Wolfgang Langhoff
Encyclopedia
Wolfgang Langhoff was a German theatre, film and television actor and theatre director.
was one its members.
Langhoff was arrested by the Gestapo
in February 1933 and initially detained in the Düsseldorf jail, where he was subjected to severe torture by the SA. A few days later he was transferred to the "Ulmer Höhe" prison. In July 1933 he was taken to concentration camp Börgermoor, in Emsland. While there he revised a song lyric written by Johann Esser, creating what was later to become the famous protest song
Peat Bog Soldiers (Moorsoldaten). The melody was composed by another prisoner, Rudi Goguel. After the transfer to the Lichtenburg concentration camp, Langhoff was released as part of the so-called Easter amnesty in 1934. Overall, Langhoff spent 13 months in prisons and concentration camps.
Three months later — in June of that year — he fled to Switzerland
, just before closure of the border. At the Schauspielhaus in Zurich, he found shelter and work as a director and actor. In 1935, he published the autobiographical memoir The Peat Bog Soldiers: 13 months in concentration camps. After it was translated by Lilo Linke into English it became one of the first internationally known eyewitness accounts of brutality in the Nazi concentration camps. Langhoff was a founding member of the Free Germany Movement in Switzerland.
's Mother Courage and Her Children
, which opened at the Schauspielhaus Zürich
on the 19th April, 1941. He also performed in the first production of Brecht's Life of Galileo
, which also opened at the Schauspielhaus Zürich, on the 9th September, 1943.
He played Ernst Mehlin in Konrad Wolf
's film Genesung (1956), von Geir in Nikola Korabov
's Tyutyun (1962), and Professor Holt in Joachim Kunert's Die Abenteuer des Werner Holt (1965); he also appeared in Kurt Maetzig
and Günter Reisch
's Das Lied der Matrosen (1958). On television, he appeared in Hans-Joachim Kasprzik's mini-series Wolf unter Wölfen (1964).
It is on the strength of his productions of classical texts at the Deutsches Theater
in Berlin, a theatre which he led from 1946 to 1963, that Langhoff's fame as a director rests. His notable productions there include: Goethe
's Faust
(1949 and 1954, productions in which he also played Mephisto
) and Egmont
(1951), Schiller
's Don Carlos
(1952), Shakespeare
's King Lear
(1957) and Lessing
's Minna of Barnhelm
(1960).
Early career
From 1923 Langhoff worked at the Thalia Theater Hamburg, and in Wiesbaden. In 1926 he married the actress Renata Edwina Malacrida, who bore him two children, Thomas (1938) and Matthias (1942). From 1928 to 1932 he played at the Schauspielhaus in Düsseldorf and then from 1932-33 at the Grand Theatre in Düsseldorf. Langhoff was involved at this time with the German Communist Party and was the artistic director of the agitprop troupe "ran northwest," founded in 1930, which performed at union events. The dancer Hilarius GilgesHilarius Gilges
Hilarius Gilges, , known as "Lari" Gilges, was an Afro-German tap dancer, actor and communist. He was murdered at the age of 24 by the Nazis.-Life:...
was one its members.
Langhoff was arrested by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
in February 1933 and initially detained in the Düsseldorf jail, where he was subjected to severe torture by the SA. A few days later he was transferred to the "Ulmer Höhe" prison. In July 1933 he was taken to concentration camp Börgermoor, in Emsland. While there he revised a song lyric written by Johann Esser, creating what was later to become the famous protest song
Protest song
A protest song is a song which is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of topical songs . It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre...
Peat Bog Soldiers (Moorsoldaten). The melody was composed by another prisoner, Rudi Goguel. After the transfer to the Lichtenburg concentration camp, Langhoff was released as part of the so-called Easter amnesty in 1934. Overall, Langhoff spent 13 months in prisons and concentration camps.
Three months later — in June of that year — he fled to Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, just before closure of the border. At the Schauspielhaus in Zurich, he found shelter and work as a director and actor. In 1935, he published the autobiographical memoir The Peat Bog Soldiers: 13 months in concentration camps. After it was translated by Lilo Linke into English it became one of the first internationally known eyewitness accounts of brutality in the Nazi concentration camps. Langhoff was a founding member of the Free Germany Movement in Switzerland.
As an actor
Langhoff played Eilif in the first production of Bertolt BrechtBertolt 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 Mother Courage and Her Children
Mother Courage and Her Children
Mother Courage and Her Children is a play written in 1939 by the German dramatist and poet Bertolt Brecht with significant contributions from Margarete Steffin...
, which opened at the Schauspielhaus Zürich
Schauspielhaus Zürich
The Schauspielhaus Zürich is one of the most prominent and important theatres in the German-speaking world. It is also known as "Pfauenbühne" after its location on the Pfauen Square in Zürich, Switzerland. The large theatre has 750 seats...
on the 19th April, 1941. He also performed in the first production of Brecht's Life of Galileo
Life of Galileo
Life of Galileo , also known as Galileo, is a play by the twentieth-century German dramatist Bertolt Brecht. The first version of the play was written between 1937 and 1939; the second version was written between 1945–1947, in collaboration with Charles Laughton...
, which also opened at the Schauspielhaus Zürich, on the 9th September, 1943.
He played Ernst Mehlin in Konrad Wolf
Konrad Wolf
Konrad Wolf was an East German film director, son of Friedrich Wolf, brother of Markus Wolf....
's film Genesung (1956), von Geir in Nikola Korabov
Nikola Korabov
Nikola Korabov is a Bulgarian film director and screenwriter. He directed thirteen films between 1956 and 1999. His 1962 film Tyutyun was entered into the 1963 Cannes Film Festival.-Filmography:* Magia...
's Tyutyun (1962), and Professor Holt in Joachim Kunert's Die Abenteuer des Werner Holt (1965); he also appeared in Kurt Maetzig
Kurt Maetzig
Kurt Maetzig is an East German film director who had a significant effect on the film industry in the GDR. He is one of the most respected filmmakers of East Germany. He currently lives in Wildkuhl, Mecklenburg, and has three children....
and Günter Reisch
Günter Reisch
Günter Reisch, is a German film director. After World War II, Reisch started working with theater and film and became one of East Germany's most prominent film makers. He has made approx. 20 motion pictures, including the two Karl Liebknecht films.-Selected filmography:* The Sailor's Song * Ach du...
's Das Lied der Matrosen (1958). On television, he appeared in Hans-Joachim Kasprzik's mini-series Wolf unter Wölfen (1964).
As a director
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 Berlin, a theatre which he led from 1946 to 1963, that Langhoff's fame as a director rests. His notable productions there include: Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...
's Faust
Goethe's Faust
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust is a tragic play in two parts: and . Although written as a closet drama, it is the play with the largest audience numbers on German-language stages...
(1949 and 1954, productions in which he also played Mephisto
Mephistopheles
Mephistopheles is a demon featured in German folklore...
) and Egmont
Egmont (play)
Egmont is a play by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, which he completed in 1788. Its dramaturgical structure, like that of his earlier 'Storm and Stress' play Götz von Berlichingen , is heavily influenced by Shakespearean tragedy; in contrast, however, to the earlier work, the portrait in Egmont of the...
(1951), Schiller
Friedrich Schiller
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright. During the last seventeen years of his life , Schiller struck up a productive, if complicated, friendship with already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang von Goethe...
's Don Carlos
Don Carlos (play)
Don Carlos is a historical tragedy in five acts by Friedrich Schiller; it was written between 1783 and 1787 and first produced in Hamburg in 1787...
(1952), Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's King Lear
King Lear
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
(1957) and Lessing
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing was a German writer, philosopher, dramatist, publicist, and art critic, and one of the most outstanding representatives of the Enlightenment era. His plays and theoretical writings substantially influenced the development of German literature...
's Minna of Barnhelm
Minna von Barnhelm
Minna von Barnhelm or the Soldiers' Happiness is a lustspiel or comedy by the German author Gotthold Ephraim Lessing...
(1960).