Ferdinand Heinrich Johann Haschkowetz (14 August 1902 – 7 August 1946), known by the stage name Ferdinand Marian, was an Austrian actor. Though a prolific stage actor in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and a popular

matinée idol Matinée idol is a term used mainly to describe film or theatre stars who are adored to the point of adulation by their fans. The term almost exclusively refers to adult male actors. Matinée idols often tend to play romantic and dramatic ...

throughout the 1930s and early '40s, he is most remembered for playing the lead role of

Joseph Süß Oppenheimer Joseph Süß Oppenheimer ( – February 4, 1738) was a German banker who was court Jew for Charles Alexander, Duke of Württemberg, managing several of his enterprises. Throughout his career, Oppenheimer made scores of powerful enemies, some ...

in the notorious Nazi propaganda film ''

Jud Süß (, ) is a 1940 Nazi German historical drama/propaganda film produced by Terra Film at the behest of Joseph Goebbels. Considered one of the most antisemitic films of all time, the film was directed by Veit Harlan, who co-wrote the screenplay w ...

'' (1940).

Early life and career

Born in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, the son of an opera singer, Marian turned to the stage early, though he never attended any drama classes. He ran away from home and abandoned his studies as an engineer to work as an extra at several Austrian and German theatres. In 1938 he joined the ensemble of the Deutsches Theater in

, where he was acclaimed for his performance as

Iago Iago () is a fictional character in Shakespeare's '' Othello'' (c. 1601–1604). Iago is the play's main antagonist and Othello's standard-bearer. He is the husband of Emilia who is in turn the attendant of Othello's wife Desdemona. Iago ha ...

in Shakespeare's ''

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

''. Marian had also appeared in movies like

Curtis Bernhardt Curtis Bernhardt (15 April 1899 – 22 February 1981) was a German film director born in Worms, Germany, under the name Kurt Bernhardt. Career He trained as an actor in Germany, and performed on the stage, before starting as a film director in ...

's ''Der Tunnel'' since 1933, and had his breakthrough starring together with

Zarah Leander Zarah Leander (; 15 March 1907 – 23 June 1981) was a Sweden, Swedish singer and actress whose greatest success was in Germany between 1936 and 1943, when she was contracted to work for the state-owned UFA GmbH, Universum Film AG (UFA). Althou ...

in 1937's '' La Habanera'', directed by

Douglas Sirk Douglas Sirk (born Hans Detlef Sierck; 26 April 1897 – 14 January 1987) was a German film director best known for his work in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood melodramas of the 1950s. However, he also directed comedies, westerns, and war f ...

. His role as the suave but amoral Don Pedro Avila added to his image as an adorable but devious womanizer.

''Jud Süß''

Marian's career was overshadowed by his appearance as the title character in ''

'', an

antisemitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

German movie directed by

Veit Harlan Veit Harlan (22 September 1899 – 13 April 1964) was a German film director and actor. Harlan reached the high point of his career as a director in the Nazi era; most notably his antisemitic film '' Jud Süß'' (1940) makes him controversial. W ...

. This 1940 film, made under the supervision of Propaganda Minister

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and philologist who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief Propaganda in Nazi Germany, propagandist for the Nazi Party, and ...

, is widely considered to be one of the most hateful depictions of Jews in film. His depiction of the title character followed

stereotypes In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalization, generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can ...

of Jews as being materialistic, immoral, cunning and untrustworthy. With the exception of Marian's character – who shaved off his beard and wore Gentile attire for most of the story – the actors playing Jewish male characters were made up to look unappealing and alien (non-German). The film was a great success, both commercially and ideologically.

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and military leader who was the 4th of the (Protection Squadron; SS), a leading member of the Nazi Party, and one of the most powerful p ...

ordered that the film be shown to SS units about to be sent against Jews, to non-Jewish populations of areas where Jews were about to be deported, and to concentration camp guards. Marian's willing participation in ''Jud Süß'' and his belief in its message remain contentious. During his lifetime he was considered apolitical, never holding membership in any political party or expressing support for Nazism. His personal life seemingly contradicted the antisemitism of his best-known role. He had a daughter from his first marriage to Jewish pianist Irene Saager. His second wife's former husband Julius Gellner was also Jewish and Marian and his wife protected him from reprisals by hiding him in their home.Jud Süss
Film Reference, retrieved on September 26, 2010. Friedrich Knilli, author of the Marian biography ''Ich war Jud Süß – Die Geschichte des Filmstars Ferdinand Marian'' ('I was Jud Suss - The Story of the Movie Star Ferdinand Marian') indicated that Marian was at minimum pressured and at maximum coerced by Goebbels into participating in the film, which he had initially considered distasteful, through implicit threats against his family. Knilli's assertions match those of director

, who claimed in a

war crimes A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hos ...

trial that he was coerced by Goebbels into making the film, and attempted to minimize or sanitize the antisemitic elements to little avail. According to Knilli, Marian never came to terms with his involvement in the film, and the guilt led to a spiraling pattern of alcoholism that dominated his later life.

Later roles

The same year as ''Jud Süß'', Marian starred in another propaganda film directed by Veit Harlan, ''

Ohm Krüger ''Ohm Krüger'' (English: ''Uncle Krüger'') is a 1941 German biographical film directed by Hans Steinhoff and starring Emil Jannings, Lucie Höflich, and Werner Hinz. It was one of a series of major propaganda films produced in Nazi Germany ...

.'' The film was a biopic of

Boer Boers ( ; ; ) are the descendants of the proto Afrikaans-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled the Dutch ...

political leader

Paul Kruger Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger (; 10 October 1825 – 14 July 1904), better known as Paul Kruger, was a South African politician. He was one of the dominant political and military figures in 19th-century South Africa, and State Preside ...

, and portrayed the British as the villains of the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

, with Marian playing British mastermind

Cecil Rhodes Cecil John Rhodes ( ; 5 July 185326 March 1902) was an English-South African mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896. He and his British South Africa Company founded th ...

. The film co-starred

Emil Jannings Emil Jannings (born Theodor Friedrich Emil Janenz; 23 July 1884 – 2 January 1950) was a Swiss-born German actor who was popular in Hollywood films in the 1920s. He was the first recipient of the Academy Award for Best Actor for starring in '' ...

and

Gustaf Gründgens Gustaf Gründgens (; 22 December 1899 – 7 October 1963), born Gustav Heinrich Arnold Gründgens, was one of Germany's most famous and influential actors of the 20th century, and artistic director of theatres in Berlin, Düsseldorf, and Hambur ...

, who both had rejected the role of ''Jud Süß'' the year before. In 1943 he starred as

Cagliostro Giuseppe Balsamo (; 2 June 1743 – 26 August 1795), known by the alias Count Alessandro di Cagliostro ( , ), was an Italian occultist and confidence trickster. Cagliostro was an Italian adventurer and self-styled magician. He became a gl ...

Josef von Báky Josef von Báky (23 March 1902, Sombor, Zombor, Austria-Hungary – 28 July 1966, Munich, West Germany) was a Hungarian filmmaker. He was also known as ''Josef v. Baky'' and ''József Báky''. He was born in the village of Zobor in the Kingdo ...

's fantasy comedy '' Münchhausen,'' and also in ''

Romance in a Minor Key Romance may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings ** Romantic orientation, the classification of the sex or gender with which a pers ...

,'' and '' Tonelli.'' His last film role was in ' (1945).

Death

Marian died in a road accident in 1946 near the village of Dürneck (today part of

Freising Freising () is a university town in Bavaria, Germany, and the capital of the Freising (district), with a population of about 50,000. Location Freising is the oldest town between Regensburg and Bolzano, and is located on the Isar river in ...

) in

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

, probably driving under the influence of alcohol. It is said that he was on his way to

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

with a borrowed car to collect

denazification Denazification () was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary, and politics of the Nazi ideology following the Second World War. It was carried out by removing those who had been Nazi Par ...

papers that with the permission of US film officer

Eric Pleskow Eric Pleskow (born Erich Pleskoff; April 24, 1924 – October 1, 2019) was an Austrian-born American film producer and executive. From 1973 through 1978, Pleskow was president of United Artists. Following a protest from Transamerica Corporation, ...

would allow him to work again, having celebrated this news just beforehand. Friedrich Knilli suggested the death was suicide, as Marian had been unable to cope with his participation in ''Jud Süß''.

In popular culture

Marian is played by

Tobias Moretti Tobias Moretti (; born Tobias Bloéb; 11 July 1959) is an Austrian actor. Biography Born in Gries am Brenner, Tyrol, Moretti is the eldest of four brothers, including Thomas, Christoph and fellow actor Gregor Bloéb. Since 1997, he has been mar ...

in the 2010 film '' Jew Suss: Rise and Fall'', a biopic about the production and release of ''

,'' based on Friedrich Knilli's biography. The film takes many liberties with the true story, fictionalizing Marian's personal life by combining his two wives into a single character, and expanding the role of Julius Gellner (renamed 'Wilhelm Adolf Deutscher').

Filmography

* '' The Tunnel'' (1933, dir.

) as The Agitator * ''

A Wedding Dream ''A Wedding Dream'' (German: ''Ein Hochzeitstraum'') is a 1936 German comedy film directed by Erich Engel and starring Ida Wüst, Heinz Salfner and Inge List. It was shot at the Johannisthal Studios of Tobis Film in Berlin. The film's sets wer ...

'' (1936, dir.

Erich Engel Erich Gustav Otto Engel (14 February 1891 – 10 May 1966) was a German film and theatre director.He is often confused with another German film director called Erich Engels (with an s), who specialised in comedy, and crime films. Biography ...

) as Paul Puschkinow * '' The Voice of the Heart'' (1937, dir.

Karlheinz Martin Karlheinz Martin (May 6, 1886 – January 13, 1948) was a German stage and film director, best known for his expressionist productions. After enjoying success with experimental productions in Frankfurt am Main and Hamburg, Martin went to Berlin, ...

) as Prince Konstantin * ''

Madame Bovary ''Madame Bovary: Provincial Manners'' (; ), commonly known as simply ''Madame Bovary'', is the début novel by France, French writer Gustave Flaubert, originally published in 1856 and 1857. The eponymous character, Emma Bovary, lives beyond he ...

'' (1937, dir.

Gerhard Lamprecht Gerhard Lamprecht (6 October 1897 – 4 May 1974) was a German film director, screenwriter and film historian. He directed 63 films between 1920 and 1958. He also wrote for 26 films between 1918 and 1958. Life and career Lamprecht was fasci ...

) as Rodolphe Boulanger * '' La Habanera'' (1937, dir.

) as Don Pedro de Havila * ''Nordlicht'' (1938, dir. Herbert B. Fredersdorf) as Halvard * ''Der Vierte kommt nicht'' (1939, dir. Max W. Kimmich) as Generaldirektor Kolman * ''Morgen werde ich verhaftet'' (1939, dir. Karl Heinz Stroux) as Juan Perez * ''Dein Leben gehört mir'' (1939, dir. Johannes Meyer) * '' The Fox of Glenarvon'' (1940, dir. Max W. Kimmich) as Justice of the peace Grandison * ''Aus erster Ehe'' (1940, dir.

Paul Verhoeven Paul Verhoeven (; born 18 July 1938) is a Dutch filmmaker, who has worked variously in the Netherlands, the United States, and in France. He is known for directing genre films with strong satirical elements, often featuring graphic violence and ...

) as Professor Walter Helmerding * ''

'' (1940, dir.

) as

* ''

'' (1941, dir.

Hans Steinhoff Hans Steinhoff (10 March 1882 – 20 April 1945) was a German film director, best known for the propaganda films he produced in Nazi Germany. Life and career Steinhoff started his career as a stage actor in the 1900s and later worked as a sta ...

) as

* ''Ein Zug fährt ab'' (1942, dir. Johannes Meyer) as Michael Garden * '' Münchhausen'' (1943, dir.

) as Count Cagliostro * ''

'' (1943, dir.

Helmut Käutner Helmut Käutner (25 March 1908 – 20 April 1980) was a German film director active mainly in the 1940s and 1950s. He entered the film industry at the end of the Weimar Republic and released his first films as a director in Nazi Germany. Käu ...

) as Michael * '' Tonelli'' (1943, dir.

Viktor Tourjansky Victor Tourjansky ( 4 March 1891 – 13 August 1976), born Vyacheslav Konstantinovich Turzhansky (), was a Russian actor, screenwriter and film director who emigrated after the Russian Revolution (1917), Russian Revolution of 1917. He worked in F ...

) as Tonio Torelli / Jaro * ''Reise in die Vergangenheit'' (1943, dir. Hans H. Zerlett) as Carlo Ernst * ''In flagranti'' (1944, dir.

Hans Schweikart Hans Schweikart (1 October 1895 – 1 December 1975) was a German film director, actor and screenwriter. He directed 28 films between 1938 and 1968. He wrote for the film '' The Marriage of Mr. Mississippi'', which was entered into the 11th ...

) as Ing. Alfred Peters * ''Freunde'' (1944, dir. E. W. Emo) as Guido * '' Night of the Twelve'' (1945, dir. Hans Schweikart) as Agent Leopold Lenski * ''Dreimal Komödie'' (1945, dir. Viktor Tourjansky) as Professor Viktor Arnim * '' Law of Love'' (1945, dir. Hans Schweikart) as Baron Pistolecran (final film role)

References

External links

*
Short biography of Ferdinand Marian

(in German)
Photographs and literature
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marian, Ferdinand 1902 births 1946 deaths Austrian male film actors Austrian male stage actors Male actors from Vienna 20th-century Austrian male actors Austrian Nazi propagandists Road incident deaths in Germany