Hiebel, Henny (La Jana) (1905-1940)

Hiebel, Henny (La Jana)

ACTOR, DANCER (AUSTRIA)

BORN 24 Feb 1905, Wien: Mauer - DIED 13 Mar 1940, Berlin: Krankenhaus in der Landhausstrasse 33/35, Wilmersdorf
BIRTH NAME Niederauer, Henriette Margaretha
CAUSE OF DEATH pneumonia
GRAVE LOCATION Berlin: Waldfriedhof Dahlem, Hüttenweg 47, Steglitz-Zehlendorf (Feld 007-319 (Abt. 22 B 97) (grave cleared, new stone with medal from original grave))

Known as 'La Jana'. She was the daughter of master gildeer Heinrich Hiebel and his housekeeper Anna Niederauer. When she was two years old her family moved to Frankfurt am Main and her parents married there in 1909. At eight she was already dancing. She performed at cabarets in Paris, Berlin, Stockholm and London and featured in many movies. According to Géza von Cziffra (who knew her well) crown prince Wilhelm was one of her lovers. She was engaged to the actor Ulrich Bettac, but they didn't marry. In 1934 she toured in England and Scotland. By the time she returned to Germany she was very famous.

After she refused to go herself, Goebbels sent her on tour for the Wehrmacht in 1939/1940. It was a cold winter and she wore little clothes on the stage. This resulted in a double pneumonia from which she died on March 13, 1940 in a hospital in Berlin. Omn 20 March 1940 her last movie "Stern von Rio" was released.

A lot happened after her death. In 1954 a person appeared who claimed to be La Jana's son. After Anny Bittlinski, La Jana's sister, denied his story he was charged with forgery and fraud. There was also a story that La Jana helped Jews escape from Germany. The SS would have killed her for this and the pneumonia story would have been invented to conceal the murder.

Following a disagreement about the costs after the war, her family didn't pay for her grave at the Waldfriedhof Dahlem in Berlin anymore and it was cleared. The medal from her grave was preserved at the Heimatsmuseum in Berlin-Steglitz. In 1985 a new stone was erected and the original medal was placed on it.

Related persons
• lived with Bohnen, Michael
• was the lover of Chaplin, Charly

Images
The grave of La Jana (Henny Hiebel) at the Waldfriedhof Dahlem, Berlin. The grave was cleared, but in later years a new stone was erected with the original medal on it. Picture by Androom (17 Jul 2005)	The grave of La Jana (Henny Hiebel) at the Waldfriedhof Dahlem, Berlin. The grave was cleared, but in later years a new stone was erected with the original medal on it. Picture by Androom (17 Jul 2005)	La Jana.