Eugen Gottlob Klöpfer (10 March 1886 in Talheim, Heilbronn – 3 March 1950 in

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...

) was a German actor.

Early life

Born to Karl Klöpfer and his wife Karoline, née Hörsch, Eugen attended the

Realschule Real school (, ) is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), F ...

(secondary school) in

Heilbronn Heilbronn () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, surrounded by Heilbronn (district), Heilbronn District. From the late Middle Ages on, it developed into an important trading centre. At the begi ...

. He subsequently attended the

Lateinschule The Latin school was the grammar school of 14th- to 19th-century Europe, though the latter term was much more common in England. Other terms used include Lateinschule in Germany, or later Gymnasium. Latin schools were also established in Coloni ...

(

Latin School The Latin school was the grammar school of 14th- to 19th-century Europe, though the latter term was much more common in England. Other terms used include Lateinschule in Germany, or later Gymnasium. Latin schools were also established in Colon ...

) in

Lauffen Lauffen am Neckar (, ) or simply Lauffen is a town in the district of Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is on the river Neckar, southwest of Heilbronn. The town is famous as the birthplace of the poet Friedrich Hölderlin and for its q ...

and then the Karlsgymnasium in Heilbronn.

Career

Although he started an apprenticeship with a lumber business in Munich, Klöpfer soon discovered that his passion was the theater. He joined the Theatre Association of Munich and performed at various provincial theaters. In 1905 he was cast in his first role in Landshut, afterwards playing in Ingolstadtand Biel. In 1909 he came to the Volkstheater München (Munich People's Theater). From 1914 to 1918, he performed in Colmar, Erfurt, Bonn and Frankfurt am Main. After the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Klöpfer relocated to Berlin. There he played from 1920 to 1923 at the Deutsches Theater, then at various stages, starting in 1925 in Vienna and Salzburg. Finally, he toured Europe and South America. He played the title role in

Carl Zuckmayer Carl Zuckmayer (27 December 1896 – 18 January 1977) was a German writer and playwright. His older brother was the pedagogue, composer, conductor, and pianist Eduard Zuckmayer. His first two dramas were failures. In 1929, he wrote the script ...

's 1927 play ''

Schinderhannes Johannes Bückler ( 177821 November 1803; ) was a German outlaw who orchestrated one of the most famous crime sprees in German history. He has been nicknamed Schinderhannes and Schinnerhannes () in German and John the Scorcher, John the Flayer ...

''. In the 1920s, he appeared in numerous silent films.

Nazi era

After the Nazi seizure of power, he was promoted to the Presiding Board of the Reich Film Chamber, under Joseph Goebbels, and was also chairman of Goebbels' artist donation. In 1934, Klöpfer was designated as a '' Staatsschauspieler'' (i.e. an actor of national importance). He was also appointed the director of the

Volksbühne The Volksbühne ("People's Theatre") is a theater in Berlin. Located in Berlin's city center Mitte on Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz (Rosa Luxemburg Square) in what was the GDR's capital. It has been called Berlin's most iconic theatre. About The V ...

("People's Theatre") in Berlin. From 1935 he was appointed Vice President of the Ministry of Arts and joined the board of UFA. In 1936 he was appointed general director of Berlin's Theater am Nollendorfplatz. In 1937, Klöpfer joined the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

. In 1940, he played the role of Landschaftskonsulenten Sturm in

Veit Harlan Veit Harlan (22 September 1899 – 13 April 1964) was a German film director and actor. Harlan reached the high point of his career as a director in the Nazi era; most notably his antisemitic film '' Jud Süß'' (1940) makes him controversial. W ...

's anti-Semitic Nazi propaganda film ''

Jud Süß (, ) is a 1940 Nazi German historical drama/propaganda film produced by Terra Film at the behest of Joseph Goebbels. Considered one of the most antisemitic films of all time, the film was directed by Veit Harlan, who co-wrote the screenplay w ...

''. In August 1944, towards the end of the Second World War, Klöpfer was added by Adolf Hitler to the '' Gottbegnadeten-Liste'', a list of important German artists, which exempted him from military service, including service on the

home front Home front is an English language term with analogues in other languages. It is commonly used to describe the civilian populace of the nation at war as an active support system for their military. Civilians are traditionally uninvolved in com ...

Postwar

After 1945, Klöpfer was banned and spent two months in prison in 1948. After a denazification trial, he was exonerated of the charge of complicity in the death of Joachim Gottschalk. In 1949, he began performing again with his own ensemble in Cologne and Neustadt in der Pfalz. He died in 1950 of pneumonia and is buried in the South Cemetery in Wiesbaden.

Filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Klopfer, Eugen 1886 births 1950 deaths People from Heilbronn (district) People from the Kingdom of Württemberg Nazi Party members German male silent film actors German male stage actors 20th-century German male actors Male actors from Baden-Württemberg