Eduard von Winterstein

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Eduard von Winterstein (center) as Nathan the Wise , 1960
Eduard von Winterstein (private photo)
Berlin memorial plaque on Hafersteig 38, in Berlin-Biesdorf

Eduard von Winterstein (born August 1, 1871 in Vienna , † July 22, 1961 in Berlin , actually: Eduard Clemens Franz Freiherr von Wangenheim ) was a German film and theater actor .

Life

His parents were the landowner Hugo von Wangenheim (born September 21, 1834 - December 19, 1924) and his second wife, the Hungarian actress Aloysia (Luise) Dub (1832–1904, later: von Wangenheim-Dub). After taking acting lessons from his mother, Winterstein came to the stage in Gera in 1889, where, according to his childhood memories published in 1942, he was able to experience an "undeservedly forgotten" actor, Theodor Lobe . At the opening of the theater in Annaberg on April 2, 1893, he played the title role there in Egmont. “I was born again in Annaberg, had become a completely different person. It was in this little town that I really became an actor. […] This is how the Annaberg period became one of the most beautiful in my profession, ”he wrote in his autobiography. At this theater he also met the actress Minna Mengers, whom he married in 1894 at the Wartburg (son: the actor Gustav von Wangenheim , 1895–1975). The theater in Annaberg-Buchholz today bears the name Eduard-von-Winterstein-Theater .

From 1895 he played at the Schiller Theater , later at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin. When he moved, Winterstein was enthusiastic about his adopted home with the following words:

"Berlin! At that time it was much more than the eagerly awaited paradise that every German actor strived for with all his might. [...] Here in the megacity, a lively theater life flourished. The theater almanac of 1895 names twenty-four theaters for Berlin. […] I and my family had temporarily found accommodation with relatives on Großbeerenstrasse. [...] I was happy that I was to make my debut in Berlin in this role (as Tellheim in Minna von Barnhelm ). "

From 1913, Winterstein also took on film roles in which the burly actor soon became the ideal cast for energetic people of respect such as generals, judges, squires and directors. Unlike in the theater, Winterstein's appearances in films were mostly limited to a few scenes. He appeared in over 160 films and discussed various intercom panels, including even in old age the ring story of Nathan the Wise for the GDR - record label Eterna .

In the time of National Socialism , at the end of the war, he was placed on the God-gifted list by the Reich Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda . In the period after the Second World War , Winterstein was part of the ensemble of the German Theater. There he played the role of Nathan nearly four hundred times.

The family grave in Berlin
The family grave in Berlin

Winterstein made a conscious decision to live in the GDR, a fact that GDR cultural policy took advantage of. After his death, the New Germany dedicated a special page to him, on which a text by Winterstein with the title “Choice of the better” was printed. The final passage reads:

“I experienced a lot of changes: under three emperors, the First World War, the pseudo-democracy of the Second Reich, the Weimar Republic, the terrible twelve years of National Socialism and the complete collapse of the German Reich that it caused, until I breathe a sigh of freedom and Will joined the new progressive spirit and now proudly call me a citizen of the German Democratic Republic and this for the sake of insight, reasons, and choice for the better. "

Winterstein is buried in the family grave at the Friedrichsfelde central cemetery.

meaning

Winterstein has been on stage as an actor for more than seventy years. His work is closely linked to the history of German theater in the 20th century and, in particular, to the history of the German theater in Berlin. He earned his greatest merit as a performer in roles from Lessing's plays.

Winterstein stands for the concept of realistic theater art represented by Max Reinhardt and Otto Brahm .

Filmography (selection)

theatre

Radio plays

Honors

literature

Web links

Commons : Eduard von Winterstein  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Eduard von Winterstein at DEFA Filmsterne
  2. ^ Frank Andert: Rummaged in the archive: From Ratibor to Radebeul - Theodor Lobe. In: Preview & Review; Monthly magazine for Radebeul and the surrounding area. Radebeuler Monatshefte eV, March 2008, accessed on November 4, 2011 .
  3. ↑ Eduard von Winterstein: My life and my time. Half a century of German theater history. Henschel, Berlin 1951; quoted in Neue Berliner Illustrierte , 1970 in the series That was and is Berlin.
  4. ↑ Thomas Kramer (Ed.): Reclams Lexikon des Deutschen Films Reclam, Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-15-010410-6 .
  5. ↑ New Germany . Issue No. 203, dated July 25, 1961, p. 4.
  6. ^ Cooperative of German Stage Members (ed.): German Stage Yearbook 1945/1948 , Verlag Bruno Henschel and Son, Berlin, 1929, page VIII
personal data
SURNAME Winterstein, Eduard von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wangenheim, Eduard Clemens Franz Freiherr von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German film and theater actor
DATE OF BIRTH August 1, 1871
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH July 22, 1961
Place of death Berlin