Peter Morley, OBE (26 June 1924 – 23 June 2016) was a German-born British television producer and documentary filmmaker. As a nine-year-old child, he fled

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 ...

with his elder siblings and moved to England, where he lived until his death. He made several documentaries about

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

, winning several awards, both in Britain and abroad.

Early years

Born Peter Meyer to Jewish parents, Alice and Willy Meyer, a wholesaler and exporter in Germany, he fled 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 in 1933 at the age of nine with his brother Tommy and his sister (future ''Registrar'' of the

Warburg Institute The Warburg Institute is a research institution associated with the University of London in central London, England. A member of the School of Advanced Study, its focus is the study of cultural history and the role of images in culture – cros ...

and

literary executor The literary estate of a deceased author consists mainly of the copyright and other intellectual property rights of published works, including film, translation rights, original manuscripts of published work, unpublished or partially completed wo ...

Arnaldo Momigliano Arnaldo Dante Momigliano (5 September 1908 – 1 September 1987) was an Italian historian of classical antiquity, known for his work in historiography, and characterised by Donald Kagan as "the world's leading student of the writing of history i ...

). His parents had already decided the family should leave Germany, but when Adolf Hitler was made

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of Germany, plans were put into action. His parents learned that the Landschulheim Herrlingen, a progressive, co-educational school in

Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...

was moving to England and he and his siblings were accepted. Arriving in England, he and his siblings attended the

Bunce Court School The Bunce Court School was an independent, private boarding school in the village of Otterden, in Kent, England. It was founded in 1933 by Anna Essinger, who had previously founded a boarding school, Landschulheim Herrlingen in the south of Germa ...

Anthea Gerrie
"Revealed: the wartime school that saved lives"
''

The Jewish Chronicle ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

'' (11 August 2011). Retrieved 29 September 2011 in

Otterden Otterden is a civil parish and village on the Kent Downs in the borough of Maidstone in Kent, England. History Otterden is mentioned in the Domesday Book under Kent in the lands belonging to Adam FitzHubert. The book which was written in 1086 sai ...

, Kent. His first documentary film was about the school.

Anna Essinger Anna Essinger (15 September 1879 – 30 May 1960) was a German Jewish educator. At the age of 20, she went to finish her education in the United States, where she encountered Quakers and was greatly influenced by their attitudes, adopting them fo ...

, a German educator, founded Bunce Court after she realised that the

s had turned Germany into a hostile environment for educating children. Moving quickly and discreetly, she relocated her boarding school in the south of Germany, along with its 66 mostly Jewish pupils, to safety in England. The school became Morley's home until 1941 and his first film was a documentary about Bunce Court.Harold Jackson
"Anna's children"
''The Guardian'' (18 July 2003). Retrieved 3 October 2011 When his brother volunteered for military service, as a "stateless

enemy alien In customary international law, an enemy alien is any native, citizen, denizen or subject of any foreign nation or government with which a domestic nation or government is in conflict and who is liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured and ...

", he was made to change his last name, in case of capture by Germans. His brother arbitrarily picked the name "Morley" and Peter followed suit. The Morley brothers fought with the

8th Hussars The 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1693. It saw service for three centuries including the First and Second World Wars. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in force ...

, a British tank regiment, towards the end of the war. Morley became a naturalised British citizen in June 1947.

Career

In one of Morley's first job interviews trying to break into the

film industry The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production companies, film studios, cinematography, animation, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, post ...

, Sir Arthur Elton told Morley "You will never make a career in the film industry as I cannot detect one spark of talent." Morley faced a problem of needing a union card to get a job, and a job to get a union card. As a result, his first civilian job after the war was as a projectionist, making £5 a week. The job was with the Film Producers Guild, a collective of documentary film companies, and became his introduction to both the process of and people in filmmaking.Peter Morley (2006), p. 41 Using a 16mm

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

Cine-Kodak he had acquired by

barter In trade, barter (derived from ''baretor'') is a system of exchange in which participants in a transaction directly exchange goods or services for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money. Economists distingu ...

in Berlin, July 1945, Morley produced a film about Bunce Court, shortly before the school closed. Called ''Once Upon a Time'', the film won a special commendation from the board of Amateur Cine World, and 50 years later, provided archival footage for U.S. and German documentaries about the 1939

Kindertransport The ''Kindertransport'' (German for "children's transport") was an organised rescue effort of children (but not their parents) from Nazi-controlled territory that took place during the nine months prior to the outbreak of the Second World ...

and related topics. It was not until 1950 that Morley was finally able to break into the industry, but he had to accept a demotion to "tea boy" and his wages, which had risen to £7 a week, were cut to £4. The job did eventually lead to a job in film editing and a union card. Morley became a television producer in England, working for

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

in television's infancy. Programmes were turned around quickly, from inception to production and broadcast. In February 1959, Morley and former

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was na ...

journalist Cyril Bennett interviewed

Paula Hitler Paula Hitler, also known as Paula Wolff and Paula Hitler-Wolff, (26 January 1896 – 1 June 1960) was the younger sister of Adolf Hitler and the last child of Alois Hitler and his third wife, Klara Pölzl. Early life Paula Hitler was born ...

, as well as Hitler's adjutant, chauffeur and pilot, the only interviews they ever gave. At that time, with much of Germany and London still in ruins from the war, neither Morley nor Bennett had ever seen a programme about Hitler."Television Documentaries: ITV's golden boy from a golden age"
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' (14 November 2005). Retrieved 7 October 2011 The interview with Hitler's sister was included in ''Tyranny: The Years of Adolf Hitler'', which was seen by 10 million people. Following that success, Morley made films on a variety of topics, including an original studio production of

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

's opera ''

The Turn of the Screw ''The Turn of the Screw'' is an 1898 horror novella by Henry James which first appeared in serial format in ''Collier's Weekly'' (January 27 – April 16, 1898). In October 1898, it was collected in ''The Two Magics'', published by Macmill ...

'', a film about life in post-war Japan, another about the work of members of the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

and in 1964, a documentary about racially mixed marriages, a very controversial subject at the time. He went on to direct the BAFTA-winning television coverage of the

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

Sir Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...

and the "monumental" television series ''The Life and Times of

Lord Mountbatten Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of German ...

''. In 1978, Morley produced the award-winning '' Women of Courage'' about four women who risked their lives to save others during the Nazi era,Abridged version of Peter Morley's memoirs
(PDF) British Academy of Film and Television Arts "Peter Morley – A Life Rewound" (2010). Retrieved 29 September 2011

Hiltgunt Zassenhaus Hiltgunt Margret Zassenhaus (10 July 1916 – 20 November 2004) was a German philologist who worked as an interpreter in Hamburg, Germany during World War II, and later as a physician in the United States. She was honoured for her efforts to a ...

, a German;

Sigrid Helliesen Lund Sigrid Helliesen Lund (23 February 1892 – 8 December 1987) was a Norwegian peace activist, noted for her humanitarian efforts throughout most of the 20th century, and in particular her resistance to the occupation of Norway during World War ...

, a Norwegian pacifist;

Mary Lindell Gertrude Mary Lindell (11 September 1895 – 8 January 1987), Comtesse de Milleville, code named Marie-Claire and Comtesse de Moncy, was an English woman, a front-line nurse in World War I and a member of the French Resistance in World War II. S ...

, an Englishwoman and Maria Rutkiewicz, a Pole. Also in 1978, he produced '' Kitty - Return to Auschwitz'' about Kitty Hart's return to

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

, which won six awards from different countries. Morley published his autobiography, ''A Life Rewound: Memoirs Of A Freelance Producer And Director'', in book form in November 2010.

Awards

* 1963 '' This Week'' – 1963 BAFTA Current Affairs Award * 1965 ''

Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...

State Funeral'' – BAFTA Outside Broadcasts Award * 1965 ''Churchill State Funeral'' – Cannes Grand Prix * 1969 ''The Life and Times of

'' –

Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...

Silver Medal * 1973 ''The Mighty Continent'' – Columbia Film Festival Award * 1978 ''Women of Courage'' – Sapporo Documentary Award * 1978 ''Kitty – Return to Auschwitz'' – Royal Television Society Documentary Award, Commonwealth Film & Television Award * 1981 ''Kitty – Return to Auschwitz'' – Berlin Prix Futura,Peter Morley (2006), p. 231 Clarion Award – Best US Network ProgramPeter Morley (2006), p. 233 * 1985 ''Kitty – Return to Auschwitz'' – World Television Tokyo Prize

Bibliography

"Peter Morley – A Life Rewound" Part 1
(PDF) British Academy of Film and Television Arts (2006), pp. i–64. Retrieved 29 September 2011
"Peter Morley – A Life Rewound" Part 2
(PDF) British Academy of Film and Television Arts (2006), pp. 65–135. Retrieved 29 September 2011
"Peter Morley – A Life Rewound" Part 3
(PDF) British Academy of Film and Television Arts (2006), pp. 137–201. Retrieved 29 September 2011
"Peter Morley – A Life Rewound" Part 4
(PDF) British Academy of Film and Television Arts (2006), pp. 202–262. Retrieved 29 September 2011

References

External links

Biography of Peter Morley
Screenonline. Retrieved 29 September 2011

British Academy of Film and Television Arts (1 October 2010). Retrieved 29 September 2011 * Richard Welbirg
Biography of Peter Morley
Ham&High, Hampstead and Highgate. (28 April 2011). Retrieved 7 October 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Morley, Peter 1924 births 2016 deaths British filmmakers Officers of the Order of the British Empire Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom People educated at Bunce Court School