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Hans Behrendt
Hans Behrendt
Hans Behrendt
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Hans Behrendt (28 September 1889 – 1942) was a German-Jewish[1] actor, screenwriter and film director.[2] He was murdered by the Nazis in Auschwitz concentration camp in 1942.[3]

Key Information

Selected filmography

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Screenwriter

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Director

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Actor

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References

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Hans Behrendt

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''Hans Behrendt'' is a German-Jewish film director, screenwriter, and actor known for his prolific contributions to Weimar-era German cinema and his tragic fate as a victim of the Holocaust. Born in Berlin on September 28, 1889, he studied literature before training at the Max-Reinhardt acting school and making his stage debut in 1911. He entered the film industry after World War I, debuting as an actor and co-screenwriter in 1920 with films such as Katharina die Grosse, and began directing in 1923. Behrendt directed and wrote numerous silent and early sound films in Germany during the 1920s and early 1930s, including notable works such as Alt Heidelberg (1923), Prinz Louis Ferdinand (1927), Die Tänzerin von Sanssouci (1932), and Gloria (1931). He also directed films in France during the same period, such as Mon béguin (1929) and L'Inconstante (1931). Following the Nazi rise to power in 1933 and the dismissal of Jewish film professionals, he emigrated to Spain due to his Jewish heritage, where he directed Doña Francisquita (1934) and other projects for Ibérica Films. In 1936, Behrendt moved to Austria, where he worked as a stage actor at the Theater in der Josefstadt and directed his final film, Fräulein Lilli (1936). After the Anschluss in 1938, he fled to Belgium but was arrested in 1940, interned in French camps, and deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. He was murdered there in 1942.

Early life

Birth and family background

Hans Behrendt was born on 28 September 1889 in Berlin, German Empire. Behrendt grew up in Berlin as part of a Jewish family in the German Empire.

Education and theater training

Hans Behrendt studied literature before receiving his theater training at the Max Reinhardt acting school in Berlin, where he was introduced to the profession. He made his theater debut in 1911 following this training.

Early career

Theater debut and World War I service

Hans Behrendt made his stage debut in 1911 after training at the Max Reinhardt acting school. In the following years, he secured engagements at various theaters, developing his craft as an actor on the professional stage. His early theater career was interrupted by military service in the German armed forces during World War I. After the conclusion of the war, Behrendt returned to civilian life and soon transitioned to the film industry.

Entry into film as actor and screenwriter

Hans Behrendt transitioned into the film industry shortly after World War I, making his debut appearance as an actor in 1920. He quickly secured early acting roles in German silent films, including Mary Magdalene (1920), The Island of the Lost (1921), and A Day on Mars (1921). These performances marked his initial foray into cinema, though his acting credits remained relatively limited compared to his growing involvement in screenwriting. Behrendt began working as a screenwriter in 1920, contributing to Catherine the Great (1920). His early scripts demonstrated an aptitude for dramatic storytelling in the silent era, helping establish him within the Weimar film scene. Behrendt's collaboration with screenwriter Bobby E. Lüthge began in the early 1920s, laying the foundation for several joint projects in the coming years.

Film career

Screenwriting collaborations and notable scripts

Hans Behrendt contributed to several prominent scripts in German silent cinema during the early Weimar Republic period. His significant screenwriting work included the Fridericus Rex tetralogy (1922–1923), a four-part biographical series chronicling the life of Frederick the Great that helped popularize historical Prussian themes in film. Behrendt received screenplay credit for each installment of the series: Fridericus Rex – 1. Teil: Sturm und Drang (1922), Fridericus Rex – 2. Teil: Vater und Sohn (1922), Fridericus Rex – 3. Teil: Sanssouci (1923), and Fridericus Rex – 4. Teil: Schicksalswende (1923). Among his other notable screenwriting works from this era are Fräulein Raffke (1923), The Mill at Sanssouci (1926), and Potsdam (1927), which reflected the diverse genres and historical interests prevalent in Weimar-era production. In 1923, Behrendt transitioned into directing while maintaining his screenwriting output.

Directing in the Weimar Republic (1923–1933)

Hans Behrendt made his directorial debut with Alt Heidelberg (also known as Old Heidelberg, 1923), a silent drama adapted from Wilhelm Meyer-Förster's popular play about a prince's student life and romance. He became a prolific director in the Weimar Republic, helming numerous feature films through 1933, many of them literary adaptations or comedies that reflected the era's diverse cinematic output. During this period, he also directed French-language films, including Mon béguin (1929) and L'Inconstante (1931, French version of Gloria). Notable among these were the historical drama Prinz Louis Ferdinand (1927), the comedy Die Hose (The Trousers, 1927) based on Carl Sternheim's play about a petty official's wife's mishap and its consequences, Dyckerpotts Erben (Dyckerpotts' Heirs, 1928), the romantic comedy Kohlhiesel's Daughters (1930) adapted from Hanns Kräly's play, the French Revolution drama Danton (1931) focusing on the title character's downfall, and the musical Grün ist die Heide (The Heath Is Green, 1932) drawn from Hermann Löns' novel. Behrendt continued screenwriting alongside his directing work during this prolific period.

Directing in exile (1934–1936)

After emigrating from Germany due to his Jewish ancestry and the Nazi regime's antisemitic policies, Hans Behrendt continued his directing career in exile in Spain. In 1934 he directed Doña Francisquita for Ibérica Films in Barcelona, a musical comedy adaptation of Amadeo Vives' 1923 zarzuela that featured Spanish actors but relied heavily on German Jewish émigré crew members who had fled persecution and lost positions in Germany. The technical team—including cinematographer Enrique Guerner (Henrik Gaertner), composer Max Winterfeld, screenwriter Hans Jacoby, and art director Herbert Phillips—consisted almost entirely of such exiles, reflecting the broader pattern of German Jewish filmmakers finding temporary refuge in Barcelona's film industry through companies like Ibérica Films. Produced under the difficult conditions of émigré life, the film achieved notable success in Spain, ranking third among domestic releases in distribution length that year and earning praise for its lush visual style, mobile camera work, and expressive compositions that some critics found distinctively "German" within a Spanish zarzuela framework. In 1936 Behrendt relocated to Austria, where he directed his last completed film, Fräulein Lilli, in Vienna. During this period he also resumed stage acting at the Theater in der Josefstadt.

Personal life

Marriage and personal relationships

Hans Behrendt was married to Ruth Gräfin Vitzthum von Eckstädt, who worked as a film assistant at UFA. Following the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, the couple fled Germany together and emigrated to Spain due to Behrendt's Jewish background. No further details about the marriage, such as the date or place of wedding, or any children, are documented in available sources. No other personal relationships are recorded.

Persecution and death

Nazi rise to power and emigration

The Nazi rise to power in January 1933 initiated a swift Nazification of the German film industry, with anti-Semitic policies and laws increasingly targeting Jewish professionals, including exclusion from professional organizations and production opportunities. As a Jewish filmmaker, Hans Behrendt faced direct persecution under these measures, which aimed to purge Jews from cultural sectors. Despite the deteriorating conditions, Behrendt directed several films in Germany in 1933 before emigrating. The escalating Jewish persecution and anti-Jewish laws in the film industry forced Behrendt to leave Germany in 1933 or 1934. He subsequently made exile films in Spain and Austria.

Flight to Belgium and arrest

In 1936, Hans Behrendt relocated to Vienna, Austria, where he continued his career by working as a stage actor at the Theater in der Josefstadt and directing his final film, Fräulein Lilli (1936). This move followed his earlier departure from Germany due to Nazi persecution on account of his Jewish ancestry, which had initially taken him to Spain. With the Anschluss of March 1938 incorporating Austria into Nazi Germany, Behrendt was forced to emigrate once more and fled to Brussels, Belgium, around the time of the annexation. In May 1940, shortly after the German invasion of Belgium began on 10 May, Behrendt was arrested by the Belgian police as a potential enemy alien. This arrest was part of a broader Belgian policy targeting German and Austrian nationals, including many Jewish émigrés, amid fears of fifth-column activity during the invasion.

Internment, deportation, and death in Auschwitz

After the German occupation of Belgium, Hans Behrendt was transferred to Vichy French control and interned in several camps in unoccupied France. He was eventually deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in 1942. He was murdered by the Nazis in the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1942; the exact date of his death is unknown.
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