Lotte Eisner
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Lotte H. Eisner (5 March 1896,
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 ...
– 25 November 1983,
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
) was a German-French writer, film critic, archivist and curator. Eisner worked initially as a film critic in Berlin, then in Paris where in 1936 she met
Henri Langlois Henri Langlois (; 13 November 1914 – 13 January 1977) was a French film archivist and cinephile. A pioneer of film preservation, Langlois was an influential figure in the history of cinema. His film screenings in Paris in the 1950s are often ...
with whom she founded the
Cinémathèque Française A cinematheque is an archive of films and film-related objects with an exhibition venue. Similarly to a book library (bibliothèque in French), a cinematheque is responsible for preserving and making available to the public film heritage. Typically ...
.


Early life and education

She was born Lotte Henriette Regina Eisner 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 ...
, the daughter of textile manufacturer Hugo Eisner and his wife Margarethe Feodora Aron. Eisner grew up in a prosperous Jewish middle-class milieu and in 1924 obtained a Ph.D. from the
University of Rostock The University of Rostock () is a public university located in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Founded in 1419, it is the third-oldest university in Germany. It is the oldest university in continental northern Europe and the Baltic Se ...
. Her dissertation was on the development of Greek vases.


Career

In 1924, she began working as a freelance theatre critic until in 1927, Hans Feld, a friend of her brother, suggested she worked for him at ''Film Kurier'', one of many film trade papers in Berlin. She joined the ''Film Kurier'' as a staff journalist, writing a mixture of articles and interviews and the occasional film review including the premiere of ''
Mädchen in Uniform ' ("Girls in Uniform") is a 1931 German romantic drama film based on the play ' (''Yesterday and Today'') by Christa Winsloe and directed by Leontine Sagan with artistic direction from Carl Froelich, who also funded the film. Winsloe also wrote ...
''. Most of the premieres and major commercial feature films were reviewed by the men on the staff but occasionally she was allowed to assess them. In 1932, with the rise of
National Socialism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was frequ ...
she became proof editor and reviewer-in-chief as members of staff began to leave Germany. In March 1933, just three months after
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
became Chancellor, Eisner fled Berlin to Paris where a sister lived. Here she lived precariously taking any job she could find (such as translating or babysitting) and working whenever possible as a freelance film critic for international journals and newspapers. In 1940, she was rounded up in the first '' Rafle du billet vert'' and taken to the Vel d'Hiv with hundreds of other single Jewish women. From there, they were transported to
Gurs internment camp Gurs internment camp (, ) was an internment camp and prisoner of war camp constructed in 1939 in Gurs, a site in southwestern France, not far from Pau. The camp was originally set up by the French government after the fall of Catalonia at t ...
in the Pyrenees, a concentration camp run by the French for the Germans. After a few months, she managed to escape and travelled to
Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...
, where she enrolled briefly as a student before finding her way to Rodez and to Pastor Exbrayat, who helped her to obtain false papers; she consequently became Louise Escoffier from the Alsace region. She remained in touch with
Henri Langlois Henri Langlois (; 13 November 1914 – 13 January 1977) was a French film archivist and cinephile. A pioneer of film preservation, Langlois was an influential figure in the history of cinema. His film screenings in Paris in the 1950s are often ...
, who was in Paris, and was placing cans of film in secret locations around the country to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Nazis. One of those places was near
Figeac Figeac (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the southwestern French Departments of France, department of Lot (department), Lot. Figeac is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Figeac is on the via Podiensis ...
in central France, in the cellars of
Château de Béduer The Château de Béduer is a 13th-century feudal castle in the ''Communes of France, commune'' of Béduer in the Lot (department), Lot ''Departments of France, département'' of France. The castle and its dependencies dominate the village of Béd ...
. Langlois instructed Eisner to go there to preserve the films (including ''
The Great Dictator ''The Great Dictator'' is a 1940 American political satire black comedy film written, directed, produced by, and starring Charlie Chaplin. Having been the only Hollywood filmmaker to continue to make silent films well into the period of sound f ...
''). Eisner accomplished this in freezing cold conditions for a month before running out of money. In need of help, she managed to gain a job in a girls school in Figeac. Badly treated, she began to teach German to some Spanish girls living with the local school teacher Madame Guitard, who took her in; she stayed there until the
liberation of Paris The liberation of Paris () was a battle that took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the German garrison surrendered the French capital on 25 August 1944. Paris had been occupied by Nazi Germany since the signing of the Armisti ...
in late August 1944. After the liberation of Paris, Eisner rejoined Langlois and became Chief Curator at the Cinémathèque Française, where over a period of forty years she was responsible for collecting, saving and curating films, costumes, set designs, art work, cameras and scripts for the Cinémathèque. At the same time, Eisner began to work in private on her book ''L'Écran démoniaque'' later translated as ''The Haunted Screen'' which she described in a letter to
Fritz Lang Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), better known as Fritz Lang (), was an Austrian-born film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety Obituari ...
as "a book on German silent film". She also published essays, articles and film reviews in journals including ''Revue du cinéma'', which later became '' Cahiers du cinéma''. In 1952, Eisner published her most highly acclaimed book, ''L'Écran démoniaque'', her study of the influence of the spirit of German Expressionism on cinema, translated into English as ''The Haunted Screen'' in 1969. Eisner subsequently published studies of F.W. Murnau (1964) and of
Fritz Lang Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), better known as Fritz Lang (), was an Austrian-born film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety Obituari ...
(1976), with Lang's collaboration. ''Murnau'' was awarded the Prix Armand Tallier in 1965 In the late 1950s, she became a friend of and mentor of
Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; né Stipetić; born 5 September 1942) is a German filmmaker, actor, opera director, and author. Regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema, his films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with unusu ...
and other leading young German film makers, including
Wim Wenders Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders (; born 14 August 1945) is a German filmmaker and photographer, who is a major figure in New German Cinema. Among the honors he has received are prizes from the Cannes Film Festival, Cannes, Venice International Film ...
,
Volker Schlöndorff Volker Schlöndorff (; born 31 March 1939) is a German film director, screenwriter and producer who has worked in Germany, France and the United States. He was a prominent member of the New German Cinema of the late 1960s and early 1970s. He ha ...
and
Herbert Achternbusch Herbert Achternbusch ( Schild; 23 November 1938 – 10 January 2022) was a German film director, writer and painter. He began as a writer of avant-garde prose, such as the novel ''Die Alexanderschlacht'', before turning to low-budget films. He h ...
. When Eisner fell gravely ill in 1974, Herzog walked from
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 ...
to Paris in winter. Herzog commented: "It was clear to me that if I did it, Eisner wouldn't die." Eisner appears in Herzog's autobiographical documentary '' Portrait Werner Herzog'' (1986). In his 2 February 2016 interview at
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
, Herzog claims that 8 years later she complained to him of her infirmities and asked: "I am saturated with life. There is still this spell upon me that I must not die - can you lift it?" He says that he did, and she died 8 days later. Wenders' film ''
Paris, Texas Paris is a city and county seat of Lamar County, Texas, United States. Located in Northeast Texas at the western edge of the Piney Woods, the population of the city was 24,171 in 2020. History Present-day Lamar County was part of Red River ...
'' (1984) is dedicated to her memory.


Death and legacy

On her death in 1983, French Minister of Culture Jack Lang declared that the loss of Eisner would be "a great loss for the French cinema" which would be "felt with profound sadness by her numerous friends in the film world." Posthumously in 1984, Eisner's memoir ''Ich hatte einst ein schönes Vaterland'' (''Once I Had a Beautiful Fatherland'') was published. The title is a quotation from the poem ''In der Fremde'' (''Abroad'') by
Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; ; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was an outstanding poet, writer, and literary criticism, literary critic of 19th-century German Romanticism. He is best known outside Germany for his ...
.
Wim Wenders Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders (; born 14 August 1945) is a German filmmaker and photographer, who is a major figure in New German Cinema. Among the honors he has received are prizes from the Cannes Film Festival, Cannes, Venice International Film ...
dedicated his film ''
Paris, Texas Paris is a city and county seat of Lamar County, Texas, United States. Located in Northeast Texas at the western edge of the Piney Woods, the population of the city was 24,171 in 2020. History Present-day Lamar County was part of Red River ...
'' to Eisner in the movie's closing credits.


Honours

Eisner became a French citizen in 1955 and as a result was particularly honoured to be awarded Chevalier de l'Ordre National de la Légion d'honneur and the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, in 1982.


Writings

*'' Murnau'' France 1964, US and UK 1972 *''
Fritz Lang Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), better known as Fritz Lang (), was an Austrian-born film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety Obituari ...
'', Da Capo Press, New Edition 1986, *''Die dämonische Leinwand'', engl. ''The Haunted Screen:
Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
in the German Cinema and the Influence of
Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born Theatre director, theatre and film director, theater manager, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his radically innovative and avant-gard ...
'', University of California Press, Second Edition 2008, * ''Ich hatte einst ein schönes Vaterland. Memoiren'', Munich: dtv, 1988 dictated to Martje Grohmann at the end of her life this book is a memoir of her life in Berlin, her escape to Paris, her war time experiences and finally her work at the Cinémathèque Française. She talks in detail about the many amazing filmmakers, designers and actors she knew during her long life.


References


External links

*
''Pabst and the Miracle of Louise Brooks''
– Lotte H. Eisner essay about
Louise Brooks Mary Louise Brooks (November 14, 1906 – August 8, 1985) was an American film actress during the 1920s and 1930s. She is regarded today as an cultural icon, icon of the flapper culture, in part due to the bob cut, bob hairstyle that she helped ...
and ''
Pandora's Box Pandora's box is an artifact in Greek mythology connected with the myth of Pandora in Hesiod's c. 700 B.C. poem ''Works and Days''. Hesiod related that curiosity led her to open a container left in the care of her husband, thus releasing curses ...
'' (1929) at the
Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by Internet Archive, an American nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California. Launched for public access in 2001, the service allows users to go "back in ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eisner, Lotte H. 1896 births 1983 deaths German film critics German women film critics Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to France Writers from Berlin People from the Province of Brandenburg 20th-century German poets 20th-century German historians German women historians 20th-century German women writers Gurs internment camp survivors Jewish escapees from Nazi concentration camps