Gerda Müller

Gerda Müller (30 July 1894 – 26 April 1951) was a German stage actress.[1]

For the Venezuelan fencer, see Gerda Muller.
Gerda Müller
Agathe Poschmann on the left and Müller on the right as Recha and Sittah in Nathan der Weise in 1945
Born(1894-07-30)30 July 1894
Rößel , East Prussia, Germany
Died26 April 1951(1951-04-26) (aged 56)
Berlin, East Germany
OccupationStage actress
Spouse(s)Hermann Scherchen 1927
Hans Lohmeyer 1931

Life

Gerda Müller was born near Rößel (since 1945 part of Poland) in rural East Prussia. [2] She studied at the "Max Reinhardt" stage school (as it was known at the time) in Berlin, where she was taught by Lucie Höflich, Hermine Körner and Eduard von Winterstein.[2] Between 1917 and 1922 she worked at the Schauspielhaus in Frankfurt.[2] At Frankfurt she was in the original production of Arnolt Bronnen's Vatermord ("Patricide"). In 1922 she moved to Berlin where she worked with Leopold Jessner at the Prussian State Theatre, which at that time was one of Germany's top theatres.[1] During her time in Berlin with the State Theatre company she also made regular guest appearances at the Deutsches Theater, the Lessing Theater and the Schiller Theater, working with leading directors such as Heinz Hilpert and Bertolt Brecht.

She married the orchestral conductor Hermann Scherchen in 1927:[3] they separated soon afterwards, but not amicably. She had affairs, including one with Carl Zuckmayer who referred to her as the Lithuanian vixen on account of her apparent vitality. In 1931 Müller married Hans Lohmeyer, the Lord Mayor of Königsberg.[4]

In January 1933, the Nazi Party took power and systematically switched Germany over to a one-party dictatorship. Müller's husband was not a member of the Nazi Party and was suspended from his mayoral duties. Gerda Müller also retired to private life during the twelve Nazi years, possibly due to a severe lung infection. Other sources indicate that a stage ban was imposed on her in connection with complications following the non-consensual ending of her earlier marriage with Hermann Scherchen.[1]

After the war, the eastern part of Berlin was part of a larger Soviet occupation zone. The Deutsches Theater reopened in September 1945 under the leadership of Gustav von Wangenheim, and Gerda Müller was a member of the company. Between 1945 and her death in 1951 she played a succession of leading roles. Shortly before she died she headed the cast in Brecht's Mother Courage.[5]

Selected filmography

References
  1. Aune Renk. "Müller, Gerda * 30.6.1895, † 26.4.1951 Schauspielerin" (in German). Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur: Biographische Datenbanken. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  2. Gabriele Baumgartner; Dieter Hebig (1 January 1996). Müller, Gerda geb. 30.6.1895 (a. Quelle 30.7.1894) Tornienen, Ostre. gest. 26.4.1951 Schauspielerin. Biographisches Handbuch der SBZ/DDR. Band 1+2. Deutsch. ISBN 978-3111987255.
  3. Hermann Scherchen, Biography, theaterwissenschaft.ch, in German, Retrieved 27 July 2015
  4. Hans Lohmeyer, Deutsche Biography, (in German), Retrieved 27 July 2015
  5. Walter Schürenberg; Hermann Haarmann (Ed); Christoph Hesse (Ed) (28 November 2011). Briefe an Bertolt Brecht im Exil (1933–1949). letter to Bertolt Brecht as quoted. Walter de Gruyter & Co. p. 1579. ISBN 978-3110195460.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
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