Martin Hellberg

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Martin Hellberg (actually Martin Gottfried Heinrich ; born January 31, 1905 in Dresden - Löbtau ; † October 31, 1999 in Bad Berka ) was a German theater and film director , actor and author .

Life

Childhood, adolescence and theater

Martin Heinrich's father was actually a glazier by profession, but he joined the Catholic-Apostolic Irvingians and as such he became head of the Catholic-Apostolic Congregation in Dresden. When Heinrich / Hellberg was three years old, his father was transferred to Essen , but a year later he was called back to Dresden. This was the only change of residence for a long time. When he was twelve, his mother made it possible for him to attend the court opera on the standing floor . So he became a big fan of the opera , knew everyone involved and collected everything about them. In 1918 he went to the theater for the first time .

At Easter 1919 he finished elementary school and decided to become a machinist in order to later work as a stage technician in the theater. His father signed a three and a half year apprenticeship contract for him at Schladitz-Werke AG. There he also learned technical drawing . In 1920 he appeared in front of an audience for the first time in a fairy tale and passionately played the leading role . In September 1922 he received his apprenticeship certificate as a locksmith and draftsman and from October was employed as a lathe operator and milling cutter in the cinema construction department of the Ernemann-Werke in Dresden-Neustadt . At that time he was attending the Conservatory for Music and Theater as an evening student, mostly hiding it from his father . In November 1923 he was released after participating in a strike at the Ernemann works.

He was accepted as an extra at the Schauspielhaus and worked with Curt Trepte and Alfons Mühlhofer , who barely differed in age . In the 1923/1924 season, his stage presence was expanded to include small stakes. Without extensive acting training , Georg Kiesau took him on. A condition for a permanent commitment was the change of the surname, because "Heinrich" was not unmistakable as a common family name on the one hand and was irritating on the other because of the first name character. The young actor spontaneously decided on "Hellberg", the main character from the novel his father had written. When this requirement was met, he received a contract at the Dresden Schauspielhaus from the 1924/1925 season. His first role as a professional actor was that of Lancelot Gobbo in the Merchant of Venice .

In 1926 Hellberg was a participant in the German premiere of Ben Jonsons Volpone or Der Tanz ums Geld , edited by Stefan Zweig , with Alfred Meyer as "Volpone" and Erich Ponto as "Mosca". Hellberg met Stefan Zweig in this way. In the following years he played leading roles in Shakespeare comedies and Goethe - such as Lessing - dramas. His stage partners included Felix Steinböck , Walther Kottenkamp and the aforementioned Erich Ponto.

With a group of young actors and amateurs, he staged Peter Martin Lampel's revolt outside of the home - even though the state theater staff traditionally had the rule of political passivity. The first pure workers' theater in Dresden, entitled "Rotor", arose from this leisure activity. In the name for a vehicle that was newly invented at the time, there was the word “red”, which was suitable to indicate what the theater troupe wanted to convey, namely left-wing ideas . On the occasion of a mass rally on July 15, 1931, Hellberg filled out the membership form for the KPD . He soon came into close contact with the Dresden agitpro troop “ Rote Raketen ”. Their repertoire included the Friedrich Wolf pieces Cyankali and Die Sailors von Cattaro . On the day before Hitler came to power , Hellberg held a Maxim Gorki celebration in the Dresden Central Theater , which ended with the audience being beaten up by the police. His openly shown membership in the KPD led to his expulsion from the Association of Saxon State Theaters with effect from April 21, 1933.

In August 1934 he worked at the Schillertheater Berlin . In January 1935 a four-month guest performance contract began with the Thalia Theater Hamburg , after which he went to the Komische Oper Berlin and then again to the theater in Behrenstrasse . This was followed by a move to Stuttgart , where he was employed as a speaker and radio play actor in the Reichsender Stuttgart . Afterwards he danced with fellow actors over the small Swabian towns. In the 1940/1941 season he was senior director at the Württemberg State Theater and in the same position in 1941/1942 at the Freiburg im Breisgau municipal theaters .

On August 22, 1942, he was expelled from the Reich Chamber of Culture and thus a general prohibition of professions , which he ignored, so that in some of his life stories you can also find the indication "1943", the year in which he was sent to the Pripetas as a soldier in a punitive battalion . Marsh area on the Eastern Front was commanded.

After the war he first returned to Freiburg, where he wrote his play The New Way and premiered it in September 1945 with himself in one of the leading roles. At the end of 1945, through the mediation of Erich Kästner , Hellberg was given the post of head of the “radio play” department at Radio Munich and that of a director at the Münchner Kammerspiele . As a radio maker, he offered various formats . The highlight was the radio play Der Revisor after Nikolai Gogol with the "Munich actor reservoir" (as Hellberg called it) - thinned out due to the war. At the Kammerspiele he staged the German premiere of Jean Giraudoux 's The Trojan War Doesn't Take Place in 1946 and went on a tour to Saxony . Another guest direction was the Revisor play, which was staged this time in Stuttgart, in the Schauspielhaus des Neues Theater (premiere: February 14, 1947), which Hellberg himself considered "one of the most successful productions of my life". In Munich he founded the "German Drama School Munich". Classes began in the summer of 1946. His entry into the SED is also dated in 1946 . The drama school had to close again in 1948 due to a refusal of credit . His second foundation, the “Dramatic Theater on Odeonsplatz”, was able to keep its theater going at that time, but obstacles were also placed in the way of its continued existence. Hellberg felt himself ousted from Munich for political reasons - he went to the Soviet-occupied zone (SBZ) of the country.

In August 1949 he was senior director and actor at his old place of work at the Dresden State Theater. The Götz von Berlichingen performances are worth mentioning here . At the same time, he supported Berlin theaters: in 1949 he began working for Hans Rodenberg as an actor in what was then the theater in the House of Culture of the Soviet Union , staging the world premiere of Leon Kruczkowski's Die Sonnenbrucks in the Kammerspiele at the Deutsches Theater in October 1949 and found his artistic work crowned in December 1949 with the appointment as general manager of the Dresden State Theater. Thus Martin Hellberg was the first theater director to be appointed by the government of the GDR , which had been founded twelve weeks earlier . The exercise of the office began in 1950. Hellberg (who also gave lectures on Shakespeare elsewhere) made his first year with the organization of the long reverberating "Shakespeare Days" as well as the directorial work on The Glockenspiel des Kremlin (premiere: January 21, 1951) with his 42,000 Visitors to a memorable year in the history of the Dresden Great House. In addition, Emilia Galotti , King Johann and the Sonnenbrucks tried out in Berlin were popular with the public.

In March 1951, Hellberg received an offer from DEFA to act in the Maetzig film Novel of a Young Marriage . That was the beginning of a new creative period as a film director.

The trigger for the end of the management was the criticism of the double employment on the part of the Ministry of Popular Education, Department of Arts and Literature. Around ten years later, on August 1, 1962, Martin Hellberg took over the management of the theater again, namely the general director of the Mecklenburg State Theater in Schwerin . On November 30, 1963, in the middle of the season, he was recalled for repeated disregard of orders and instructions from higher-level agencies.

Filmmaking

From 1951 to 1964 he directed 16 films at DEFA. His first work The Condemned Village , for which Kurt and Jeanne Stern wrote the book, gained international recognition. For this he received, among other things, the International Peace Prize , which was presented to him by Jorge Amado . Among his politically active films, which today have witnessed the times, were a whole series of classic adaptations .

In the film Lotte in Weimar by director Egon Günther (GDR, 1974/1975) based on the Goethe novel by Thomas Mann , Hellberg played - alongside Lilli Palmer as "Lotte" - the "privy councilor of Goethe '". He embodied the poet prince so credibly that he became his parade role. He slipped into this role twice for the educational television series Mysterious Interview and once for a documentary about Weimar . In 1988 he played his idol in a ZDF film about the Weimar onion market . In the Oscar- winning film Mephisto by director István Szabó (FRG / Austria / Hungary, 1981) he stood alongside Klaus Maria Brandauer in the role of Max Reinhardt in front of the camera. Hellberg's daughters Kerstin and Margrid sing a duet by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy in one scene . Hellberg discovered and promoted Wolf Kaiser , Martin Flörchinger , Rolf Ludwig , Helga Göring , Peter Herden and Ingeborg Ottmann and worked with them on a friendly and familiar basis. Between 1956 and 1958 he passed on his knowledge, his experience and his professional approach to the students of the film school in Potsdam- Babelsberg as head of the department “Directing - Acting in front of the film camera”.

Personal life and age

Martin Hellberg was married to Berta Gurewitsch from 1926 to 1935; she emigrated to Palestine with their son Igael Tumarkin . His youngest son Yon Tumarkin is also active in the film industry. He is a well-known Israeli actor.

After his marriage to Gurewitsch, Hellberg was married to the actress, publicist and dramaturge Traute Richter , with whom he lived until 1960. In 1962 she fled the GDR to West Berlin. Hellberg last lived and worked in Bad Berka near Weimar with his last wife, the singing teacher Sigrid Kürsten Hellberg and daughters. There he also made preparations for a Martin Hellberg archive . In addition to setting up this archive, he wrote his memoirs , which were presented in three volumes, took part in discussion forums and gave lectures on classical literature in schools . Martin Hellberg was a board member of the German Shakespeare Society and an honorary member of the Dresden State Theater . In 1980 he was awarded the Patriotic Order of Merit in gold.

After the film era, he devoted himself to a number of guest productions at theaters, for example at the German National Theater in Weimar and at the Elbe-Elster Theater in Lutherstadt Wittenberg .

Creative philosophy

Hellberg confessed in 1955: “The directing is the conclusion of my life, the highest fulfillment. To wrest a piece of order from what surrounds me, to make a piece of life translucent, transparent, so that the generally applicable law becomes visible - that is directing. ”He found that theater and film are“ not brothers ”because stage direction means To work with the words of the poet while a film director requires narration in pictures. When comparing experiences, he came to the conclusion: “Actually, the film gives me today what the theater failed me. I deeply feel the certainty that what is designed will remain - in contrast to the fleeting work on the stage. ”A year later, he complained about his preferred field of activity“ film ”in addition to interfering with artistic freedom and other systemic difficulties that, contrary to the previously established advantage, films are “ephemera” that would all too quickly fall into oblivion. They would go through the cinemas and then be mothballed in the archives. In addition, the meticulous directorial work and the modern recording techniques do not come into play due to outdated playback techniques. Another year later he formulated the consequence: "For me it is about the overdue re-fixing of the position of the film and the film artist in our society."

Hellberg wrote about theater work in his second volume of memoirs Im Eddy of Truth 1978: “[…] Art is nature to my urge to reveal, filtered through my subjective approach. Our colleagues confirm that you have to be present at the rehearsals to understand this credo. "

Awards

  • 1960: Heinrich Greif Prize, 1st class
  • 1952: National Prize, 1st class for art and literature
  • 1953: World Peace Prize (International Peace Prize of the World Peace Council)
  • 1974: Patriotic Order of Merit in silver
  • 1980: Patriotic Order of Merit in Gold
  • 1984: Karl Marx Order

Filmography (selection)

As a director

As a performer

Theater (selection)

As a director

As an actor

Publications

  • Martin Hellberg: stage and film . Henschelverlag, Berlin 1955.
  • Martin Hellberg: The colorful lie. Memories of an Actor [1905–1933] . Henschel Verlag [2. Edition: Henschelverlag Art and Society], Berlin 1974.
  • Martin Hellberg: In the vortex of truth. Memoirs of a theater man 1933–1951 . Henschelverlag Art and Society, Berlin 1978.
  • Martin Hellberg: With a sharp look. Memories of a Filmmaker 1951–1981 . Henschelverlag Art and Society, Berlin 1982.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Martin Hellberg: The colorful lie. An actor's memories . 1st edition. Henschelverlag, Berlin 1974, origin, p. 37 (in the 2nd edition p. 34).
  2. ↑ Martin Hellberg: The colorful lie. An actor's memories . 1st edition. Henschelverlag, Berlin 1974, family, p. 13 (in the 2nd edition p. 12).
  3. ↑ Martin Hellberg: The colorful lie. An actor's memories . 1st edition. Henschelverlag, Berlin 1974, origin, p. 37 (in the 2nd edition p. 33).
  4. ↑ Martin Hellberg: The colorful lie. An actor's memories . 1st edition. Henschelverlag, Berlin 1974, Umschau, p. 39 f . (in the 2nd edition p. 36 f).
  5. ↑ Martin Hellberg: The colorful lie. An actor's memories . 1st edition. Henschelverlag, Berlin 1974, Umschau, p. 41, 45 (in the 2nd edition, pp. 38, 42).
  6. ↑ Martin Hellberg: The colorful lie. An actor's memories . 1st edition. Henschelverlag, Berlin 1974, Heimat, p. 23 f . (in the 2nd edition p. 21 f).
  7. ↑ Martin Hellberg: The colorful lie. An actor's memories . 1st edition. Henschelverlag, Berlin 1974, Heimat, p. 25 (in the 2nd edition p. 23).
  8. ↑ Martin Hellberg: The colorful lie. An actor's memories . 1st edition. Henschelverlag, Berlin 1974, chap. 1914 , p. 68 ff . (in the 2nd edition p. 63 ff).
  9. ↑ Martin Hellberg: The colorful lie. An actor's memories . 1st edition. Henschelverlag, Berlin 1974, family, p. 14 (in the 2nd edition p. 13).
  10. ↑ Martin Hellberg: The colorful lie. An actor's memories . 1st edition. Henschelverlag, Berlin 1974, Ida, p. 83 (in the 2nd edition p. 78).
  11. ↑ Martin Hellberg: The colorful lie. An actor's memories . 1st edition. Henschelverlag, Berlin 1974, Ida, p. 85 (in the 2nd edition p. 80).
  12. ↑ Martin Hellberg: The colorful lie. An actor's memories . 1st edition. Henschelverlag, Berlin 1974, Ida, p. 89 (in the 2nd edition, p. 84).
  13. ↑ Martin Hellberg: The colorful lie. An actor's memories . 1st edition. Henschelverlag, Berlin 1974, The Jump, p. 96 (in the 2nd edition, p. 90).
  14. ↑ Martin Hellberg: The colorful lie. An actor's memories . 1st edition. Henschelverlag, Berlin 1974, Neue Ufer, p. 114, 119 (in the 2nd edition pp. 107, 112).
  15. ↑ Martin Hellberg: The colorful lie. An actor's memories . 1st edition. Henschelverlag, Berlin 1974, Dämmer, p. 121 (in the 2nd edition p. 114).
  16. ↑ a b Martin Hellberg: The colorful lie. An actor's memories . 1st edition. Henschelverlag, Berlin 1974, Frei Wasser, p. 138 (in the 2nd edition p. 131).
  17. ↑ Martin Hellberg: The colorful lie. An actor's memories . 1st edition. Henschelverlag, Berlin 1974, gate and door, p. 133 f . (in the 2nd edition p. 126 f).
  18. ↑ Martin Hellberg: The colorful lie. An actor's memories . 1st edition. Henschelverlag, Berlin 1974, We, p. 197 f . (in the 2nd edition p. 187 f).
  19. ↑ a b c d e f Heinz Haufe: A piece of theater history. Martin Hellberg on his 75th birthday . In: The morning . Berlin January 31, 1980.
  20. ^ A b Martin Hellberg: Linked to the workers' theater . In: Sunday . No. 2/1963 , January 13, 1963, pp. 5 .
  21. ↑ a b Angelika Griebner: The love of the theater has not let go of him to this day. Martin Hellberg was confirmed as the first theater director by the GDR government in 1949 . In: Junge Welt . March 20, 1979, The first ... theater director.
  22. ↑ Martin Hellberg: In the vortex of truth. Memoirs of a theater man from 1933 to 1951 . 1st edition. Henschelverlag Art and Society, Berlin 1978, alone, p. 118 f .
  23. ↑ Martin Hellberg: In the vortex of truth. Memoirs of a theater man from 1933 to 1951 . 1st edition. Henschelverlag Art and Society, Berlin 1978, alone, p. 120 ff .
  24. ↑ Martin Hellberg: In the vortex of truth. Memoirs of a theater man from 1933 to 1951 . 1st edition. Henschelverlag Art and Society, Berlin 1978, Schuld, p. 130 .
  25. ↑ Martin Hellberg: In the vortex of truth. Memoirs of a theater man from 1933 to 1951 . 1st edition. Henschelverlag Art and Society, Berlin 1978, Friends, p. 150 .
  26. ↑ Martin Hellberg: In the vortex of truth. Memoirs of a theater man from 1933 to 1951 . 1st edition. Henschelverlag Art and Society, Berlin 1978, clouds, p. 154 f .
  27. ↑ Martin Hellberg: In the vortex of truth. Memoirs of a theater man from 1933 to 1951 . 1st edition. Henschelverlag Art and Society, Berlin 1978, gray, p. 167 f .
  28. ↑ Martin Hellberg: In the vortex of truth. Memoirs of a theater man from 1933 to 1951 . 1st edition. Henschelverlag Art and Society, Berlin 1978, gray, p. 164 .
  29. ↑ Martin Hellberg: In the vortex of truth. Memoirs of a theater man from 1933 to 1951 . 1st edition. Henschelverlag Art and Society, Berlin 1978, gray, p. 173 .
  30. ↑ Martin Hellberg: In the vortex of truth. Memoirs of a theater man from 1933 to 1951 . 1st edition. Henschelverlag Art and Society, Berlin 1978, Nemesis, p. 206 ff .
  31. ↑ Horst Knietzsch : Arguable humanist and respected head of fire. Director and actor Martin Hellberg is 85 . In: New Germany . Socialist daily newspaper . No. 26/1990 , January 31, 1990, Kultur, pp. 4 .
  32. ↑ Prof. Martin Hellberg answered questions. Forum with young people interested in theater in the post . In: The Democrat . Schwerin August 21, 1962.
  33. ↑ Martin Hellberg: In the vortex of truth. Memoirs of a theater man from 1933 to 1951 . 1st edition. Henschelverlag Art and Society, Berlin 1978, October 7, 1949, p. 233 .
  34. ↑ Martin Hellberg: In the vortex of truth. Memoirs of a theater man from 1933 to 1951 . 1st edition. Henschelverlag Art and Society, Berlin 1978, Munich, p. 41 f .
  35. ↑ a b c M.K .: Conclusion of his life: Director. National and World Peace Prize laureate Martin Hellberg is celebrating his 50th birthday today . In: BZ in the evening . January 31, 1955.
  36. ↑ a b Hellberg, Martin (real .: Martin Heinrich). In: bundesstiftung-aufverarbeitung.de . Retrieved on November 26, 2019 (Biographical information on this page from the handbook “ Who was who in the GDR? ” Published by Ch. Links Verlag, Berlin).
  37. ↑ Martin Hellberg: In the vortex of truth. Memoirs of a theater man from 1933 to 1951 . 1st edition. Henschelverlag Art and Society, Berlin 1978, cold, p. 68 .
  38. ↑ Dieter Zumpe: Awakening theater life under the sign of change . In: Sächsisches Tageblatt . Dresden April 13th 1975, 30th anniversary of the liberation.
  39. ↑ Volker Müller : A contentious mime, always true to his ideals. Prof. Martin Hellberg is 80 years old today . In: New Germany. Organ of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany . No. 26/85 , January 31, 1985, Culture / Science, p. 4 .
  40. ↑ Martin Hellberg: In the vortex of truth. Memoirs of a theater man from 1933 to 1951 . 1st edition. Henschelverlag Art and Society, Berlin 1978, Aufwind, p. 225 .
  41. ↑ Martin Hellberg: "Is the theater a mummy?" In: Junge Welt . Berlin April 19, 1956.
  42. ↑ Martin Hellberg: In the vortex of truth. Memoirs of a theater man from 1933 to 1951 . 1st edition. Henschelverlag Art and Society, Berlin 1978, October 7, 1949, p. 234 .
  43. ↑ Martin Hellberg: In the vortex of truth. Memoirs of a theater man from 1933 to 1951 . 1st edition. Henschelverlag Art and Society, Berlin 1978, decision, p. 308 .
  44. ↑ Martin Hellberg: In the vortex of truth. Memoirs of a theater man from 1933 to 1951 . 1st edition. Henschelverlag Art and Society, Berlin 1978, decision, p. 309 .
  45. ↑ Martin Hellberg: In the vortex of truth. Memoirs of a theater man from 1933 to 1951 . 1st edition. Henschelverlag Art and Society, Berlin 1978, Fundament, p. 350 ff .
  46. ↑ Martin Hellberg: In the vortex of truth. Memoirs of a theater man from 1933 to 1951 . 1st edition. Henschelverlag Art and Society, Berlin 1978, Theaterverbunden ?, p. 382 f .
  47. ↑ Martin Hellberg: In the vortex of truth. Memoirs of a theater man from 1933 to 1951 . 1st edition. Henschelverlag Art and Society, Berlin 1978, Theaterverbunden ?, p. 383 .
  48. ↑ Martin Hellberg: In the vortex of truth. Memoirs of a theater man from 1933 to 1951 . 1st edition. Henschelverlag Art and Society, Berlin 1978, Unverhofft, p. 402 ff .
  49. ↑ a b (IWE): Dismissed without notice. Schwerin general manager dismissed due to insubordination . In: Der Tagesspiegel . Berlin December 5th, 1963.
  50. ^ A b c Heinz Kersten: In Schwerin, calm is the first duty of artists. Martin Hellberg, uncomfortable on stage and in the studio . In: Der Tagesspiegel . Berlin December 12, 1963.
  51. ↑ Gregor Rossmann: We like to listen to him further. Professor Martin Hellberg on his 80th birthday . In: Märkische Volksstimme . Potsdam January 31, 1985.
  52. ↑ E [mil] Ulischberger: On the road on behalf of the reader: With the Hellbergs on the Adelsberg. Conversation with Martin Hellberg, author of our current sequel “In the vortex of truth” . In: Saxon Latest News . Dresden October 4th 1978, culture and society.
  53. ↑ Thomas Meyer : A life like on a roller coaster . In: Leipziger Volkszeitung . No. 26/1995 , January 31, 1995, pp. 8 .
  54. ↑ a b Freda Frotschag: Prof. Martin Hellberg gives Goethe in "Lotte in Weimar": The role that is his crown. Azet talk with the director, actor and writer in his home in Bad Berka . In: Azet evening newspaper . Leipzig June 7th 1975.
  55. ↑ BH: Our theater will be currently! Democrat spoke to Schwerin's general manager Professor Hellberg . In: The Democrat . Schwerin November 13, 1962.
  56. ↑ Albert Wilkening : The art and the fight conspired. Martin Hellberg turned 70 on January 31st . In: New Germany. Organ of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany . No. 28/1975 , February 1, 1975, Kultur, p. 4 .
  57. ↑ a b Text accompanying the radio play Diary (RIAS Berlin, 1963) on www.dradio.de
  58. ↑ Yon Tumarkin Biography . In: Imdb.com . Retrieved June 21, 2014.
  59. ↑ Split. Personajes . In: boomerang.com.br . Archived from the original on May 20, 2014. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved June 21, 2014. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.boomerang.com.br
  60. ↑ High awards given . In: New Germany . No. 57/1980 , March 7, 1980, News and Commentaries, pp. 2 .
  61. ^ Georg Antosch: Calendar sheet for Martin Hellberg . In: New Time . Central organ of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany. No. 26/1985 , January 31, 1985, From cultural life, p. 4 .
  62. ↑ Me .: "Why still film murder?" Martin Hellberg spoke about problems and shortcomings in our film . In: New Time . Daily newspaper of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany . No. 135/1956 , June 13, 1956, pp. 4 .
  63. ↑ Dorothea Uebrig: Competition with clothes . In: weekly mail . No. 42/1957 , October 16, 1957, With whom are you, "Masters of Culture"? The Wochenpost visited well-known artists and had in-depth discussions with them. [...], p. 4 .
  64. ↑ Martin Hellberg: In the vortex of truth. Memoirs of a theater man from 1933 to 1951 . 1st edition. Henschelverlag Art and Society, Berlin 1978, Fundament, p. 355 .
personal data
SURNAME Hellberg, Martin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Heinrich, Martin (real name); Heinrich, Martin Gottfried (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German director, actor and author
DATE OF BIRTH January 31, 1905
PLACE OF BIRTH Dresden
DATE OF DEATH October 31, 1999
Place of death Bad Berka