Gesonnek, Erwin

Erwin Gesonnek was born in the city of Bartoszyce ( East Prussia ) in the family of a poor cobbler. In 1909, the family moved to Berlin , where his father got a job as a night watchman. After graduating from high school, Geshonnek, during the difficult economic crisis in Germany, earned his living as a courier, domestic worker, periodically turned out to be unemployed and interrupted by casual work ^[1] . In 1929, he joined the Communist Party of Germany , participated as an actor in campaign teams, and spoke in a cabaret . In 1931 he made his film debut - in a small role in Zlatan Dudov 's film “ Kule Vampe ” ^[1] .

After the NSDAP came to power in 1933, Geshonnek emigrated to the USSR , performed on the stages of German-language theaters in Dnepropetrovsk and Odessa , but in 1938, under pressure from the NKVD, he was forced to leave the country and settled in Prague ^[1] . March 31, 1939, after the occupation of Bohemia and Moravia , was arrested by German authorities ^[2] .

During the Second World War, he was imprisoned in various concentration camps , including Sachsenhausen and Dachau . In May 1945, he turned out to be one of the few prisoners who escaped when the Cap Arkona ship on which they were transported was sunk by British aircraft ^{[3] [1]} .

After his liberation, in 1946-1948, Geshonnek performed on the stage of the Hamburg Kammerspiel. In 1947, he returned to the cinema, starring in the film "In those days" ( In jenen Tagen ). In 1949, at the invitation of Bertolt Brecht, he moved to East Germany , became one of the leading actors of the Berliner Ensemble Theater and became famous with this collective. Among the best theatrical works of Gesonnek are Matti in Brecht's play “ Mr. Puntila and His Servant Matti ”, the Priest in “ Mother Courage ”, the title role in Moliere's “Don Juan” ^[1] .

In the 50s and 70s, Geshonnek starred in many films, including the films of Zlatan Dudov and Konrad Wolf ; one of his best roles was Walter Kremer in the film “Naked among the Wolves” - an adaptation of the famous novel by Bruno Apitz ^[1] . In 1975, he played one of the main roles in Frank Bayer ’s film “ Jacob the Liar ”, which became the only film from the GDR nominated for the Academy Award in the nomination “ Best Foreign Film ”. During his acting career, Geshonnek performed about 80 roles in film and television, most recently appearing in front of the audience in the television movie Matulla and Bush ( 1995 ).

The actor was twice married and in his first marriage became the father of Matti Geshnek, who later became a director.

Erwin Geshonnek died in Berlin in March 2008 at the age of 101.

Theater Works

Berliner Ensemble

• 1949 - “ Mr. Puntila and his servant Matti ” by B. Brecht. Staged by B. Brecht and E. Engel - Matti
• 1950 - “Governor” by J. Lenz in the treatment of B. Brecht. Staged by B. Brecht, E. Monck , C. Neer and B. Besson - Privy Councilor von Berg
• 1951 - “ Mother Courage and Her Children ” by B. Brecht . Staged by B. Brecht and E. Engel - Priest
• 1951 - “The Broken Pitcher” by G. Kleist . Staged by T. Guise - Judge Adam
• 1952 - "Mr. Puntila and his servant Matti" B. Brecht. Staged by B. Brecht and E. Monck - Matti
• 1952 - The Rifles of Theresa Carrard by B. Brecht. Staged by E. Monka - Pedro
• 1953 - "Don Giovanni" by Moliere in the treatment of B. Brecht. Staged by B. Besson - Don Juan

Selected Filmography

• 1947 - In those days / In jenen Tagen - Schmitt
• 1950 - Frozen / Das kalte Herz - Dutchman Michel
• 1956 - The Adventures of Til Ulenspiegel / Die Abenteuer des Till Ulenspiegel
• 1956 - Captain from Cologne / Der Hauptmann von Köln - Hans Karjanke
• 1960 - Five cartridge cases / Fünf Patronenhülsen - Commissioner Heinrich Witting
• 1962 - Naked Among the Wolves / Nackt unter Wölfen - Walter Kremer
• 1967 - Banner of the Kryvyi Rih / Die Fahne von Kriwoj Rog - Otto Brozovsky
• 1970 - Everyone Dies Alone / Jeder stirbt für sich allein
• 1974 - Jakob the Liar / Jakob der Lügner - Kowalski
• 1982 - The Man with Cap Arcona / Der Mann von der Cap Arcona

• Order of Merit to the Fatherland, I Degree ( Vaterländischer Verdienstorden in Gold ; 1976 ) ^[1]
• Order of Merit to the Fatherland, II Degree ( Vaterländischer Verdienstorden in Silber , 1965 ) ^[1]
• Order of Karl Marx ( Karl Marx Orden , 1981 ) ^[1]
• GDR National Prize - 1954 , 1961 , 1968 , 1975 ^[1]
• Award for Excellence in Art ( Kunstpreis des FDGB , 1985 ) ^[1]

• Erwin Geshonnek (German) on the website of the German National Library
• Erwin Geshonnek on his son’s site.