Fritz Spira (1 August 1881 – c. 1943) was an

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

stage Stage, stages, or staging may refer to: Arts and media Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly Brit ...

and

film actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. He appeared frequently in films during the silent and early

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...

eras. Spira played the role of the Austrian Emperor Franz Josef in the 1926 film '' The Third Squadron''. Spira had been working in Germany before the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

takeover in 1933 compelled him to leave because of his

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

background. He went first to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, then returned to his native Austria. Following the Anchluss he tried to leave, but was arrested. He would die in 1943 at the Ruma concentration camp in

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( ; sr-Cyrl, Војводина, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies withi ...

Family

He was married to Lotte Spira from 1905-1934 and was the father of the actresses

Camilla Spira Camilla Spira (1 March 1906 – 25 August 1997) was a German film actor. She appeared in 68 films between 1924 and 1986. She was born in Hamburg, Germany, of Jewish ancestry on her father's side, and died in Berlin, Germany. Her father was t ...

and Steffie Spira. Camilla would survive the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

because her mother signed a statement swearing that Fritz was not Camilla's natural father, despite her being an adult.Baer p. 118

Selected filmography

* ''

Ferdinand Lassalle Ferdinand Johann Gottlieb Lassalle (born Lassal; 11 April 1825 – 31 August 1864) was a German jurist, philosopher, socialist, and political activist. Remembered as an initiator of the German labour movement, he developed the theory of state s ...

'' (1918) * '' Countess Maritza'' (1925) * '' Love and Trumpets'' (1925) * '' A Free People'' (1925) * ''

We Belong to the Imperial-Royal Infantry Regiment ''We Belong to the Imperial and Royal Infantry Regiment'' (German:''Wir sind vom K. u. K. Infanterie-Regiment'') is a 1926 German silent film starring Mary Kid, Paul Heidemann and Fritz Spira. The film's art direction was by Heinrich Rich ...

'' (1926) * '' The Third Squadron'' (1926) * '' The Red Mouse'' (1926) * '' The Trumpets are Blowing'' (1926) * ''

Unmarried Daughters ''Unmarried Daughters'' (German: ''Ledige Töchter'') is a 1926 German silent film directed by Carl Boese and starring Jenny Jugo, Charlotte Ander and Ida Wüst.Parish p.297 The film's sets were designed by the art director Oscar Werndorff. ...

'' (1926) * ''

Women of Passion A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional uteruses ...

'' (1926) * ''

Nanette Makes Everything ''Nanette Makes Everything'' (German: ''Nanette macht alles'') is a 1926 German silent film directed by Carl Boese and starring Mady Christians, Georg Alexander and Vivian Gibson. It was shot at the Terra Studios in Berlin. The film's sets were ...

'' (1926) * '' Vienna - Berlin'' (1926) * '' The Dashing Archduke'' (1927) * '' On the Banks of the River Weser'' (1927) * '' Family Gathering in the House of Prellstein'' (1927) * '' When the Mother and the Daughter'' (1928) * '' Endangered Girls'' (1928) * '' The Fate of the House of Habsburg'' (1928) * '' The Alley Cat'' (1929) * '' The Fourth from the Right'' (1929) * ''

What's Wrong with Nanette? ''What's Wrong with Nanette?'' (German: ''Was ist los mit Nanette?'') is a 1929 German silent film directed by Holger-Madsen and starring Ruth Weyher, Georg Alexander and Harry Hardt.Krautz p.117 Cast In alphabetical order * Georg Alexander ...

'' (1929) * '' Darling of the Gods'' (1930) * '' Fairground People'' (1930) * '' Two Worlds'' (1930) * '' Duty is Duty'' (1931) * '' Terror of the Garrison'' (1931) * ''

Johann Strauss Johann Baptist Strauss II (; ; 25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas as well as a violinist. He compose ...

'' (1931) * '' Johnny Steals Europe'' (1932) * '' The Ladies Diplomat'' (1932) * '' Grandstand for General Staff'' (1932) * ''

Viennese Waltz Viennese waltz () is a genre of ballroom dance. At least four different meanings are recognized. In the historically first sense, the name may refer to several versions of the waltz, including the earliest waltzes done in ballroom dancing, dance ...

'' (1932) * '' Gitta Discovers Her Heart'' (1932) * '' The Hymn of Leuthen'' (1933) * '' The Emperor's Waltz'' (1933) * ''

The Roberts Case ''The Roberts Case'' ( or ) is a 1933 German drama film directed by Erich Engels and starring Hermann Speelmans, Camilla Spira and Eduard von Winterstein.Moeller p. 65 It was shot at the Johannisthal Studios in Berlin. Cast References Bibl ...

'' (1933)

References

Bibliography

* Baer, Hester. ''Dismantling the Dream Factory: Gender, German Cinema, and the Postwar Quest for a New Film Language''. Berghahn Books, 2012.

External links

* 1881 births 1943 deaths Austrian Jews Austrian male stage actors Austrian male film actors Austrian male silent film actors Male actors from Vienna Austrian people who died in Nazi concentration camps 20th-century Austrian male actors {{Austria-actor-stub