Konrad Wolf
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Konrad Wolf (20 October 1925 – 7 March 1982) was an
East German East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...
film director. He was the son of writer, doctor and diplomat Friedrich Wolf, and the younger brother of
Stasi The Ministry for State Security (, ; abbreviated MfS), commonly known as the (, an abbreviation of ), was the Intelligence agency, state security service and secret police of East Germany from 1950 to 1990. It was one of the most repressive pol ...
spymaster
Markus Wolf Markus Johannes Wolf (19 January 1923 – 9 November 2006), also known as Mischa, was a German spymaster who served as the head of the Main Directorate for Reconnaissance (), the foreign intelligence division of East Germany's Ministry for Sta ...
. "Koni" was his nickname.


Biography

Because his father was Jewish and was an ardent and outspoken member of the German Communist Party (KPD) since 1928, he and his family left Germany via Austria, Switzerland, and France for
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
when the
Nazis 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 ...
took power in March 1933, where, arriving in March 1934, Wolf came into intense contact with
Soviet 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 ...
film."Solo Sunny"
DEFA Film Library at the
University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...
Amherst. Retrieved November 19, 2011
At age 10, he played a minor role in the film ''Kämpfer'', filmed among the German Communist emigrants in Moscow. In 1936, his family became Soviet citizens but then fell under suspicion leading to his father leaving for Spain in 1937 to serve as a doctor in 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 ...
during the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
. He and his older brother attended the Karl Liebknecht School in Moscow. He became friends with Louis Fischer's son Viktor Fischer and Wilhelm Wloch's son Lothar Wloch (1923–1976) who was later a German building contractor. In December 1942 at age 17, he volunteered into 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 ...
, was sent to the front as an interpreter, served in the Caucasus campaigns, was present for the liberation of
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
, and was among the first troops to reach
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 ...
in 1945. After the war, he was a cultural officer at Halle and Berlin and was a reporter for the ''
Berliner Zeitung The ''Berliner Zeitung'' (; ) is a daily newspaper based in Berlin, Germany. Founded in East Germany in 1945, it is the only East German paper to achieve national prominence since Reunification of Germany, reunification. It is published by Berl ...
'' which began publishing again on 21 May 1945. He remained in the
Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...
until 1948. He later described these events in the 1968 film, '' Ich war neunzehn'' (''I Was Nineteen''). Shortly after the war, Wolf returned to Moscow, where he studied at
VGIK The Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography, officially the S. A. Gerasimov All-Russian University of Cinematography (, meaning ''All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography named after S. A. Gerasimov''), a.k.a. VGIK, is a film school in Moscow, ...
and was perplexed about whether he should be German or Russian and then live in Germany or the Soviet Union. His 1959 film ''Sterne'' (German: Stars) won the Special Jury Prize at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival. In 1961, his film '' Professor Mamlock'' was entered into the
2nd Moscow International Film Festival The 2nd Moscow International Film Festival was held from 9 to 23 July 1961. The Grand Prix was shared between the Japanese film '' The Naked Island'' directed by Kaneto Shindo and the Soviet film '' Clear Skies'' directed by Grigori Chukhrai. ...
where it won the Golden Prize. His 1971 film, ''
Goya or the Hard Way to Enlightenment ''Goya or the Hard Way to Enlightenment'' () is a 1971 East German drama film directed by Konrad Wolf. It was entered into the 7th Moscow International Film Festival where it won a Special Prize. It is based on a novel with the same title by Lio ...
'' was entered into the
7th Moscow International Film Festival The 7th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 20 July to 3 August 1971. The Golden Prizes were awarded to the Italian film '' Confessions of a Police Captain'' directed by Damiano Damiani, the Japanese film '' Live Today, Die Tomorrow ...
where it won a Special Prize. He worked afterwards as a film director at
DEFA DEFA (''Deutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft'') was the state-owned film studio of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) throughout the country's existence. Since 2019, DEFA's film heritage has been made accessible and licensable on the PR ...
. He was honorary president of the Union of Art from 1959 until 1966, and president of the DDR
Academy of Arts, Berlin The Academy of Arts () is a state arts institution in Berlin, Germany. The task of the Academy is to promote art, as well as to advise and support the states of Germany. The academy's predecessor organization was founded in 1696 by Elector F ...
from 1965 until his death in 1982. In 1978, he was a member of the jury at the 28th Berlin International Film Festival. In 1980, his film '' Solo Sunny'' was entered into the
30th Berlin International Film Festival The 30th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 18–29 February 1980. The Golden Bear was jointly awarded to '' Heartland'', directed by Richard Pearce, and '' Palermo or Wolfsburg'', directed by Werner Schroeter. The retros ...
. He was married to the actress Christel Bodenstein from 1960 to 1978. He was cremated and honoured with burial in the ''Pergolenweg'' Ehrengrab section of Berlin's Friedrichsfelde Cemetery.


Films

*1955: '' Once Is Never'' *1956: '' Genesung'' *1957: '' Lissy'' *1958/1972: '' Sun Seekers'' *1959: ''
Stars A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by self-gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night; their immense distances from Earth make them appear as fixed points of ...
'' *1960: ' *1961: '' Professor Mamlock'' *1964: '' Divided Heaven'' *1966: ' (TV film) *1968: '' I Was Nineteen'' *1971: ''
Goya or the Hard Way to Enlightenment ''Goya or the Hard Way to Enlightenment'' () is a 1971 East German drama film directed by Konrad Wolf. It was entered into the 7th Moscow International Film Festival where it won a Special Prize. It is based on a novel with the same title by Lio ...
'' *1974: ' *1976: '' Mama, I'm Alive'' *1979: '' Solo Sunny'' (co-director: Wolfgang Kohlhaase) *1981/1982: ''Busch singt'' (6-part documentary about Ernst Busch, completed by others)


See also

* Konrad Wolf Prize


Notes


References

*


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolf, Konrad 1925 births 1982 deaths East German film directors People from Hechingen Film directors from Berlin Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography alumni People from the Province of Hohenzollern German people of Jewish descent Refugees from Nazi Germany in the Soviet Union 20th-century German people Soviet military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Art Prize of the German Democratic Republic