Ida Jenbach was an Austrian playwright and screenwriter for German and Austrian

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ...

during the 1920s. She was one of the authors of the spirited farce ''Opera Ball'' that appeared at the Little Carnegie Playhouse in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

in 1931. ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' critic

Mordaunt Hall Mordaunt Hall (1 November 1878 – 2 July 1973) was the first regularly assigned motion picture critic for ''The New York Times'', working from October 1924 to September 1934.The Opera Ball ''The Opera Ball'' (german: Opernredoute) is a 1931 German musical comedy film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the pl ...

'' (''Opernredoute'') was a German film that had “captions in English lettered on the scenes to keep those unfamiliar with German au courant of what is happening.” In 1926, Jenbach wrote the script to '' The Priest from Kirchfeld'', based on

Ludwig Anzengruber Ludwig Anzengruber (29 November 1839 – 10 December 1889) was an Austrian dramatist, novelist and poet. He was born and died in Vienna, Austria. Origins The Anzengruber line originated in the district of Ried im Innkreis in Upper Austria. Lu ...

‘s popular German "folk play". The play bears a notable resemblance to ''The Atonement of Gosta Berling.'' Attacking the

Catholic 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 ...

doctrine of celibacy for priests and the denial of burial for suicides, the play was and remains very controversial. Jenbach also worked on the screenplay to

Hugo Bettauer Maximilian Hugo Bettauer (18 August 1872 – 26 March 1925) was a prolific Austrian writer and journalist, who was murdered by a Nazi Party follower on account of his opposition to antisemitism. He was well known in his lifetime; many of his book ...

’s 1924 dystopian

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...

, '' Die Stadt ohne Juden'' ("The City without Jews"). This novel was prescient. It imagined a city that expelled the Jews and confiscated their wealth. It was meant to show the ridiculousness of

anti-Semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

. It was Bettauer’s most famous and best selling novel, and was translated into numerous languages. It was also his undoing. The novel angered the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

s. A year later, Nazi party member Otto Rothstock murdered Bettauer. When the film version opened, members of the National Socialist party tossed stink bombs into the cinemas, and cinema owners often cut parts of the film out. This film was the first important role for German film star Hans Moser. In 1933, some in the German press said that this film speaks for itself as an indictment against

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

. During the

Third Reich 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 ...

, Jenbach was sent to the

Minsk Ghetto The Minsk Ghetto was created soon after the German invasion of the Soviet Union. It was one of the largest in Belorussian SSR, and the largest in the German-occupied territory of the Soviet Union.Donald L. Niewyk, Francis R. Nicosia, ''The Co ...

. She died either there or in a concentration camp nearby. Her date of death is unknown.

Selected filmography

* ''

Else of Erlenhof '' Else of Erlenhof'' (German: ''Else von Erlenhof '') is a 1919 Austrian silent drama film directed by and starring Fritz Kortner.Bock & Bergfelder p.256 Cast * Poldi Müller * Fritz Kortner Fritz Kortner (born Fritz Nathan Kohn; 12 May 1 ...

'' (1919) * ''

Oh, Dear Augustine ''Oh, Dear Augustine'' (german: Oh, du lieber Augustin) is a 1922 Austrian silent film directed by Hans Karl Breslauer and starring Willi Forst. It takes its title from the popular Viennese song "Oh du lieber Augustin "" ("Oh, you dear Augus ...

'' (1922) * '' Sons in Law'' (1926) * '' The Priest from Kirchfeld'' (1926) * ''

The Field Marshal ''The Field Marshal'' (German: ''Der Feldmarschall'') is a 1927 German silent war drama film directed by Romano Mengon and starring Cilly Feindt, Paul Rehkopf, Harry Hardt.Grange p.250 The film's sets were designed by art director August Rin ...

'' (1927) * ''

The Family without Morals ''The Family without Morals'' (german: Die Familie ohne Moral) is a 1927 Austrian silent film directed by Max Neufeld Max Neufeld (13 February 1887 – 2 December 1967) was an Austrian film director, actor and screenwriter. He directed ...

'' (1927) * ''

The Opera Ball ''The Opera Ball'' (german: Opernredoute) is a 1931 German musical comedy film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the pl ...

'' (1931) * ''

When the Soldiers ''When the Soldiers'' (German: ''Wenn die Soldaten'') is a 1931 German comedy film directed by Jacob Fleck and Luise Fleck and starring Otto Wallburg, Gretl Theimer and Ida Wüst Ida Wüst (; 10 October 1884 – 4 October 1958) was a German s ...

'' (1931)

References

External links

Ida Jenbach
at Women Film Pioneers Project 1868 births 1940s deaths People from Miskolc Hungarian Jews Austrian people of Hungarian-Jewish descent Austrian women dramatists and playwrights Hungarian women dramatists and playwrights Austrian civilians killed in World War II 20th-century Hungarian women writers 20th-century Austrian women writers Jewish Austrian comedians Women film pioneers 20th-century Hungarian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Austrian dramatists and playwrights Minsk Ghetto inmates Austrian Jews who died in the Holocaust Hungarian Jews who died in the Holocaust People who died in ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe {{Hungary-hist-stub