Kristina Söderbaum was the daughter of Professor Henrik Gustaf
Söderbaum, who presided the Nobel Prize Committee three times.
She started her education in Stockholm and continued it in 1929
in Paris at the "Collège feminin du Boffémont".
After
her parents died, a relative took her to Berlin in 1934. There
she learned German and took acting lessons. In 1936 she made
her film debut in "Onkel Bräsig". In 1937 she was discovered
by Veit Harlan, who selected her for his "Jugend" (1938). In
1939 she married Harlan and they had two children, Kristian
(1939) and Caspar (1946).
During the war she played
in several propaganda movies that were directed by her husband.
Best remembered is "Jud Süß", which also starred Ferdinand Marian
and Heinrich Georg. She became a star in Germany and was a prototype
of the blonde Aryan woman. In several movies she died in the
water and this earned her the nickname "Reichswasserleiche"
("Official water corpse of the state"). Towards the end of the
war she had a part in "Kolberg", the most expensive movie that
was produced in the nazi era. In February 1945 she fled from
Berlin to Hamburg with her family.
After the war she
was prosecuted, but not convicted. During the interval that
Veit Harlan wasn't allowed to work (1945-1950) she didn't accept
any film parts herself. But she did appear in theatre productions
that were anonymously staged by her husband. Sometimes rotten
vegatables were thrown at her and in the following years she
often expressed regret for her roles in antis-emitic movies.
She
moved with Harlan to Starnberg in Bavaria and after 1950 she
made her return in movies directed by her husband. The last
time they worked together was in "Ein Traumspiel" (1963). In
1964 Harlan died, leaving an enormous pile of debts behind.
She started to work as a fashion photographer in 1965 and in
1972 she had her first solo exhibition in Graz.
In
1974 she played in the movie "Karl May" and in 1983 her memoirs
were published ("Nichts bleibt immer so"). She largeley sank
into obscurity although she had a part in "Night Train to Venice"
in 1994. When she was eighty years old she said in an interview
that Harlan would often remark on Hitler's amazing eyes. In
2001 she died in a nursery home in Hitzacker, Lower Saxony.
Family
• Husband: Harlan, Veit (1939-1964)
Related persons
• cooperated with George, Heinrich
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