 1947, Regie:

Helmut Käutner Helmut Käutner (25 March 1908 – 20 April 1980) was a German film director active mainly in the 1940s and 1950s. He entered the film industry at the end of the Weimar Republic and released his first films as a director in Nazi Germany. Käu ...

, mit

Willy Maertens Willy Maertens (1893–1967) was a German film and television actor. He was married to the actress Charlotte Kramm with whom he had a son Peter Maertens. Selected filmography * ''Attack on Baku'' (1942) - Notar beim dänischen Ölherrn Jenssen ...

* '' The Prisoner'' (1949) * ''

You Don't Shoot at Angels ''You Don't Shoot at Angels'' (german: Auf Engel schießt man nicht) is a 1960 West German comedy crime film directed by Rolf Thiele and starring Ruth Leuwerik, Hannes Messemer and Gustav Knuth. The film's sets were designed by the art directors ...

'' (1960) * ''

The Dead Eyes of London ''The Dead Eyes of London'' (german: Die toten Augen von London and also known as ''Dark Eyes of London'') is a 1961 West German black and white crime film directed by Alfred Vohrer and starring Joachim Fuchsberger, Karin Baal and Dieter Borsch ...

'' (German: ''Die toten Augen von London''), 1961, Regie:

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 ...

, mit

Joachim Fuchsberger Joachim "Blacky" Fuchsberger (pronounced ; 11 March 1927 – 11 September 2014) was a German actor and television host, best known to a wide German-speaking audience as one of the recurring actors in various Edgar Wallace movies (often a Detecti ...

* ''

The Gypsy Baron ''The Gypsy Baron'' () is an operetta in three acts by Johann Strauss II which premiered at the Theater an der Wien on 24 October 1885. Its German libretto by Ignaz Schnitzer is based on the unpublished 1883 story ''Saffi'' by Mór Jókai. Jokai ...

'' (1962)

Bibliography

*Ida Ehre, Helmut Schmidt: ''Gott hat einen größeren Kopf, mein Kind...''. Rowohlt, Reinbek, *Ida Ehre, Sepp Schelz: ''Zeugen des Jahrhunderts. Ida Ehre''. Ullstein, 1999

References

External links