Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Busch (22 January 1900 – 8 June 1980) was a German singer and actor. He is best known for singing German socialist songs and was active during the Civil War in Spain and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Biography

Busch was born to a

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

worker family. He started in life as a shipyard worker before he decided to make use of his acting and singing talent. Busch first rose to prominence as an interpreter of political songs, particularly those of

Kurt Tucholsky Kurt Tucholsky (; 9 January 1890 – 21 December 1935) was a German journalist, satire, satirist, and writer. He also wrote under the pseudonyms Kaspar Hauser (after the Kaspar Hauser, historical figure), Peter Panter, Theobald Tiger and Ignaz Wr ...

, in the Berlin

Kabarett Kabarett (; from French ''cabaret'' = tavern) is satirical revue, a form of cabaret which was developed in France by Rodolphe Salis in 1881 as the ''cabaret artistique''. It was named Le Chat Noir and was centered on political events and satire. ...

scene of the 1920s. He starred in the original 1928 production of

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

's ''

The Threepenny Opera ''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a 1928 German "play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, '' The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François V ...

'', as well as the subsequent 1931 film by

Georg Wilhelm Pabst Georg Wilhelm Pabst (25 August 1885 – 29 May 1967) was an Austrian film director and screenwriter. He started as an actor and theater director, before becoming one of the most influential German-language filmmakers during the Weimar Republic. ...

. He also appeared in the movie '' Kuhle Wampe'', singing Solidaritätslied. A lifelong

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

, Busch fled

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

in 1933, accompanied by his wife, Eva Busch, and with the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, 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 F ...

on his heels, initially settling in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. By 1938 they had divorced, without acrimony, as their lives diverged. Eva settled in Paris while Ernst initially made his home in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

where he worked with Gustav von Wangenheim on the 1935 film "Kämpfer" (''"Fighters"''). In 1937 he joined the

International Brigades The International Brigades () were soldiers recruited and organized by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front (Spain), Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The International Bri ...

to fight against the

nationalists Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, Id ...

in Spain. His wartime songs were then recorded and broadcast by Radio Barcelona and Radio Madrid. After the Spanish Republic fell to General Franco, Busch migrated to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

where he was interned during the German occupation and later imprisoned in Camp Gurs, France and Berlin. Freed by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

in 1945, he settled in

East Berlin East Berlin (; ) was the partially recognised capital city, capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French se ...

, where he acted in the first play to be produced in the American-occupied zone,

Robert Ardrey Robert Ardrey (October 16, 1908 – January 14, 1980) was an American playwright, screenwriter and science writing, science writer perhaps best known for ''The Territorial Imperative'' (1966). After a Broadway (theatre), Broadway and Cinema of th ...

's '' Thunder Rock''.Aldgate, Anthony et al. ''Britain Can Take It: The British Cinema in the Second World War'' 2nd ed. London: I.B. Tauris, 2007. pp. 178. Print. He would go on to start his own record label and work with

and

Erwin Piscator Erwin Friedrich Maximilian Piscator (17 December 1893 – 30 March 1966) was a German theatre director and Theatrical producer, producer. Along with Bertolt Brecht, he was the foremost exponent of epic theatre, a form that emphasizes the socio- ...

at the "

Berliner Ensemble The Berliner Ensemble () is a German theatre company established by actress Helene Weigel and her husband, playwright Bertolt Brecht, in January 1949 in East Berlin. In the time after Brecht's exile, the company first worked at Wolfgang Langh ...

". A beloved figure in the

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

, he is best remembered for his performance in the title role of Brecht's ''

Life of Galileo ''Life of Galileo'' (), also known as ''Galileo'', is a Play (theatre), play by the 20th century Germany, German dramatist Bertolt Brecht and collaborator Margarete Steffin with incidental music by Hanns Eisler. The play was written in 1938 and re ...

'' and his recordings of workers songs, including many written by

Hanns Eisler Hanns Eisler (6 July 1898 – 6 September 1962) was a German-Austrian composer. He is best known for composing the national anthem of East Germany, for his long artistic association with Bertolt Brecht, and for the scores he wrote for films. The ...

. He also lent his voice to a memorable recording of " Peat Bog Soldiers".

Recordings of Spanish Civil War songs (incomplete list)

From "Canciones de las Brigadas Internacionales" and "Solidarität". *''Adelante Campesinos'' *'' Am Rio Jarama'' – "On the Jarama Front" * / ''Lied von der XI Brigade'' – "Song of the XIth Brigade" *''Los Campesinos'' – "The Peasants" *''Las Compañías de Acero'' *''Los Cuatro Generales'' *''

Himno de Riego The "Himno de Riego" ("Anthem of Riego") is a song dating from the ''Trienio Liberal'' (1820–1823) of Spain and named in honour of Colonel Rafael del Riego, a figure in the respective uprising, which restored the liberal constitution of 1812. ...

'' / ''Riego Hymne'' – "Colonel Riego's Hymn" *''Hans Beimler'' *''Des Lied von der Einheitsfront / '' Einheitsfrontlied'' *''Lied der Internationalen Brigaden / ''Lied Der Interbrigaden'' – "Song of the International Brigades" *''Mamita Mia'' *''Die Moorsoldaten'' – " Peat Bog Soldiers" *''Nuestra Bandera'' – "Our Flag" *''Peter, Mein Kamerad'' – "Peter, My Comrade" *''" Spaniens Himmel" or "Die Thälmann-Kolonne"'' – "Spain's Heaven" or "The

Thälmann Battalion The Thälmann Battalion was a battalion of the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. It was named after the imprisoned German communist leader Ernst Thälmann (born 16 April 1886, executed 18 August 1944) and included approximately 1 ...

" (Page 30f)

Recordings of Second World War and other songs (incomplete list)

*''Ach Ihr Wege'' *''Alle Waffen gegen Hitler'' *''Ami go home '' *''Aufbaulied'' *''Die Armeen Europas'' *''Ballade von den Säckeschmeißern'' *''Der Barrikaden'' *''Dank Euch Ihr Sowjetsoldaten'' *''Das Lied vom SA-Mann'' *''Diplomaten'' *''Der Graben'' *'' Der heimliche Aufmarsch'' *''Es Kommt der Tag'' *'' Einheitsfrontlied'' *''Frieden der Welt'' *''Kämpfen wie Lenin'' *''Kampflied gegen den Faschismus'' *''Korea'' *''Lenin'' *''Lied der Bergarbeiter'' *''Lied der Interbrigaden'' *''Lied der Partei'' *''Lied der Werktätigen'' *''Lied vom Adler Stalin'' *'' Lied vom Vaterland'' *''Linker Marsch'' *''Links Rechts'' *''Lob des Kommunismus'' *''Marsch der Antifaschisten'' *''Der Marsch Ins Dritte Reich'' *''Matrosen von Kronstadt'' *''Der rote Wedding'' *''Sehnsucht nach der Heimat'' *'' Solidaritätslied'' *''Stalin Freund Genosse'' *''Trotz alledem'' *''Vorwärts Bolschewik'' *''Wir sind des Geyers schwarzer Haufen''

Awards, medals, and recognition

Germany's most prestigious school for stage acting and directing is named after the actor, the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts (Hochschule für Schauspielkunst "Ernst Busch", HFS) in Berlin. Busch was awarded the

Lenin Peace Prize The International Lenin Peace Prize (, ''mezhdunarodnaya Leninskaya premiya mira)'' was a Soviet Union award named in honor of Vladimir Lenin. It was awarded by a panel appointed by the Soviet government, to notable individuals whom the panel ...

for 1970–71.

Filmography

References