Fritz Diez

Fritz Diez ( born February 27, 1901 in Meiningen, † 19 October 1979 in Weimar ) was a German actor and director. He has made several feature films Adolf Hitler dar.

Life

Fritz Diez left after the eighth grade elementary school and wanted to become an engineer. First he made in a gas plant electrician apprenticeship, after which he worked as an electrician, plumber and house blacksmith. The theater lovers urged for more than just watching, he sneaked out once in homemade costumes in the supernumeraries one. About some " official" extras roles he slipped into 1919 dreamed profession. To put it walk he took in Meiningen acting classes at the Academy of Dramatic Arts and made his debut there as well in 1920 even as a drama student and 1922 finally. Ensemble member on stage In the following 13 years he played at theaters in Eisenach, Hanau, Flensburg, Bremerhaven, Wurzburg, Baden -Baden and Eger. The observation of a beating attack of two Reichswehr soldiers against a defenseless made ​​him think in Eisenach in 1924 for the first time on the political situation. In 1928, he sympathized with the Communist Party, in 1932 he joined the party. On March 6, 1933, he was the undoing, because due to the new balance of power in the country, he lost from one day to the other his job. In the following years he experienced a gauntlet with denunciations, arrests and interrogations. In 1935 he emigrated to Switzerland, where he played at the theater in St. Gallen and politically operated what actually - was forbidden - under the threat of expulsion.

In 1946 he returned to Meiningen, where he was involved in the constitution of the culture of the GDR, post took over him, and as an actor, director and senior director, from 1947 to 1954 as a theater director, worked at the Meiningen Theatre. Here he made a remarkable reconstruction work that culminated in co- drums of labor plus Scrape up of funds for a revolving stage. Subsequently, he was appointed as General Director of the State Theatre to Halle. The continued high workload his health had to pay tribute and consequently he give up this function. Since 1958 he was an actor and director in Dresden, the Deutsches Theater in Berlin and at the Volksbühne Berlin. In addition, he gave many guest performances at other theaters.

In 1952, he debuted at the DEFA with a starring role in the film shadow over the islands. He worked mainly in propaganda films for cinema and television, and quickly established himself as an outstanding character actor. He became internationally known in his signature role: In several DEFA films, but also in foreign productions Diez Adolf Hitler embodied so memorably that subsequent performers have to be measured by this performance.

He was married to actress Martha Beschort -Diez, whom he had met in Eisenach. Both spent their retirement years in the Weimar - Marie Seebach pen, a retirement home for entertainers. But the home side did not mean Tranquility by professional task; Fritz Diez stood still for guest roles, most recently as a butler in Dürrenmatt's The Visit of the Old Lady, and talking to everyone who invited him to disposal. Shortly before his death, he was appointed on October 7, 1979 Honorary Citizen of the town of Meiningen.

Filmography (selection)

Awards

• Patriotic Order of Merit in Silver ( 1971)
• Honorary citizenship of the city of Meiningen (1979 )