Kurt von Ruffin (1901 in

Munich, Germany Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

– 17 November 1996 in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, Germany) was a German actor and opera singer who was imprisoned by the

Nazis 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 Na ...

for the crime of

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

Career

Von Ruffin began his career as a singer. Starting in 1927 he sang with the operas of

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

, and

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

. He made his film debut in 1931 in ' and '' Walzerparadies'', also starring in

Harry Piel Heinrich Piel (12 July 1892 – 27 March 1963), known professionally as Harry Piel, was a prolific German actor, film director, screenwriter, and film producer who was involved in over 150 films. Piel became a director in 1912, turning out such ...

's ''

Bobby geht los ''Bobby Gets Going'' (German: ''Bobby geht los'') is a 1931 German comedy film, comedy action film directed by and starring Harry Piel and also featuring Annie Markart, Hilde Hildebrand and Kurt Lilien. It was shot at the EFA Studios in Halensee a ...

'' in the same year. For the latter film von Ruffin took boxing lessons from heavyweight champion

Hans Breitensträter Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi ...

. After completing filming on '' The Black Forest Girl'' in 1933, von Ruffin was identified as a homosexual by another gay man who named him under torture, and imprisoned at

Lichtenburg concentration camp Lichtenburg was a Nazi concentration camp, housed in a Renaissance castle in Prettin, near Wittenberg in the Province of Saxony. Along with Sachsenburg, it was among the first to be built by the Nazis, and was operated by the SS from 1933 to ...

, where many gay men were imprisoned, for two years. Von Ruffin says that SS guards touched prisoners and then beat those who got sexually aroused. He also recalls being forced to watch as some prisoners were beaten to death. After nine months in Lichtenburg, von Ruffin was released thanks to the intervention of prominent theatre director

Heinz Hilpert Heinz Hilpert (1 March 1890 – 25 November 1967) was a German actor, screenwriter and film director. He was head of the Deutsches Theater during the Third Reich. Selected filmography Actor * '' Nameless Heroes'' (1925) * '' Prinz Louis Ferdi ...

, and his lawyers arranged for the destruction of his

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 ...

file. Von Ruffin went on to star in five more movies: '' Königswalzer'' (1935), ''Die Geige lockt'' (1935), '' Black Roses'' (1935), '' The Hour of Temptation'' (1936), and ''Du bist so schön, Berlinerin'' (1936) before he was finally prohibited from appearing in any more films. From 1941 until the end of the war, he appeared only on stage. After the war, von Ruffin appeared in several more films, including ''Ich mach' Dich glücklich'' (1949), ''Der blaue Strohhut'' (1949), ''

Neues vom Hexer ''Neues vom Hexer'' (lit. "News from the Sorcerer"), aka ''Again the Ringer'', is a 1965 West German black-and-white crime film directed by Alfred Vohrer and starring Heinz Drache. It is part of a series of German screen adaptations of Edgar Wa ...

'' (1965), ''

Gentlemen in White Vests Gentlemen in White Vests (german: Die Herren mit der weißen Weste) is a 1970 German comedy film directed by Wolfgang Staudte and starring Martin Held, Walter Giller and Heinz Erhardt. It was shot at the Spandau Studios and on location aroun ...

'' (1970), and his last, ''Der Unbesiegbare'' (1985).

Selected filmography

* '' Bobby Gets Going'' (1931) * '' The Battle of Bademunde'' (1931) * '' The Black Forest Girl'' (1933) * '' The Royal Waltz'' (1935) * '' Black Roses'' (1935) * '' The Hour of Temptation'' (1936) * ''

I Entrust My Wife to You ''I Entrust My Wife to You'' (german: Ich vertraue Dir meine Frau an) is a 1943 German comedy film directed by Kurt Hoffmann and starring Heinz Rühmann, Adina Mandlová, and Werner Fuetterer. It was shot at the Babelsberg Studios in Berlin. Th ...

'' (1943) * ''

The Court Concert ''The Court Concert'' (german: Das Hofkonzert) is a 1936 German historical romantic comedy film directed by Detlef Sierck (later known as Douglas Sirk), and starring Mártha Eggerth, Johannes Heesters, and Kurt Meisel.Hake p. 142 It was made b ...

'' (1948) * ''

The Blue Straw Hat ''The Blue Straw Hat'' (german: Der blaue Strohhut) is a 1949 West German period comedy film directed by Viktor Tourjansky and starring Margot Hielscher, Karl Schönböck and Mady Rahl.Goble p. 324 It was shot at the Bavaria Studios in Munich and ...

'' (1949) * ''

'' (1965) * ''

'' (1970)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruffin 1901 births 1996 deaths 20th-century German male actors 20th-century German musicians German gay actors German gay musicians German male film actors German male stage actors Homosexual concentration camp survivors German LGBT singers Gay singers Lichtenburg concentration camp survivors Male actors from Munich People convicted under Germany's Paragraph 175 20th-century LGBT people

Career

Selected filmography

See also

References

External links