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1-50 of 113
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Star of stage in Europe, she became just another "Another Garbo," like Anna Sten and others, whose importation to 1930's Hollywood led to movie stardom nary a whit. Her most often-seen performance is her brief role as the governess to the Empress's very young son in "The Song of Bernadette", who takes what is believed to be miraculous water from the grotto. She eventually went to Eastern Europe and into oblivion.- Sabine Schmitz was born on 14 May 1969 in Adenau, Rhineland-Palatinate, West Germany [now Germany]. She was married to Reck and Klaus Abbelen. She died on 16 March 2021 in Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
- Helmut Kohl earned his place in history by securing the successful reunification of Germany after the collapse of communism. His 16 years in office made him the longest-serving German chancellor since Bismarck and he was once described as the greatest European leader in the second half of the 20th Century. He was a passionate supporter of greater European integration and was one of the main architects of the Maastricht Treaty. Yet the end of his career was marred by economic problems in the old East Germany and a financial scandal within his own CDU party. Helmut Josef Michael Kohl was born on 3 April 1930 into a conservative, Catholic family, His political outlook was shaped by his experiences in his hometown of Ludwigshafen in the Rhineland during World War Two. Because of its huge chemical works, the town was heavily bombed and, at the age of 12, the young Helmut found himself helping to recover the charred bodies of his neighbours from the rubble. What he once described as "the blessing of a late birth" freed him from any taints of Nazism.
After studying politics and law at Heidelberg University, Kohl entered politics in the German federal system where, in the Rhineland Palatinate, he rose to become the youngest Land [federal state] minister-president at the age of 39. He built up a large network of political allies and forced through important changes, among them the law that outlawed denominational schools unless 80% of the parents approved. Three years later, Kohl became national chairman of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the dominant post-war West German political party. He was the CDU's candidate for chancellor in the 1976 election, but was defeated by the Social Democrat/Free Democrat coalition of Helmut Schmidt. Four years later, Kohl looked on as another CDU candidate, and great rival, the Bavarian Prime Minister Franz Josef Strauss, also went down to defeat by Schmidt. A bear of a man, Kohl was often ridiculed for his love of food - one nickname being "Birne" or pear - and for his often clumsy provincial manner. Beyond this, Kohl's critics relentlessly mocked him for what they said was his lacklustre oratory and apparent lack of vision. But many underestimated his ability to wield power, which he managed through a complex, but highly effective, network of patronage and political cronies.
In 1982, after the Free Democrats had left the ruling coalition, he took over as chancellor from Helmut Schmidt, and would go on to win the next four general elections, staying in power for 16 years. The 1980s witnessed a golden age of German economic and political power. Together with his closest ally, France's President Mitterrand, Kohl shaped the federal ideal of the European Union and laid the groundwork for the creation of the single currency. In 1987 there was a groundbreaking visit to West Germany by the East German leader, Erich Honecker. It was part of Kohl's policy of detente with the East, something his party had firmly rejected just 20 years before. Two years later, the Berlin Wall came down and Kohl began the negotiations that would lead to reunification.
Having realised that Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's attempts to reform communism would fail, Kohl persuaded him to withdraw from East Germany, while allowing a reunited Germany to remain a member of Nato. The 350,000 Soviet troops based in the East were sent home, the costs borne by the West German government. On 3 October 1990, East Germany ceased to exist with its five historical states becoming part of the new federal republic. Kohl's drive for reunification was not welcomed by everyone, with Israel's Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir publicly opposing it. While broadly welcomed by the West, there were concerns, notably in Britain and Poland, that a strong unified Germany would come to dominate the continent.
But Kohl was able to convince Gorbachev and US President George HW Bush that a united Germany would not destabilize or threaten Europe in the way Hitler's Germany had done. "George Bush was for me the most important ally on the road to German unity," he said. Kohl also made the political decision to grant East Germans immediate economic parity, even though his central bankers told him of the massive economic dislocation this would incur. They predicted correctly that Germany's economy would be badly affected for a decade. Even so, Helmut Kohl had pulled off a remarkable political coup that might not have occurred had he dithered. But the huge economic repercussions of reunification robbed him of some of the popularity he might have expected, particularly in the former East where, during one visit, he was pelted with eggs. Under his rule, the East suffered an economic collapse, with high rates of poverty and unemployment the norm. And the costs of reunification led to an economic downturn throughout Germany.
He was slow to respond when neo-Nazis burned down the homes of immigrant Turkish families and hostels for refugees from Africa. He sometimes pushed aside the concerns of smaller nations to the east, like the Czechs and the Poles. And he had a strained relationship with the UK and other countries that did not share his vision of a federal Europe. Chief among Kohl's perceived antagonists was Margaret Thatcher. In a revealing volume of autobiography, published in 2005, he alleged that her anger boiled over in December 1989 after she was obliged to sign a communique supporting German reunification
"I will never forget Margaret Thatcher's angry observation: 'We have beaten the Germans twice. Now they're back.'" After he lost power in elections in 1998, it was revealed that Kohl had accepted, for his party, millions of dollars of secret political donations. Despite refusing to name the donors, and despite his destroying much potentially incriminating evidence before he left the chancellery, he was spared possible corruption charges out of respect for his years of leadership. But his reputation was badly damaged. To his opponents, Helmut Kohl could be insensitive and a bully. The suicide of his wife, Hannelore, in July 2001, seemed to exemplify his political and personal eclipse. In 2010, an ailing Helmut Kohl joined Chancellor Angela Merkel in celebrations to mark the 20th anniversary of German reunification, something that will be seen as his greatest achievement. "I have been underestimated for decades," he once said. "I have done very well that way." - Director
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Baldur von Schirach was born on 9 May 1907 in Berlin, Germany. He was a director, known for Before the Fall (2004), Nürnberg NSDAP Parteitag August 1-4, 1929 (1929) and Our Flags Lead Us Forward (1933). He was married to Henrietta von Schirach. He died on 8 August 1974 in Kröv, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Additional Crew
Born in 1912 Adolf Galland became the youngest "General der Jagdflieger" (General of Fighters) in November 1941 at the age of 29. One of Germany's best known Luftwaffe Aces with 104 "kills", Galland was also famous for his alleged remark "give me a staffel of Spitfires". This remark was allegedly made during the actual Battle of Britain in 1940 to Hermann Göring when he questioned the bravery of the escort pilots led by Galland. However Galland denied he ever made the remark. Adolf Galland was seen by Allied pilots as a brave adversary who cared about those around him. He died at age 83 on February 9, 1996.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Bruno Kastner was born on 3 January 1890 in Forst, Brandenburg, Germany. He was an actor and writer, known for Luther (1928), Zwischen zwei Welten (1919) and Das Herz des Casanova (1919). He was married to Ida Wüst. He died on 30 June 1932 in Bad Kreuznach, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Hannelore Kohl (7 March 1933 in Berlin - 5 July 2001) was the first wife of former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. She met him for the first time at a prom in Ludwigshafen, Germany, when she was 15 years old.
She was born in Berlin and was christened Johanna Klara Eleonore Renner. Her father Wilhelm Renner, who joined the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in 1933, was Wehrwirtschaftsführer at Hugo Schneider AG and also headed the employment office that developed the anti-tank weapon Panzerfaust.
Later, she chose the portmanteau "Hannelore" to be used as her first name.
In the days following Germany's defeat in World War II, at the age of 12, Hannelore Kohl was raped by Red Army soldiers and subsequently "thrown out of a window like a sack of potatoes by the Russians." In addition to the obvious psychological impact, the attacks left her with a fractured vertebra and back pain for the rest of her life. In order to help others with similar injuries, in 1983 she founded the Kuratorium ZNS, a foundation that helps those with trauma-induced injuries to the central nervous system, and became its president.
On 5 July 2001, Hannelore was found dead at age 68 in her Ludwigshafen home. She had apparently committed suicide with an overdose of medication, after years of suffering from what she had claimed to be a very rare and painful allergy induced by an earlier penicillin treatment that had forced her to avoid practically all sunlight for years. Hannelore's biographer, Heribert Schwan, cited "medical experts to support his theory that the bizarre light allergy of her later years may have been a psychosomatic reaction to the suppressed traumas of the war." In 2005, the Kuratorium ZNS was renamed ZNS - Hannelore Kohl Stiftung in her honor.
Kohl's collection of German-style cooking recipes, Kulinarische Reise durch Deutsche Länder (Culinary Journey through German Regions), was published in 1996. - Music Department
- Composer
- Writer
Hildegard von Bingen was born on 16 September 1098 in Bermersheim vor der Höhe, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. She was a composer and writer, known for Breath of God, Personal Shopper (2016) and A Beautiful Mind (2001). She died on 17 September 1179 in Bingen am Rhein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Helga Bender was born in 1942 in Kamenz, Saxony, Germany. She was an actress, known for I Like the Girls Who Do (1973), Clattering Chastity Belts (1974) and Laß jucken Kumpel 2. Teil: Das Bullenkloster (1973). She was married to Anton Maria Keim. She died in June 2018 in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
- Judy Marie Bedard was born on 24 January 1963 in Escanaba, Michigan, USA. Judy Marie died on 20 March 2018 in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, USA.
- Willy Brandt was born on 18 December 1913 in Lübeck [now Schleswig-Holstein], Germany. He was married to Brigitte Seebacher, Rut Brandt and Carlota Thorkildsen. He died on 8 October 1992 in Unkel, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
- Ute Kittelberger was born on 7 October 1958 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. She was an actress, known for Zwei im 7. Himmel (1974), Ludwig Ganghofer: Der Edelweißkönig (1975) and Schloß Hubertus (1973). She was married to Thomas Hensel and Bernd Clüver. She died on 4 September 2021 in Wachenheim, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
- Cinematographer
- Sound Department
- Director
Holger Meins is nomally known as a member of the so-called "first generation" of the German left-terrorist group RAF ("Rote Armee Fraktion", "Red Army Fraction"; aka "Baader Meinhof Group"), and he is famous for being the first group member to die in prison due to the physical consequences of his long-lasting hunger-strike. Meins was among the first 2 dozen students of the Berliner Film-und Fernseh-Akademie (Berlin Film and Television Academy) founded in 1966. Already open for communist ideology, he produced a small number of films of which several belong to the "Agitprop" genre (agitation and propaganda), e.g. a filmographic manual on how to produce a Molotov cocktail. His life has been documented by Gerd Conradt in the documentary movie Starbuck Holger Meins (2002).- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Frank Wisbar was born on 9 December 1899 in Tilsit, East Prussia, Germany [now Sovetsk, Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia]. He was a director and producer, known for Stalingrad: Dogs, Do You Want to Live Forever? (1959), Hermine und die sieben Aufrechten (1935) and Strangler of the Swamp (1945). He died on 17 March 1967 in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Norbert Jacques was born on 6 June 1880 in Eich, Luxembourg. He was a writer, known for The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933), Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler (1922) and Doctor Mabuse (2013). He was married to Maria Jäger, Margerite Samuely and Olga Hübner. He died on 15 May 1954 in Koblenz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Rolf Schult was born on 16 April 1927 in Berlin, Germany. He was an actor, known for Der Sturm (1969), Eden End (1977) and Wer zu spät kommt - Das Politbüro erlebt die deutsche Revolution (1990). He died on 13 March 2013 in Horhausen, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Gertrud Bredel was born on 19 April 1920 in Germany. She was an actress, known for Heimat: A Chronicle of Germany (1984). She died on 6 April 1999 in Bad Kreuznach, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
- Actress
- Additional Crew
Friedel Schuster was born on 12 May 1904. She was an actress, known for Das Vergnügen, anständig zu sein (1962), The Only Girl (1933) and Junger Herr für Jenny (1964). She was married to Iván Petrovich. She died on 20 January 1983 in Mendig, Rhineland-Palatinate, West-Germany.- Director
- Cinematographer
- Writer
Phil Jutzi was born on 22 July 1896 in Altleiningen, Palatinate, Bavaria [now Rhineland-Palatinate], Germany. She was a director and cinematographer, known for Die das Licht scheuen...! Aus dem Tagebuch des Meisterdetektivs Ferry White (1919), Kladd und Datsch, die Pechvögel (1926) and Der maskierte Schrecken (1921). She was married to Emmy Philippine. She died on 1 May 1946 in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Fritz Walter was born on 31 October 1920 in Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. He was an actor, known for Das große Spiel (1942), Squirrel (1955) and 1954 FIFA World Cup (1954). He was married to Italia Bartolucci. He died on 17 June 2002 in Enkenbach-Alsenborn, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
- Gerd Grochowski was born on 28 February 1956 in Krefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He was an actor, known for Tristan und Isolde, Azione in tre atti (2007), BBC Proms (2009) and From the House of the Dead (2008). He died on 16 January 2017 in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
- Horst Eckel was born on 8 February 1932 in Vogelbach, Bruchmühlbach-Miesau, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. He was married to Hannelore Eckel. He died on 3 December 2021 in Vogelbach, Bruchmühlbach-Miesau, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
- Theodore Olsen was born in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. He graduated from Rhinelander High School in 1950 and from Stevens Point State College (now the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point) in 1955. Originally, he had planned on being a comic strip artist but eventually found his passion in writing rather than in art. In 1955, after many rewrites, he sold his first book, Valley of the Hunted to Ace Books. It was published in 1956 as Haven of the Hunted. Olsen has written other genres besides westerns, including adventure, gothic, romance and historical. He has written under various pen names as well, such as Christopher Storm, Cass Willoughby, and Joshua Stark. His novel The Stalking Moon was made into a movie The Stalking Moon (1968) and his novel Arrow in the Sun became the movie Soldier Blue (1970) in 1970. He died of a stroke on July 13, 1993 at his home in Rhinelander at the age of 61.
- Production Designer
- Art Director
- Art Department
Karl Schneider was born on 19 July 1916 in Berlin, Germany. He was a production designer and art director, known for Nebelmörder (1964), Interpol (1963) and Quartett zu fünft (1949). He died on 18 December 1996 in Daun, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Ottmar Walter was born on 6 March 1924 in Kaiserslautern, Germany. He was married to Anneliese. He died on 16 June 2013 in Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.