Horst Birr

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Horst Birr (born February 17, 1912 in Leipzig ; died October 18, 1943 in Berlin ) was a German actor. His partner was Hertha Jische (Jicha) (born June 3, 1912 in Hamburg ; died around October 18, 1943 in Berlin ), a cabaret artist.

Life

Horst Birr completed his acting training in Leipzig from June 1, 1929. In 1930/1931 he was engaged at the Old Theater in Leipzig and from 1931–1933 at the Saxon State Theater in Leipzig. In October 1932, Birr joined the NSDAP . In addition to his acting, Birr also worked as a comedian in theaters and cabarets. In 1933 he moved to Berlin. On June 18, Birr was accepted as a member of the Reichsfilmkammer , a department of the Reichskulturkammer . In the Third Reich, membership in the Reich Chamber of Culture was a prerequisite for working in film and theater. From 1934 to 1941 Birr took part in 40 films, always in distinctive little supporting roles , in which he embodied pupils, servants, small employees and later also soldiers - young men who, despite the insignificance of their social position, are pragmatic, cheerful and cheeky, Keep your mouthful.

In addition to his film work, Birr continued to work at Berlin theaters: in 1933/1934 he played at the Varietétheater Plaza, 1935/1936 he played at the theater and comedy on Kurfürstendamm , 1939/40 at the Renaissance Theater , 1941/1942 with the guest performance director Horst van Diemen . Around 1942 Birr was drafted into the Wehrmacht and, after a short period of service as an anti-aircraft soldier, was released to look after the Wehrmacht. In 1943/1944 he was engaged at the Berlin soldiers' stage . According to exile and theater researcher Frithjof Trapp, who got his information partly from documents of the Berlin Document Center , Birr was most recently head of the "Bunker Group Horst Birr". With this and his partner, who then lived in Worpswede, Birr was obliged to tour Norway from October 2 to December 1, 1943. In the middle of October, Birr received the order to return to Berlin. The Gestapo had found out that Birr was a “ half-Jew ”. It was said that he had "" fraudulently concealed this and thereby gained entry into the Reich Chamber of Culture and the NSDAP ". When Birr returned to Berlin with his ensemble (his ensemble returned on October 16), he did not report to his military service as prescribed. On October 15, 1943, he wrote a farewell letter. This contained the following messages:

“I am now sitting in my apartment after being called back from the tour. The Gestapo claims that I am half-Jewish. I'm supposed to go to a court martial about it. I am innocent, but in order to avoid all these things, I will beat these gentlemen. "

On October 18, Birr and his partner committed suicide. According to the police, Hertha Jische was found alive and died shortly afterwards in a Berlin hospital.

Filmography

literature

  • Frithjof Trapp u. a. (Ed.): Handbook of the German-speaking Exile Theater 1933-1945. Volume 2. Biographical Lexicon of Theater Artists. Partial band AK. Saur, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-598-11375-7 , p. 97.
  • Kay Less : The film's great personal dictionary . The actors, directors, cameramen, producers, composers, screenwriters, film architects, outfitters, costume designers, editors, sound engineers, make-up artists and special effects designers of the 20th century. Volume 1: A - C. Erik Aaes - Jack Carson. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-89602-340-3 , p. 400.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kay Less : The film's great personal dictionary . The actors, directors, cameramen, producers, composers, screenwriters, film architects, outfitters, costume designers, editors, sound engineers, make-up artists and special effects designers of the 20th century. Volume 1: A - C. Erik Aaes - Jack Carson. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-89602-340-3 , p. 400.
  2. ↑ Frithjof Trapp et al. a. (Ed.): Handbook of the German-speaking Exile Theater 1933-1945. Volume 2. Biographical Lexicon of Theater Artists. Partial band AK. Saur, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-598-11375-7 , p. 97.
  3. ↑ Frithjof Trapp et al. a. (Ed.): Handbook of the German-speaking Exile Theater 1933-1945. Volume 2. Biographical Lexicon of Theater Artists. Partial band AK. Saur, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-598-11375-7 , p. 97.
personal data
SURNAME Birr, Horst
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German actor
DATE OF BIRTH February 17, 1912
PLACE OF BIRTH Leipzig
DATE OF DEATH October 18, 1943
Place of death Norway