Peter Sturm
Encyclopedia
Not to be confused with the National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control director by the same name.
Josef Michel Dischel (24 August 1909 – 11 May 1984), known by his adopted stage name Peter Sturm, was an Austrian and an East German actor.
family in Vienna. His father was a tailor, originally from the Polish
regions of the Habsburg
Empire, and died when his son was six years old. His mother was born in Hungary.
Dischel had worked as a draper and an electrician before beginning to pursue an acting career, taking the stage name Peter Sturm. He joined the Social Democratic Party of Austria
at 1928, and later turned to an active member of the Communist Party of Austria
, that was declared illegal by Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss
. At 1935, he was convicted of high treason and condemned to two and a half years in prison. Sturm eventually served six months, in a labor camp near Stein an der Donau and in the Wöllersdorf
detention camp. At 1936, subsequent to his release, he joined the cast of Brettl am Alsergrund, a political, left-leaning kabarett
in Vienna's Alsergrund
district, that was managed by Leon Askin
and commonly known as Das ABC Kabarett.The cabaret was originally housed in a building located in Café City, at the corner of the Alsergrund's Porzellangasse and Berggasse. ABC stood for the initials of 'Alsergrund, Brettl, City'. At 1935, Das ABC moved to Arkaden Cafe, in Universitätstraße 3. See: Hilde Haider-Pregler, Beate Reiterer (editors). Verspielte Zeit. Österreichisches Theater der dreißiger Jahre. ISBN 978-3854524021. Page 240. The actor was one of the cabaret's three declared communists, alongside Jura Soyfer
and Robert Klein-Lörk.
, Sturm was arrested and sent to the Dachau concentration camp. At August, he was transferred to the Buchenwald concentration camp
, where he was held in the same barrack with actor Fritz Grünbaum
. He was registered as an Austrian political prisoner. On April 1939, Sturm was released from Buchenwald and allowed to leave Germany. He emigrated to Italy, spending three months in Milan
. Then, he illegally crossed the border into France, settling in Marseilles. After the Second World War broke out on September, he was interned in the Camp des Milles
, where he acted in the camp's makeshift theater. At August 1942, he was deported to the Drancy internment camp
, from which he was sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp
. Sturm was held in the Blechhammer
sub-camp, where he was forced to serve as a barber. Occasionally, when the guards authorized it, he participated in theater evenings. At January 1945, the prisoners were evacuated to Buchenwald in a death march
. Sturm survived it and wrote an account on the march shortly after arriving in Buchenwald. He joined the camp's communist underground organization. While in Buchenwald, he was a member of the building detachment headed by Robert Siewert
. During the Holocaust, his mother was murdered in Auschwitz. Buchenwald was liberated in 11 April 1945.
, and later joined the cast of the New Theater in the Scala in the city's Wieden
district, then in the Soviet-administrated zone. The theater, opened at 1948, was founded by communist exiles who returned to Austria after the end of the war. Sturm made his debut on screen in the 1956 film adaptation of the operetta Gasparone
. At the same year - after the Soviet withdrawal from Austria left it without financial and political support - the Scala had to be closed.Beside taking up a communist and a pro-Soviet line, the Scala also openly defied the ban imposed on Bertolt Brecht
's plays in Vienna. Journalists Friedrich Torberg
and Hans Weigel
, both fierce opponents of the playwright, were calling for the theater's closure since the early 1950s. See: Carmen R Köper. Ein unheiliges Experiment: Das neue Theater in der Scala (1948-1956) Löcker (1995). ISBN 978-3854092520. With several other fellow actors from the theater, Sturm left Vienna and emigrated to the German Democratic Republic
, settling in East Berlin
. There, director Wolfgang Langhoff
took him into the Deutsches Theater
, in which he remained a member of the regular cast. At 1960, he performed the role of August Rose, a Buchenwald prisoner who betrays his friends, in a television production based on Bruno Apitz
's novel Naked Among Wolves
. At 30 March 1961, Sturm was awarded the Art Prize of the German Democratic Republic
. On 1963, when he was requested to play August Rose once more for Frank Beyer
's film remake of the series
, Apitz and Beyer had to convince him to agree. Sturm was badly depressed by the work on Naked Among Wolves, and became very ill after the filming ended. He was involved in the commemoration of Buchenwald's victims until his departure.
Sturm had a long career as an actor with DEFA and DFF
in East Germany, appearing in more than fifty cinema and television productions.
Josef Michel Dischel (24 August 1909 – 11 May 1984), known by his adopted stage name Peter Sturm, was an Austrian and an East German actor.
Early life
Josef Michel Dischel was born into a religious JewishJews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
family in Vienna. His father was a tailor, originally from the Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
regions of the Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
Empire, and died when his son was six years old. His mother was born in Hungary.
Dischel had worked as a draper and an electrician before beginning to pursue an acting career, taking the stage name Peter Sturm. He joined the Social Democratic Party of Austria
Social Democratic Party of Austria
The Social Democratic Party of Austria is one of the oldest political parties in Austria. The SPÖ is one of the two major parties in Austria, and has ties to trade unions and the Austrian Chamber of Labour. The SPÖ is among the few mainstream European social-democratic parties that have preserved...
at 1928, and later turned to an active member of the Communist Party of Austria
Communist Party of Austria
The Communist Party of Austria is a communist party based in Austria. Established in 1918, it was banned between 1933 and 1945 under both the Austrofascist regime, and German control of Austria during World War II...
, that was declared illegal by Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss
Engelbert Dollfuss
Engelbert Dollfuss was an Austrian Christian Social and Patriotic Front statesman. Serving previously as Minister for Forest and Agriculture, he ascended to Federal Chancellor in 1932 in the midst of a crisis for the conservative government...
. At 1935, he was convicted of high treason and condemned to two and a half years in prison. Sturm eventually served six months, in a labor camp near Stein an der Donau and in the Wöllersdorf
Wöllersdorf-Steinabrückl
Wöllersdorf-Steinabrückl is a municipality in the district of Wiener Neustadt-Land in Lower Austria, Austria.-References:...
detention camp. At 1936, subsequent to his release, he joined the cast of Brettl am Alsergrund, a political, left-leaning kabarett
Kabarett
Kabarett is a form of cabaret which developed in Germany from 1901, with the creation of the Überbrettl venue, and that by the Weimar era in the mid 1920s was characterized by political satire and gallows humor...
in Vienna's Alsergrund
Alsergrund
Alsergrund is the ninth district of Vienna, Austria . It is located just north of the first, central district, Innere Stadt. Alsergrund was incorporated in 1862, with seven suburbs. The area is densely populated, with a lot of government-built housing. According to the census of 2001, there were...
district, that was managed by Leon Askin
Leon Askin
Leon Askin was an Austrian actor best known for portraying the character "General Burkhalter" on the TV sitcom Hogan's Heroes.-Early life:...
and commonly known as Das ABC Kabarett.The cabaret was originally housed in a building located in Café City, at the corner of the Alsergrund's Porzellangasse and Berggasse. ABC stood for the initials of 'Alsergrund, Brettl, City'. At 1935, Das ABC moved to Arkaden Cafe, in Universitätstraße 3. See: Hilde Haider-Pregler, Beate Reiterer (editors). Verspielte Zeit. Österreichisches Theater der dreißiger Jahre. ISBN 978-3854524021. Page 240. The actor was one of the cabaret's three declared communists, alongside Jura Soyfer
Jura Soyfer
Jura Soyfer was an important Austrian political journalist and cabaret writer.-Life:...
and Robert Klein-Lörk.
Holocaust
On May 1938, after the AnschlussAnschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
, Sturm was arrested and sent to the Dachau concentration camp. At August, he was transferred to the Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp was a German Nazi concentration camp established on the Ettersberg near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937, one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps on German soil.Camp prisoners from all over Europe and Russia—Jews, non-Jewish Poles and Slovenes,...
, where he was held in the same barrack with actor Fritz Grünbaum
Fritz Grünbaum
Fritz Grünbaum was an Austrian Jewish cabaret artist, operetta and pop song writer, director, actor and master of ceremonies....
. He was registered as an Austrian political prisoner. On April 1939, Sturm was released from Buchenwald and allowed to leave Germany. He emigrated to Italy, spending three months in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
. Then, he illegally crossed the border into France, settling in Marseilles. After the Second World War broke out on September, he was interned in the Camp des Milles
Camp des Milles
The Camp des Milles was a French internment camp, opened in September 1939, in a former tile factory near the village of Les Milles, part of the commune of Aix-en-Provence .-History:...
, where he acted in the camp's makeshift theater. At August 1942, he was deported to the Drancy internment camp
Drancy internment camp
The Drancy internment camp of Paris, France, was used to hold Jews who were later deported to the extermination camps. 65,000 Jews were deported from Drancy, of whom 63,000 were murdered including 6,000 children...
, from which he was sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
. Sturm was held in the Blechhammer
Blechhammer
The Blechhammer area was the location of Nazi Germany chemical plants, prisoner of war camps, and forced labor camps . Labor camp prisoners began arriving as early as June 17, 1942, and in July 1944, 400-500 men were transferred from the Terezin family camp to Blechhammer...
sub-camp, where he was forced to serve as a barber. Occasionally, when the guards authorized it, he participated in theater evenings. At January 1945, the prisoners were evacuated to Buchenwald in a death march
Death marches (Holocaust)
The death marches refer to the forcible movement between Autumn 1944 and late April 1945 by Nazi Germany of thousands of prisoners from German concentration camps near the war front to camps inside Germany.-General:...
. Sturm survived it and wrote an account on the march shortly after arriving in Buchenwald. He joined the camp's communist underground organization. While in Buchenwald, he was a member of the building detachment headed by Robert Siewert
Robert Siewert
Robert Siewert was a German politician and fought in the German Resistance against National Socialism. He is a survivor of Buchenwald concentration camp, where he helped save the life of Stefan Jerzy Zweig, among others....
. During the Holocaust, his mother was murdered in Auschwitz. Buchenwald was liberated in 11 April 1945.
Later years
Sturm returned to Vienna, where he resumed his acting career and worked as a radio presenter. He appeared regularly on the stage of the Theater in der JosefstadtTheater in der Josefstadt
The Theater in der Josefstadt is a theater in Vienna in the eighth district of Josefstadt. It was founded in 1788 and is the oldest still performing theater in Vienna...
, and later joined the cast of the New Theater in the Scala in the city's Wieden
Wieden
Wieden is the 4th municipal District of Vienna, Austria . It is near the center of Vienna and was established as a district in 1850, but borders changed later...
district, then in the Soviet-administrated zone. The theater, opened at 1948, was founded by communist exiles who returned to Austria after the end of the war. Sturm made his debut on screen in the 1956 film adaptation of the operetta Gasparone
Gasparone
Gasparone is an operetta in three acts by Carl Millöcker to a German libretto by Friedrich Zell and Richard Genée. The libretto was later revised by Ernst Steffan and Paul Knepler...
. At the same year - after the Soviet withdrawal from Austria left it without financial and political support - the Scala had to be closed.Beside taking up a communist and a pro-Soviet line, the Scala also openly defied the ban imposed on Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
's plays in Vienna. Journalists Friedrich Torberg
Friedrich Torberg
Friedrich Torberg is the pen-name of Friedrich Kantor, an Austrian writer.- Biography :...
and Hans Weigel
Hans Weigel
Julius Hans Weigel was an Austrian Jewish writer and a theater critic . He lived in Vienna, except during the period between 1938 and 1945, when he lived in exile in Switzerland. He was a lifetime companion of the Austrian actress Elfriede Ott.- Biography :During the time before the Anschluss of...
, both fierce opponents of the playwright, were calling for the theater's closure since the early 1950s. See: Carmen R Köper. Ein unheiliges Experiment: Das neue Theater in der Scala (1948-1956) Löcker (1995). ISBN 978-3854092520. With several other fellow actors from the theater, Sturm left Vienna and emigrated to the German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
, settling in East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
. There, director Wolfgang Langhoff
Wolfgang Langhoff
Wolfgang Langhoff was a German theatre, film and television actor and theatre director.-Early career:...
took him into the Deutsches Theater
Deutsches Theater
The Deutsches Theater in Berlin is a well-known German theatre. It was built in 1850 as Friedrich-Wilhelm-Städtisches Theater, after Frederick William IV of Prussia. Located on Schumann Street , the Deutsches Theater consists of two adjoining stages that share a common, classical facade...
, in which he remained a member of the regular cast. At 1960, he performed the role of August Rose, a Buchenwald prisoner who betrays his friends, in a television production based on Bruno Apitz
Bruno Apitz
Bruno Apitz was a German writer.Apitz was born in Leipzig as the twelfth child of a washer woman. He attended school until he was fourteen, then started training as a printer. During World War I he was a passionate supporter of German Communist Party leader Karl Liebknecht...
's novel Naked Among Wolves
Naked Among Wolves (novel)
Naked Among Wolves is a novel by the East German author Bruno Apitz. The novel, first published in 1958, tells the story of prisoners in the Buchenwald concentration camp who risk their lives to hide a Jewish boy. It was translated into 25 languages and published in 28 countries...
. At 30 March 1961, Sturm was awarded the Art Prize of the German Democratic Republic
Art Prize of the German Democratic Republic
The Art Prize of the German Democratic Republic was an East German state award bestowed on individuals for contributions in various fields of art.-History:...
. On 1963, when he was requested to play August Rose once more for Frank Beyer
Frank Beyer
Frank Beyer was German film director. In East Germany he was one of the most important film directors, working for the state film monopoly DEFA and directed films that dealt mostly with the Nazi era and contemporary East Germany. His film Traces of Stones was banned for 20 years in 1966 by the...
's film remake of the series
Naked Among Wolves (film)
Naked Among Wolves is a 1963 East German film directed by Frank Beyer and starring Erwin Geschonneck and Armin Mueller-Stahl. The film is based on the 1958 novel, also titled Naked Among Wolves, by Bruno Apitz.-Plot:...
, Apitz and Beyer had to convince him to agree. Sturm was badly depressed by the work on Naked Among Wolves, and became very ill after the filming ended. He was involved in the commemoration of Buchenwald's victims until his departure.
Sturm had a long career as an actor with DEFA and DFF
Deutscher Fernsehfunk
Deutscher Fernsehfunk , known from 1972 to 1990 as Fernsehen der DDR , was the state television broadcaster in East Germany.-Foundation:...
in East Germany, appearing in more than fifty cinema and television productions.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Gasparone | Uncredited role | |
| 1959 | Goods for Catalonia | Dupont | |
| 1959 | An Old Love | Heinrich Rantsch | |
| 1960 | One of Us | Uncredited role | |
| 1960 | Master Puntila and His Servant Matti | Uncredited role | |
| 1960 | No Trouble with Cleopatra No Trouble with Cleopatra Kein Ärger mit Cleopatra is an East German comedy film, directed by Helmut Schneider. It was released at 1960.-Plot:... |
Mathias Kahlow | |
| 1960 | The Dog In The Moors | Karl Schultz | |
| 1960 | The Hedgehog Das Stacheltier Das Stacheltier was a satirical series of short films that was produced by the East German DEFA Film Studios from 1953 to 1964. The short films were meant to be shown in film theaters preceding the newsreel and the main feature... : The Woman of his Dreams |
Department chief Krause | (short) |
| 1961 | Stone Age Ballad | Berger | |
| 1961 | Professor Mamlock Professor Mamlock (1961 film) This article is about the 1961 film. For the play upon which it was based, see Professor Mamlock . For the film by Herbert Rappaport, see Professor Mamlock .Professor Mamlock is an East German drama film... |
Doctor Hirsch | |
| 1961 | Death Has a Face | Old man in the morgue | |
| 1961 | The Hedgehog Das Stacheltier Das Stacheltier was a satirical series of short films that was produced by the East German DEFA Film Studios from 1953 to 1964. The short films were meant to be shown in film theaters preceding the newsreel and the main feature... : Fairly Good Improvement |
Jochen Emsig | (short) |
| 1962 | On the Sunny Side On the Sunny Side (film) On the Sunny Side is an East German musical comedy film, directed by Ralf Kirsten and starring Manfred Krug. It was released in 1962.-Plot:... |
Intendant Pabst | |
| 1962 | Julian Boell´s Discovery | Wilhelm Zoch | |
| 1963 | Naked Among Wolves Naked Among Wolves (film) Naked Among Wolves is a 1963 East German film directed by Frank Beyer and starring Erwin Geschonneck and Armin Mueller-Stahl. The film is based on the 1958 novel, also titled Naked Among Wolves, by Bruno Apitz.-Plot:... |
August Rose | |
| 1963 | Reserved for the Death | Train conductor | |
| 1965 | Karla | Hartmann | |
| 1965 | As Long as There is Life in Me | Ober | |
| 1966 | Living Ware | Mahlmann | |
| 1968 | Heroin | Commisar Doboka | |
| 1970 | Liberation Liberation (film series) Liberation is an epic five-part film series considered the most large-scale World War II film ever made in the Soviet Union. Filmed from 1967 to 1971, the first part was released during 1970 for the 25th anniversary of Victory Day... I: The Fire Bulge |
Colonel-General Walter Model Walter Model Otto Moritz Walter Model was a German general and later field marshal during World War II. He is noted for his defensive battles in the latter half of the war, mostly on the Eastern Front but also in the west, and for his close association with Adolf Hitler and Nazism... |
|
| 1971 | Liberation Liberation (film series) Liberation is an epic five-part film series considered the most large-scale World War II film ever made in the Soviet Union. Filmed from 1967 to 1971, the first part was released during 1970 for the 25th anniversary of Victory Day... III: The Direction of the Main Blow |
Field Marshal Walter Model | |
| 1971 | KLK Calling PTZ - The Red Orchestra KLK Calling PTZ - The Red Orchestra KLK Calling PTZ - The Red Orchestra is a 1971 East German film about the history of the Red Orchestra espionage ring.-Plot:... |
Krapotschkin | |
| 1974 | Jacob, the Liar | Schmidt | |
| 1979 | Just Put Flowers on the Roof | Hotel receptionist | |
| 1980 | Johann Sebastian Bach's Forgotten Journey to Glory | Neighbour | |
| 1980 | Max and Seven-and-a-Half Boys | Max | |
| 1981 | The Daughters' Hour | Brigadier Fuchs | |
| 1981 | The Colony | Rudi Baden | |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Naked Among Wolves | August Rose | |
| 1962 | David and Goliath | Sophus Möller | |
| 1962 | Television Pitaval | Uncredited role | Episode 2: Shot While Fleeing |
| 1963 | Television Pitaval | Counsillor Heigl | Episode 3: The Heyde-Sawade Affair |
| 1963 | The Trail Leads to the 7th Heaven | Detective Superintendant Müller | All five episodes |
| 1963 | Vanina Vanini | Asdrubale Vanini | |
| 1965 | The Man from Heinitz | Wünsche | |
| 1965-6 | Doctor Schlüter | Professor Tolset | |
| 1965 | Moments of Joy | Mühlmann | |
| 1966 | The Persians | Uncredited role | |
| 1966 | The Investigation: An Oratorio in Eleven Acts | Arthur Breitwieser | |
| 1967 | Little Man, What Now? | Salesman in the bed store | |
| 1967 | Ruhr in Flames | Man carrying shot girl | |
| 1969 | Krupp and Krause | Piachowsky | |
| 1969 | The Lady from Genua | Uncredited role | |
| 1970 | Every Man Dies Alone | Uncredited role | |
| 1972 | The Pictures of Witness Schattmann | Elias Lernamnn | |
| 1974 | Late Season | Psychaitrist | |
| 1975 | Police Call 110 Polizeiruf 110 Polizeiruf 110 is a long running German language detective television series. The first episode was broadcast 27 June 1971 in the German Democratic Republic , and after the dissolution of Fernsehen der DDR the series was picked up by ARD... |
Old man | Episode no. 32: A Case without Witnesses |
| 1977 | The Love and the Queen | Sir Joshua Farnaby | |
| 1979 | The Prosecutor Has the Floor | Doctor Feigel | Episode no. 58: To Celebrate this Day |
| 1980 | Regina or the Trap | Ludwig Blume | |
| 1980 | Outside in Heidedorf | Harmonica player | |
| 1980 | An Advertisement in the Newspaper | Alfred Just | |
| 1981 | Jockey Monika | Mr. Zaubel | Episode no. 6: Inventors Love Practicality |
| 1981 | The Uninvited Guest | Uncredited role | Part 2 |
| 1982 | Hotel Polan and its Guests | Doctor Levi / Doctor Silberstein | |
| 1983 | Martin Luther | Hans Luther | |
| 1983 | Evening in Kelch | Wirt | |
| 1983 | Bruno H. Bürgel - Berlin's Heaven | August Jost | |
| 1983 | The Stage is Set | Uncredited role | |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | Naked Among Wolves | Pippig | Radio drama |
| 1960 | First Spaceship on Venus First Spaceship on Venus First Spaceship on Venus, German: Der schweigende Stern , Polish: Milcząca Gwiazda, is a 1960 East German/Polish film directed by Kurt Maetzig and based on the novel The Astronauts by Stanisław Lem... |
Professor Sołtyk | Dubbing character in the German version |
| 1968 | Hauptmann Florian von der Mühle Hauptmann Florian von der Mühle Hauptmann Florian von der Mühle is an East German film. It was released in 1968.-Cast:* Manfred Krug: Florian* Regina Beyer: Duchess Guastalla* Rolf Herricht: Amadeus* Gisela Bestehorn: Baroness Colloredo* Jutta Klöppel: Fanny Schauendorf... |
Police chief | Dubbing Rolf Hoppe; voice only |
External links
- Peter Sturm on the IMDb. (note that Sturm is erroneously listed as dead since 1942).
- Peter Sturm's memoirs about the death march from Blechhammer to Buchenwald. Published by the Itzhak Katzenelson Holocaust and Jewish Resistance Heritage Museum and Study CenterGhetto Fighters' HouseThe Ghetto Fighters' House , full name, Itzhak Katzenelson Holocaust and Jewish Resistance Heritage Museum and Study Center, was founded in 1949 by members of Kibbutz Lohamei Hagetaot, a community of Holocaust survivors, among them fighters of the ghetto undergrounds and partisan units...
. 1988.