Körber, Hilde

ACTOR, THEATRE EDUCATOR (AUSTRIA)
BORN 3 Jul 1906, Wien - DIED 31 May 1969, Berlin
BIRTH NAME Körber, Hildegard Gertrud Lily
GRAVE LOCATION Berlin: Waldfriedhof Dahlem, Hüttenweg 47, Steglitz-Zehlendorf (Feld 009-422 (Abt. 20 B 1/2))

Hilda Körber was born in Vienna. Her father Karl Körber was an electrical engineer. She was mad about the theatre from the time she was a little girl. When she was nine years old she decided to be an actress after seeing "Maria Stuart". She played children's parts at the Burgtheater against her parents wishes and when she was fourteen years old she was admitted to the State Academy.

She graduated when she was sixteen and after joining a travelling company she had her first proper engagement at Oldenburg in 1922. She also worked at Stuttgart, Magdeburg and Zürich before she came to Berlin in 1924. There she played in countless theatres.

In 1929 she was already in labour in the hospital when she married director Veit Harlan and their son Thomas was born on the same day. Their marriage would last until 1938. From 1936 onwards she starred in many movies and after the war she was able to continue both her stage and her movie career.

From 1946 until 1951 she was politically active for the christian democratic party CDU and she was fired as a teacher for young actors at the DEFA in 1948 after she tried to intervene with general Clay for prosecuted persons in the eastern zone of Berlin. In 1951 she left politics and she led the Max-Reinhardt-Theaterschule until she retired early in 1969. She was then awarded the title of Professor.

Family
• Husband: Harlan, Veit (1929-1938) (divorce or separation)
• Husband: Varndal, Walter (divorce or separation)

Related persons
• was teacher of Sesselmann, Sabina

Events
28/3/1929Performance of Frank Wedekind's "Der Marquis von Keith" in honour of the recently deceased Albert Steinrück. It took place at the Schauspielhaus at the Gendarmemarkt in Belrin. Director was Leopold Jessner and Heinrich Mann speeched. Among the participating actors were Heinrich George, Werner Krauss, Carola Neher, Tilla Durieux, Jakob Tiedtke, Conrad Veidt, Max Pallenberg, Elisabeth Bergner, Paul Wegener, Hans Albers, Käthe Dorsch and Veit Harlan. [Albers, Hans][Bergner, Elisabeth][Brausewetter, Hans][Dietrich, Marlene][Durieux, Tilla][George, Heinrich][Goetz, Curt][Harlan, Veit][Kortner, Fritz][Krauss, Werner][Mann, Heinrich][Pallenberg, Max][Steinrück, Albert][Veidt, Conrad][Wedekind, Frank][Wedekind, Tilly][Wegener, Paul]
7/1/1930Premiere of Paul Kornfeld's "Jud Süss" at the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm in Berlin. It was directed by Leopold Jessner and Caspar Neher was responsible for the stage design. The cast included Ernst Deutsch, Erich Ponto, Otto Wernicke, Hilde Körber, Lotte Lenya and Eleonora von Mendelssohn. [Lenya, Lotte][Ponto, Erich]

Images

The grave of Hilde Körber at the Waldfriedhof Dahlem, Berlin.
Picture by Androom (17 Jul 2005)

 

Hilde Körber.
 

Hilde Körber.
(1941-1944)

 

Hilde Körber.
(1937-1938)

 

Hilde Körber.
Picture by Ufa-Hämmerer

 

Hilde Körber.
(1939-1940)
Picture by Foto Haenchen

 

Sources
• Aubert, Joachim, Handbuch der Grabstätten berühmten Deutscher, Österreicher und Schweizer, Deutscher Kunstverlag, München, 1973
Baedeker Berlin, Baedeker Verlag, Stuttgart, 1994
• Hammer, Klaus, Historische Friedhöfe & Grabmäler in Berlin, Stattbuch Verlag, Berlin, 1994
Albert Steinrück: Abschiedsvorstellung am Gendarmenmarkt
Hilde Körber


Korn, Ilse

Published: 17 Jun 2006
Last update: 20 Feb 2022