Rosa Albach-Retty (born Rosa Clara Franziska Helene Retty; 26 December 1874 – 26 August 1980) was an Austrian film and stage actress.

Life

Born into a well-known family of Austrian actors, she was the daughter of actor and director Rudolf Retty. Trained by her father, she began her stage career in 1890 at the Deutsches Theater and the

Lessing Theater The Lessing Theater was a theatre in the Mitte district of Berlin, Germany. It opened in 1888 and was destroyed in April 1945 in a bombing raid; its ruins were demolished after World War II. The construction of the theatre, for around 900, ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

, where she successfully performed in the title role of ''

Minna von Barnhelm ''Minna von Barnhelm or the Soldiers' Happiness'' (german: Minna von Barnhelm oder das Soldatenglück, ) is a ''lustspiel'' or comedy by the German author Gotthold Ephraim Lessing. It has five acts, was begun in 1763 and completed in 1767 – ...

''. She was also known for breeches roles in

Little Lord Fauntleroy ''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' is a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was published as a serial in ''St. Nicholas Magazine'' from November 1885 to October 1886, then as a book by Scribner's (the publisher of ''St. Nicholas'') in 1886. The ill ...

and

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as ...

. In 1895, she went to the

Volkstheater The Volkstheater in Vienna (roughly translated as "People's Theatre") was founded in 1889 by request of the citizens of Vienna, amongst them the dramatist Ludwig Anzengruber and the furniture manufacturer Thonet, in order to offer a popular co ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and in 1903 joined the

Burgtheater The Burgtheater (literally:"Castle Theater" but alternatively translated as "(Imperial) Court Theater"), originally known as '' K.K. Theater an der Burg'', then until 1918 as the ''K.K. Hofburgtheater'', is the national theater of Austria in V ...

ensemble, where she received the title of ''Hofschauspielerin'' (Actress of the Court) in 1905. She became an honorary member of the Burgtheater in 1928 and in 1958 she gave her final performance. She was married to the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...

officer Karl Albach; she was the mother of

Wolf Albach-Retty Wolf Albach-Retty (born Wolfgang Helmuth Albert Albach; 28 May 1906 – 21 February 1967) was an Austrian actor. He was the father of Romy Schneider with the German actress Magda Schneider. Career Born as Wolfgang Helmuth Albert Albach in Vienna ...

(1906–1967), an Austrian movie actor who married German movie actress

Magda Schneider Magdalena Maria Schneider (17 May 1909 – 30 July 1996) was a German actress and singer. She was the mother of the actress Romy Schneider. Biography Magdalena Maria Schneider was born in Augsburg, Bavaria, the daughter of a plumber. She att ...

in 1937. She thereby was the grandmother of actress

Romy Schneider Romy Schneider (; born Rosemarie Magdalena Albach; 23 September 1938 – 29 May 1982) was a German-French actress. She began her career in the German genre in the early 1950s when she was 15. From 1955 to 1957, she played the central chara ...

and great-grandmother of actress

Sarah Biasini Sarah Magdalena Biasini (born 21 July 1977) is a French actress, the daughter of actress Romy Schneider and her second husband and former private secretary . Career Biasini studied art history at the Sorbonne in Paris and theater at the Lee Stra ...

. Albach-Retty made her first film appearance in 1930, in Georg Jacoby's ''

Money on the Street ''Money on the Street'' (german: Geld auf der Straße) is a 1930 Austrian-German romantic comedy film directed by Georg Jacoby and starring Lydia Pollman, Georg Alexander, and Franz Schafheitlin. It is notable for the screen debut of Hedy Lama ...

'', and made her last appearance in the 1955 remake '' The Congress Dances'' directed by Franz Antel. She died in 1980 at the age of 105, not long after she had published her autobiography ''So kurz sind 100 Jahre'' for her hundredth birthday. Her grave of honour and that of her son is located in the

Vienna Central Cemetery The Vienna Central Cemetery (german: Wiener Zentralfriedhof) is one of the largest cemeteries in the world by number of interred, and is the most well-known cemetery among Vienna's nearly 50 cemeteries. The cemetery's name is descriptive of its ...

(Group 32 C, Number 50).

Ties to the Nazis

The proximity of Rosa Albach-Retty to the NS Regime is well documented. The annexation of Austria to

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

in 1938 was celebrated by her in the '' Kleine Volks-Zeitung''. Rosa Albach-Retty's membership in the

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

is not proven, but she and her husband were supporting members of the SS. As a celebrity of the public and a self-confessed admirer of

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

, Rosa Albach-Retty was courted by the Nazi cultural policy and included in the so-called "God-privileged List" of the National Socialists. None of this did anything to diminish the esteem in which Albach-Retty was held after the end of the Nazi regime, as the awards she received after 1945 prove. Even a Viennese municipal building was named after her: the Rosa-Albach-Retty-Hof in the 19th district, built in the 1970s. Albachretty grab

Selected filmography

* ''

'' (1930) * ''

Episode An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption. The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Greek term ''epeisodion'' (), meaning th ...

'' (1935) * ''

Maria Ilona ''Maria Ilona'' is a 1939 German historical drama film directed by Géza von Bolváry and starring Paula Wessely, Willy Birgel, and Paul Hörbiger Paul Hörbiger (29 April 1894 – 5 March 1981) was an Austrian theatre and film actor. Life ...

'' (1939) * ''

Hotel Sacher Hotel Sacher is a five-star luxury hotel in Vienna, Austria, facing the Vienna State Opera in the city's central Innere Stadt district. It is famous for the specialty of the house, the Sachertorte, a chocolate cake with apricot filling. There is ...

'' (1939) * '' Whom the Gods Love'' (1942) * ''

Vienna 1910 ''Vienna 1910'' (german: Wien 1910) is a 1943 German biographical film directed by Emerich Walter Emo and starring Rudolf Forster, Heinrich George, and Lil Dagover. It is based on the life of Mayor of Vienna Karl Lueger. Its antisemitic conten ...

'' (1943) * ''

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position '' suo jure'' (in her own right) ...

'' (1951) * '' Adventure in Vienna'' (1952) * '' The Spendthrift'' (1953) * '' The Congress Dances'' (1955) *''Klaus Peter Dencker in conversation with Rosa Albach-Retty. A production of Saarländischer Rundfunk / Television (45 minutes)'' (1979)

Decorations and awards

* 1955:

Grand Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria The Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (german: Ehrenzeichen für Verdienste um die Republik Österreich) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria. It is divided into 15 classes and is the highest award in the A ...

* 1958: Kainz Medal * 1963:

Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art (german: Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian D ...

* 1977:

Grand Decoration of Honour in Silver for Services to the Republic of Austria The Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (german: Ehrenzeichen für Verdienste um die Republik Österreich) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria. It is divided into 15 classes and is the highest award in the A ...

Literatur

* Rosa Albach-Retty: ''So kurz sind hundert Jahre. Erinnerungen.'' Aufgezeichnet von Gertrud Svoboda-Srncik. Herbig, Munich Berlin 1978, * Robert Kittler: ''Rosa Albach-Retty. Ein Leben für das Theater.'' Diss. Univ. Wien, Vienna 1958 * Oliver Rathkolb: ''Führertreu und gottbegnadet. Künstlereliten im Dritten Reich.'' Österreichischer Bundesverlag, Vienna1991, * Robert Teichl: ''Österreicher der Gegenwart. Lexikon schöpferischer und schaffender Zeitgenossen.'' Verlag der Österreichischen Staatsdruckerei, Vienna 1951 * Jürgen Trimborn: ''Romy und ihre Familie''. Droemer, Munich 2008,

References

Österreichische Mediathek The Österreichische Mediathek ("Austrian Mediathek") is the Austrian archive for sound recordings and videos on cultural and contemporary history. It was founded in 1960 as Österreichische Phonothek (Austrian Phonothek) by the Ministry of Educat ...