Werner Friedrich Dissel (26 August 1912 – 22 January 2003) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

actor, director, and

resistance fighter A resistance movement is an organized group of people that tries to resist or try to overthrow a government or an occupying power, causing disruption and unrest in civil order and stability. Such a movement may seek to achieve its goals through ei ...

against the Nazi regime.

Biography

Dissel's began working as a newspaper photographer in the late 1920s. After the Nazis' rise to power, he became a member of an

antifascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

group headed by Harro Schulze-Boysen, and was involved in the resistance newspaper ''Wille zum Reich''. Dissel was caught and imprisoned from 1937 to 1939. During his time in prison, 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 ...

arranged for Boysen to visit him, in the hope that something incriminating would be said while the two would be left alone in a tapped room; Boysen passed a cigarette pack to Dissel, on which he wrote that the police had no concrete evidence against him. After his release, Boysen convinced him to volunteer into the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

, so he could "destroy Hitler's army from within". Dissel joined the armed forces shortly before the

German Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

, and served in a military meteorology unit. At 1942, he barely avoided an arrest during the Gestapo's crackdown on the Red Orchestra. After the war, he openly joined the KPD and decided to pursue his old dream to become an actor. Dissel joined a cabaret in

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...

, and in 1950 emigrated to

East Germany 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 ...

. There he appeared in numerous plays, TV shows and movies. He worked with 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 ...

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 ...

and DFF. He continued his acting career after the

reunification A political union is a type of political entity which is composed of, or created from, smaller politics or the process which achieves this. These smaller polities are usually called federated states and federal territories in a federal govern ...

. In total, he appeared in more than a hundred film and television productions. He received the

Art Prize of the German Democratic Republic The Art Prize of the German Democratic Republic (German: ''Kunstpreis der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik'') was an East German state award bestowed on individuals for contributions in various fields of art. History The Art Prize was annually a ...

at a collective awarding in October 1986.Erika Tschernig, Monika Kollega, Gudrun Müller. ''Unsere Kultur: DDR-Zeittafel, 1945-1987''. Dietz Verlag (1989). . Page 402.

Selected filmography

*1954: ''

Ernst Thälmann Ernst Johannes Fritz Thälmann (; 16 April 1886 – 18 August 1944) was a German communist politician and leader of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) from 1925 to 1933. A committed communist, Thälmann sought to overthrow the liberal democr ...

'' *1956: '' Die Millionen der Yvette'' - Zeitungsverkäufer *1956: ''Der Hauptmann von Köln'' *1958: ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

'' - Brevet *1958: ''

Ein Mädchen von 16 ½ Ein or EIN may refer to: Science and technology * Ein function, in mathematics * Endometrial intraepithelial neoplasia, a lesion of the uterine lining * Equivalent input noise, of a microphone * European Informatics Network, a 1970s computer netw ...

'' - Rohn *1959: ''

Goods For Catalonia ''Ware für Katalonien '' (English-language title: ''Goods For Catalonia'') is an East German black-and-white film, directed by Richard Groschopp. It was released in 1959. Plot At 1959, the People's Police notices a strange occurrence: the local ...

'' - Portier *1959: '' Bevor der Blitz einschlägt'' - Sylvio O. Schmitt - Kunstkritiker *1959: '' Love's Confusion'' - 2. Taxichauffeur *1959: ''

The Goodies The Goodies were a trio of British comedians: Tim Brooke-Taylor (17 July 1940 – 12 April 2020), Graeme Garden (b. 18 February 1943) and Bill Oddie (b. 7 July 1941). The trio created, wrote for and performed in their The Goodies (TV series), ...

'' *1960: ''

The Opportunists ''The Opportunists'' is a 1999 British-American crime drama film, written and directed by Myles C. R. Connell, and starring Christopher Walken, Cyndi Lauper, Donal Logue, and Vera Farmiga. The film takes place in the urban setting of Greenpoint, Br ...

'' - Fario *1961: ''

Die Liebe und der Co-Pilot ''Die Liebe und der Co-Pilot'' is a 1961 East German romantic comedy film directed by Richard Groschopp Richard Groschopp (19 February 1906 - 8 July 1996) was a German film director and screenwriter. He directed in more than sixty films from 193 ...

'' - Meteorologe *1961: ''Der Fremde'' *1961: ''

The Gleiwitz Case ''The Gleiwitz Case'' () is an East German war film directed by Gerhard Klein. It was released in 1961. The plot was reconstructed exactly according to the statements of SS-Man Alfred Naujocks before British authorities at the Nuremberg trials.< ...

'' - Volksschullehrer *1961: ''Ärzte'' *1962: ''

Rotkäppchen ''Rotkäppchen'' is an East German film based on the fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood "Little Red Riding Hood" () is a fairy tale by Charles Perrault about a young girl and a Big Bad Wolf. Its origins can be traced back to several pre-17 ...

'' - Wolf *1963: '' Naked among Wolves'' - Otto Lange *1963: ''Jetzt und in der Stunde meines Todes'' - Herr Merker *1964: ''Die Maskierten'' - Sheriff McElliott *1964: ''Pension Boulanka'' - Dr. Vollmer *1965: ''

Solange Leben in mir ist Solange Leben in mir ist (English: As Long As There's Life in Me) is a 1965 German biopic from the East German state-owned DEFA studios and director Günter Reisch following the life of the German communist leader Karl Liebknecht during the first ...

'' - Bethmann-Hollweg *1965: '' Denk bloß nicht, ich heule'' - Mantek *1966: ''Schwarze Panther'' *1966: ''Zejscie do piekla'' - Rudolf Knoll *1967: ''Geschichten jener Nacht'' - Kilian (segment "Materna") *1968: ''Heroin'' - Zollrat Donkenberg *1971: '' Liberation III: Direction of the Main Blow'' - Alfred Jodl *1974: ''

Ulzana Ulzana ( – 1909, also known as Josanni, Jolsanie or Ozaní’ – ″Tanned buckskin″ or Bį-sópàn – ″Big Buckskin″), was a Tsokanende Apache war chief, brother of Chihuahua. Biography Both the brothers were loyal and warlike suppor ...

'' - Mexikanischer Arzt *1974: ''

Johannes Kepler Johannes Kepler (27 December 1571 – 15 November 1630) was a German astronomer, mathematician, astrologer, Natural philosophy, natural philosopher and writer on music. He is a key figure in the 17th-century Scientific Revolution, best know ...

'' - Richter *1975: ''Am Ende der Welt'' - Amtsdiener Göpel *1975: ''Till Eulenspiegel'' - Scholastischer Professor *1976: ''Mann gegen Mann'' - Angler *1976: ''Beethoven - Tage aus einem Leben'' - Grisslinger *1978: ''Rotschlipse'' *1980: ''Levins Mühle'' - Plontke *1980: ''Johann Sebastian Bachs vergebliche Reise in den Ruhm'' - Vater Nichelmann *1984: ''Kaskade rückwärts'' - Gast *1986: ''Der Traum vom Elch'' - Paulchen *1987: ''Stielke, Heinz, fünfzehn...'' - Invalide *1987: ''Kindheit'' - Lehrer *1988: '' Fallada: The Last Chapter'' - Doktor *1989: ''

Coming Out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

'' - Older homosexual man (Walter) *1989: ''Der Magdalenenbaum'' - Opa Panse *1990: '' Die Architekten'' - Alter *1990: ''Grönland'' - Professor Kah *1991: ' - Merz *1992: ' - Notar *1992: ' *1992: ''Verlorene Landschaft'' *1992: ' *1992: ''Der Besucher'' - Blind man *1994: ''Heller Tag'' *2000: ''

Anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...

'' - Paula's Grandfather

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dissel, Werner 1912 births 2003 deaths German male film actors German male stage actors German male television actors German resistance members Communists in the German Resistance German Army personnel of World War II Red Orchestra (espionage) Recipients of the Art Prize of the German Democratic Republic Male actors from Cologne