Willy Haas (7 June 1891 – 4 September 1973) is a German editor, film critic, and

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

. He wrote for 19 films between 1922 and 1933, and was a member of the jury at the

8th Berlin International Film Festival The 8th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 27 June to 8 July 1958 with the Zoo Palast as the main venue. The festival was opened by then West Berlin's newly elected mayor Willy Brandt. The Golden Bear was awarded to '' Wi ...

Biography

Willy Haas was the son of a Jewish lawyer. He studied law himself, and at a young age joined a literary circle with his friends

Franz Werfel Franz Viktor Werfel (; 10 September 1890 – 26 August 1945) was an Austrian-Bohemian novelist, playwright, and poet whose career spanned World War I, the Interwar period, and World War II. He is primarily known as the author of '' The Forty ...

, Paul Kornfeld and

Johannes Urzidil Johannes Urzidil (3 February 1896 in Prague – 2 November 1970 in Rome) was a German-Bohemian writer, poet and historian. His father was a German Bohemian and his mother was Jewish. Life Urzidil was educated in Prague, studying German, art hi ...

. He had personal contacts with

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a novelist and writer from Prague who was Jewish, Austrian, and Czech and wrote in German. He is widely regarded as a major figure of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of Litera ...

and

Max Brod Max Brod (; 27 May 1884 – 20 December 1968) was a Bohemian-born Israeli author, composer, and journalist. He is notable for promoting the work of writer Franz Kafka and composer Leoš Janáček. Although he was a prolific writer in his ow ...

. This circle, which met in Prague at the Café Arco, also included Ernst Polak, the husband of

Milena Jesenská Milena Jesenská (; 10 August 1896 – 17 May 1944) was a Czech Republic, Czech journalist, writer, editor and translator. She is noted for her correspondence with the author Franz Kafka and was one of the first to translate his work from the ...

. From 1911 to 1912 in Prague, the press of the Johann Gottfried Herder Association published the ''Herder-Blätter'' (Literary Journal of the Herder Association), whose editors were Willy Haas and Norbert Eisler. The journal published several essays by Haas. For the last two issues (# 4 and # 5), Otto Pick was involved. The ''Herder-Blätter'' published the work of many literary authors for the first time. After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Haas went to

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 ...

, where he did editorial work and also worked as a screenwriter and film critic. Together with

Ernst Rowohlt Ernst Hermann Heinrich Rowohlt (23 June 1887 in Bremen – 1 December 1960 in Hamburg) was a German publisher who founded the Rowohlt publishing house in 1908 and headed it in its repeated incarnations until his death. In 1912, he married actres ...

, he founded the weekly ''

Die literarische Welt Die, as a verb, refers to death, the cessation of life. Die may also refer to: Games * Die, singular of dice, small throwable objects used for producing random numbers Manufacturing * Die (integrated circuit), a rectangular piece of a semicondu ...

'' in 1925. When his apartment in Berlin was repeatedly searched in 1933, he emigrated to Prague, where he worked as a newspaper editor. The literary magazine ''Welt im Wort'' (World in the Word), founded by Haas in Prague, soon ceased publication for financial reasons. After the German occupation of Prague in 1939, he went first to Italy and from there to India, where he worked as a screenwriter for at least two Indian films by Mohan Bhavnani. He also earned a salary as a censor for the British army in India. In 1948 he returned to Germany and lived in Hamburg. There he wrote for ''

Die Welt (, ) is a German national daily newspaper, published as a broadsheet by Axel Springer SE. is the flagship newspaper of the Axel Springer publishing group and it is considered a newspaper of record in Germany. Its leading competitors are the ...

'' and ''

Welt am Sonntag ''Welt am Sonntag'' (German for ''World on Sunday'') is a German Sunday newspaper published in Germany. History and profile ''Welt am Sonntag'' was established in 1948. The paper is published by Axel Springer SE. Its head office is in Berlin. ...

'', as well as for other magazines and newspapers.''Haas, Willy.''
In: Kirsten Hiensohn (ed.): ''Das jüdische Hamburg.'' 2006, p. 102. Haas was married three times: from 1921 to 1925 with the translator Jarmila Ambrozova, from 1925 to 1936 with Hanna Waldeck (who gave birth to their son in 1925), and from 1947 with Herta Doctor. Willy Haas and his wife Herta were buried in

Ohlsdorf Cemetery Ohlsdorf Cemetery ( or (former) ) in the Ohlsdorf, Hamburg, Ohlsdorf quarter of the city of Hamburg, Germany, is the biggest rural cemetery in the world and the fourth-largest cemetery in the world. Most of the people buried at the cemetery are c ...

in Hamburg.

Selected filmography

* ''

The Burning Soil ''The Burning Soil'' () is a 1922 German silent film directed by F.W. Murnau. It was made the same year as Murnau's ''Nosferatu'' and released in Germany around the same time. The film follows the struggle over a plot of petroleum-rich land. I ...

'' (1922) * '' Doctor Wislizenus'' (1924) * ''

In the Name of the King ''In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale'' (also known as ''Dungeon Siege: In the Name of the King'' or simply ''In the Name of the King'') is a 2007 English-language fantasy action film directed by Uwe Boll and starring Jason Statham, C ...

'' (1924) * ''

Joyless Street ''Joyless Street'' (), also titled ''The Street of Sorrow'' or ''The Joyless Street'', is a 1925 German silent film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst starring Greta Garbo, Asta Nielsen and Werner Krauss. It is based on a novel by Hugo Bettauer an ...

'' (1925) * ''

The Girl with a Patron ''The Girl with a Patron'' () is a 1925 German silent comedy film directed by Max Mack and starring Ossi Oswalda, Willy Fritsch, and Nora Gregor. It was shot at the Babelsberg Studios in Berlin. It was one of a number of popular comedies releas ...

'' (1925) * ''

One Does Not Play with Love ''One Does Not Play with Love'' () is a 1926 silent German drama film directed by G. W. Pabst. The film is an adaptation of the 1834 play by Alfred de Musset, ''On ne badine pas avec l'amour''. The film is considered to be a lost film. It feat ...

'' (1926) * '' The Brothers Schellenberg'' (1926) * ''

Dancing Vienna ''Dancing Vienna'' (German: ''Das tanzende Wien'') is a 1927 German silent comedy film directed by Frederic Zelnik and starring Lya Mara, Ben Lyon and Alfred Abel. A sound version was also prepared in 1928 by First National Pictures for release ...

'' (1927) * ''

The Weavers The Weavers were an American folk music quartet based in the Greenwich Village area of New York City originally consisting of Lee Hays, Pete Seeger, Ronnie Gilbert, and Fred Hellerman. Founded in 1948, the group sang traditional folk songs from ...

'' (1927) * ''

Mariett Dances Today ''Mariett Dances Today'' (German: ''Heut tanzt Mariett'') is a 1928 German silent romance film directed by Frederic Zelnik and starring Lya Mara, Fred Louis Lerch and Harry Halm.Nelmes & Selbo It was shot at the Staaken Studios in Berlin and o ...

'' (1928) * ''

The Beaver Coat ''The Beaver Coat'' () is a satirical play by Gerhart Hauptmann premiered in Berlin in 1893. The work is an example of a German naturalistic ''Diebskomödie'', or 'thief's comedy'. The drama takes place "somewhere in Berlin... around the end of ...

'' (1928) * ''

Napoleon at Saint Helena ''Napoleon at Saint Helena'' () is a 1929 German silent historical film directed by Lupu Pick and starring Werner Krauss, Hanna Ralph, and Albert Bassermann. It was shot at the EFA Studios in Berlin with location shooting in Marseille and St. ...

'' (1929) * ''

Ways to a Good Marriage ''Ways to a Good Marriage'' (German: ''Wege zur guten Ehe'') is a 1933 German drama film directed by Adolf Trotz and starring Olga Chekhova, Alfred Abel and Hilde Hildebrand. It was shot at the EFA Studios in Halensee in Berlin. The film's sets w ...

'' (1933)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Haas, Willy 1891 births 1973 deaths Writers from Prague 20th-century Czech Jews Jews from Austria-Hungary German male screenwriters Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 20th-century German screenwriters Jewish Czech film people Jewish German film people