Albrecht Becker (14 November 1906 – 22 April 2002) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

production designer In film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Wo ...

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographers As in other ...

, and

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...

who was imprisoned by the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...

regime for the charge of

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...

Personal life

Born in

Thale Thale () is a town in the Harz district in Saxony-Anhalt in central Germany. Located at the steep northeastern rim of the Harz mountain range, it is known for the scenic Bode Gorge stretching above the town centre. Geography The town is situated ...

, Germany, Becker trained as a teacher. At age eighteen, he began a relationship with the Director of the State Archive in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the '' Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzbur ...

, Joseph Friedrich Abert, an older man. The relationship lasted ten years. Through this contact, he met an array of influential and artistic people. He was an actor and production designer. Later in life, he devoted himself completely to photography. While living in

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

and

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

, he showed his first exhibitions and earned his first commissions. He supplemented his income by providing photographs for newspapers and magazines.

Würzburg

Würzburg is a small town in the southern state of

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

. Living in Würzburg in the 1930s was a Jewish wine merchant by the name of Dr Leopold Obermayer, who apparently complained to the local police department that his mail was being opened. The complaint was investigated by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one or ...

, who took the liberty to search Obermayer's home and discovered a number of photographs of young men in his safe. One of these photographs was of Albrecht Becker. Becker was brought in for questioning in 1935 on suspicion of violating

Paragraph 175 Paragraph 175 (known formally a§175 StGB also known as Section 175 in English language, English) was a provision of the Strafgesetzbuch, German Criminal Code from 15 May 1871 to 10 March 1994. It Criminalization of homosexuality, made homosex ...

. Becker reportedly declared: "Everybody knows I'm a homosexual." Both Obermayer and Becker were put on trial. Becker was sentenced to three years in prison at Nürnberg. Obermayer was also convicted of violating Paragraph 175, but as a Jew was sent to

Dachau concentration camp Dachau () was the first concentration camp built by Nazi Germany, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents which consisted of: communists, social democrats, and other dissidents. It is ...

. He was tortured there and sent to

Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp Mauthausen was a Nazi concentration camp on a hill above the market town of Mauthausen, Upper Austria, Mauthausen (roughly east of Linz), Upper Austria. It was the main camp of a group with List of subcamps of Mauthausen, nearly 100 further ...

, where he died. Towards the end of the war as the need to replace losses increased Becker was released in order to serve in the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previou ...

. He served on the Russian front until 1944. Becker spoke of his experiences during the war in the 2000 documentary ''

''.

Last years

During the 1970s, Becker's photography encompassed an eclectic range of subjects including ushers at the

Vienna Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August Si ...

, monks in an Augustinian monastery, Berlin gravediggers, and the ruins of Küstrin. At the center of his work was the human body. He would photograph it either as a whole or part.

Death

Becker died in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

, Germany in 2002, aged 95.

Selected filmography

* '' Not Afraid of Big Animals'' (1953) * ''

The Flower of Hawaii ''The Flower of Hawaii'' (German:''Die Blume von Hawaii'') is an operetta in three acts by Paul Abraham with a libretto by Alfred Grünwald, Fritz Löhner-Beda, and Imre Földes. It premiered on 24 July 1931 at the Neues Theater in Leipzig. The ...

'' (1953) * '' Columbus Discovers Kraehwinkel'' (1954) * '' The False Adam'' (1955) * ''

Ball at the Savoy ''Ball im Savoy'' (''Ball at the Savoy'') is a jazz operetta in three acts and a prelude by Paul Abraham to a libretto by Alfred Grünwald and Fritz Löhner-Beda. It premiered on 23 December 1932 at the Großes Schauspielhaus, Berlin. However, ...

'' (1955) * '' Bandits of the Autobahn'' (1955) * '' Operation Sleeping Bag'' (1955) * '' Music in the Blood'' (1955) * ''

A Heart Returns Home ''A Heart Returns Home'' (german: Ein Herz kehrt heim) is a 1956 West German musical film, musical drama film directed by Eugen York and starring Maximilian Schell, Willy Birgel and Maria Holst.Parish p.41 It was shot at the Wandsbek Studios in H ...

'' (1956) * '' Heart Without Mercy'' (1958) * '' Pension Schöller'' (1960) * ''

Beloved Impostor ''Beloved Impostor'' (German: ''Geliebte Hochstaplerin'') is a 1961 German comedy film directed by Ákos Ráthonyi and starring Nadja Tiller, Walter Giller, Elke Sommer and Dietmar Schönherr. It is based on a play by Jacques Deval. The film's ...

'' (1961)

References

*
Rosa von Praunheim filmography
(in German). Retrieved 19 December 2010.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Becker, Albrecht 1906 births 2002 deaths German gay actors Gay artists German designers German male film actors German male television actors Photographers from Saxony-Anhalt German prisoners and detainees LGBT artists from Germany LGBT actors from Germany People convicted under Germany's Paragraph 175 People from Thale People from the Province of Saxony 20th-century LGBT people