Heinrich August Franz Schroth (23 March 1871 – 14 January 1945)[1] was a German stage and film actor.

Heinrich Schroth
Schroth, c. 1920
Born
Heinrich August Franz Schroth

(1871-03-23)23 March 1871
Died14 January 1945(1945-01-14) (aged 73)
OccupationActor
Years active1890–1943
Spouses
  • Else Ruttersheim (divorced)
(m. 1922)
Children3, including Carl-Heinz Schroth and Hannelore Schroth

Career

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Schroth was born in Pirmasens, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. He made his acting debut at the Sigmaringen Royal Theatre in 1890. In 1894 he went to the Municipal Theatre in Augsburg, in 1896 to Mainz and in 1897 to the Royal Court Theatre in Hanover. From 1899 to 1905, he spent six years as a part of the ensemble of the Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg and from 1905 onwards at various Berlin theatres.

Schroth made his film debut in the 1916 Walter Schmidthässler-directed drama Welker Lorbeer. He spent the 1910s in numerous German silent film productions, working with such directors as George Jacoby, Robert Wiene and Harry Piel. His career in the 1920s was prolific, and he appeared opposite such silent film actors as Lil Dagover, Emil Jannings, Paul Wegener and Brigitte Helm and transitioned to sound film with ease.

During World War II Heinrich Schroth participated in a large number of film productions for the Nazi Party, including propaganda films for the Nazi regime.[2] In the final phase of the Second World War, Reich Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels placed Schroth on the Gottbegnadeten list ("God-gifted list" or "Important Artist Exempt List"), a 36-page list of artists considered crucial to Nazi culture.[3] Schroth's most memorable role of the World War II era is possibly that of the role of Herr von Neuffer in the 1940 Veit Harlan-directed, anti-Semitic melodrama Jud Süß, commissioned by Joseph Goebbels.[4]

Schroth's stage and film career spanned five decades. He died in January 1945.

Personal life

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Heinrich Schroth was married three times. Little is known of his first wife. The couple had a son, Heinz Schroth (1902–1957). His second wife was Else Ruttersheim, with whom he had a son, actor and director Carl-Heinz Schroth (aka Heinz Sailer) in 1902. His third wife was German actress Käthe Haack, with whom he had a daughter, actress Hannelore Schroth in 1922.[5]

Selected filmography

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References

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  1. ^ Cyranos. Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  2. ^ Klee, Ernst: The Cultural Encyclopedia of the Third Reich: Who was Who Before and after 1945. S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2007, S. 549.
  3. ^ Klee. Ernst: The Cultural Encyclopedia of the Third Reich: Who was Who Before and after 1945. S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2007, S. 549.
  4. ^ Winkler, Willi: Eine Kerze für Veit Harlan. Süddeutsche Zeitung, 18 September 2009
  5. ^ Winkler, Willi: Eine Kerze für Veit Harlan. Süddeutsche Zeitung, 18 September 2009
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