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Rosa von Praunheim
Holger Bernhard Bruno Mischwitzky (born Holger Radtke; 25 November 1942 – 17 December 2025), known professionally as Rosa von Praunheim, was a German film director, author, producer, professor of directing and one of the most influential and famous queer activists in the German-speaking world. A pioneer of Queer Cinema and gay activist, von Praunheim was a key co-founder of the modern lesbian and gay movement in West Germany and Switzerland. He was an early advocate of AIDS awareness and safer sex. Furthermore, he was one of the most important representatives of the New German Cinema.
His films centre on queer-related themes and strong female characters, are characterized by excess and employ a campy style. They have featured such personalities as Keith Haring, Larry Kramer, Diamanda Galás, William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Judith Malina, Jeff Stryker, Jayne County, Divine, Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, and a row of Warhol superstars. In over 50 years, von Praunheim made more than 150 films (short and feature-length films).
The Museum of Modern Art's website says of his film It Is Not the Homosexual Who Is Perverse, But the Society in Which He Lives: "Rosa von Praunheim's radical treatise on gay culture and politics exploded post-Stonewall activism in the early 1970s, and has internationally redefined queer liberation ever since."
Von Praunheim was born as Holger Radtke in Riga Central Prison in German-occupied Latvia during World War II. His biological mother died in 1946 in the Wittenauer Heilstätten (a psychiatric hospital in Berlin). After his birth, he was given up for adoption. He only found out these facts when his adoptive mother, Gertrud Mischwitzky, told him in 2000. He discovered the fate of his biological mother in 2006 after a lengthy investigation. He documented his quest in his film Two Mothers (2007), which was shown at Tribeca Film Festival.
He received the name Holger Mischwitzky and spent his early years in East Berlin. In 1953, he escaped from East Germany with his family to West Germany, first to the Rhineland, moving later to Frankfurt am Main. After Mischwitzky left secondary school (a Gymnasium in Frankfurt), he studied at Werkkunstschule in Offenbach. Later, he transferred to the Berlin University of the Arts, where he studied fine arts but did not graduate.
In the mid-1960s, he began his career associated with the New German Cinema. He adopted the female stage name Rosa von Praunheim to remember the pink triangle (Rosa Winkel) that homosexuals were forced to wear in Nazi concentration camps, as well as the Frankfurt neighbourhood of Praunheim where he grew up.
Von Praunheim made his debut with experimental and short movies, like Sisters of the Revolution (1969) and Samuel Beckett (1969), with which he quickly became famous. His film Macbeth - Opera by Rosa von Praunheim was shown at documenta V.
He married actress Carla Egerer (aka Carla Aulaulu) in 1969. The marriage ended two years later in divorce. During the same period, he collaborated with camerawoman Elfi Mikesch in a number of film projects. This artistic friendship and collaboration continued.
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Rosa von Praunheim
Holger Bernhard Bruno Mischwitzky (born Holger Radtke; 25 November 1942 – 17 December 2025), known professionally as Rosa von Praunheim, was a German film director, author, producer, professor of directing and one of the most influential and famous queer activists in the German-speaking world. A pioneer of Queer Cinema and gay activist, von Praunheim was a key co-founder of the modern lesbian and gay movement in West Germany and Switzerland. He was an early advocate of AIDS awareness and safer sex. Furthermore, he was one of the most important representatives of the New German Cinema.
His films centre on queer-related themes and strong female characters, are characterized by excess and employ a campy style. They have featured such personalities as Keith Haring, Larry Kramer, Diamanda Galás, William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Judith Malina, Jeff Stryker, Jayne County, Divine, Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, and a row of Warhol superstars. In over 50 years, von Praunheim made more than 150 films (short and feature-length films).
The Museum of Modern Art's website says of his film It Is Not the Homosexual Who Is Perverse, But the Society in Which He Lives: "Rosa von Praunheim's radical treatise on gay culture and politics exploded post-Stonewall activism in the early 1970s, and has internationally redefined queer liberation ever since."
Von Praunheim was born as Holger Radtke in Riga Central Prison in German-occupied Latvia during World War II. His biological mother died in 1946 in the Wittenauer Heilstätten (a psychiatric hospital in Berlin). After his birth, he was given up for adoption. He only found out these facts when his adoptive mother, Gertrud Mischwitzky, told him in 2000. He discovered the fate of his biological mother in 2006 after a lengthy investigation. He documented his quest in his film Two Mothers (2007), which was shown at Tribeca Film Festival.
He received the name Holger Mischwitzky and spent his early years in East Berlin. In 1953, he escaped from East Germany with his family to West Germany, first to the Rhineland, moving later to Frankfurt am Main. After Mischwitzky left secondary school (a Gymnasium in Frankfurt), he studied at Werkkunstschule in Offenbach. Later, he transferred to the Berlin University of the Arts, where he studied fine arts but did not graduate.
In the mid-1960s, he began his career associated with the New German Cinema. He adopted the female stage name Rosa von Praunheim to remember the pink triangle (Rosa Winkel) that homosexuals were forced to wear in Nazi concentration camps, as well as the Frankfurt neighbourhood of Praunheim where he grew up.
Von Praunheim made his debut with experimental and short movies, like Sisters of the Revolution (1969) and Samuel Beckett (1969), with which he quickly became famous. His film Macbeth - Opera by Rosa von Praunheim was shown at documenta V.
He married actress Carla Egerer (aka Carla Aulaulu) in 1969. The marriage ended two years later in divorce. During the same period, he collaborated with camerawoman Elfi Mikesch in a number of film projects. This artistic friendship and collaboration continued.