Oscar Martay (August 22, 1920 in Stowbtsy,

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

- October 31, 1995

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 Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

) was the person who, through his role of a film officer of the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, proposed the idea and used his influence to persuade the American Military to fund the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

(Berlinale) which was founded in 1951.The Berlinale, Berlin’s International Film Festival
german-way.com, retrieved 24/7/2016 During the peak of the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

in 1950, Oscar Martay, who was stationed in

as a film officer of the Information Service Branch of the American High Commissioner for Germany, suggested the foundation of the

. The proposal was put through a committee including members of the

Senate of Berlin The Senate of Berlin (german: Berliner Senat) is the executive body governing the city of Berlin, which at the same time is a States of Germany, state of Germany. According to the the Senate consists of the Governing Mayor of Berlin and up to t ...

and people from the

German film industry The film industry in Germany can be traced back to the late 19th century. German cinema made major technical and artistic contributions to early film, broadcasting and television technology. Babelsberg Studio, Babelsberg became a household synon ...

on October 9, 1950. Through his efforts and influence, the American military administration was persuaded to assist and to give loans for the first years of the Berlinale which held the first festival in June 1951.Berlin International Film Festival
Encyclopædia Britannica, retrieved 24/7/2016 The Berlinale recognized his role and he was one of the people who received the

Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The winn ...

award in 1951. When Martay left the Army, he worked in film production in Germany. His wife Ingeborg founded the film company ''Zenit-Film Ingeborg Martay (Berlin/West)'' in 1957. Oscar Martay worked as a production manager.

Personal life

As a Jewish emigrant, he lived in the US and was sent to Germany after World War II as a film officer. In 1955, Oscar Martay marries Renate Barken (1920—2014), a German actress. He dies in 1995. They have 2 sons, Kenneth Andreas (1956) is an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

, and Manuel (1960) is a social worker living in Germany. Oscar and Ingeborg Martay are buried in the

Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf (Zehlendorf forest cemetery) is a cemetery located in Berlin's Nikolassee district. The cemetery occupies an area of 376,975 m2. An additional Italian war cemetery was created there in 1953. A number of notable people of Ber ...

Berlin

.Rengha Rodewill (Photographer): ''Grave Oscar and Ingeborg Martay''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martay, Oscar 1920 births 1995 deaths Golden Bear winners Polish emigrants to the United States American expatriates in Germany People from Stowbtsy Burials at the Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf