Ernst Busch
Busch in 1946
Born(1900-01-22)22 January 1900
Kiel, German Empire
Died8 June 1980(1980-06-08) (aged 80)
Bernburg, East Germany
Occupation(s)Singer, actor
SpouseEva Zimmermann
AwardsLenin Peace Prize

Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Busch[1][2] (22 January 1900 – 8 June 1980) was a German singer and actor.

Biography

Busch originated from a Kiel worker family. He started in life as a shipyard worker before he decided to make use of his acting and singing talent.[3][4]

Busch first rose to prominence as an interpreter of political songs, particularly those of Kurt Tucholsky, in the Berlin Kabarett scene of the 1920s. He starred in the original 1928 production of Bertolt Brecht's Threepenny Opera, as well as the subsequent 1931 film by Georg Wilhelm Pabst. He also appeared in the movie Kuhle Wampe.

A lifelong communist, Busch fled Nazi Germany in 1933, accompanied by his wife, Eva Busch, and with the Gestapo on his heels, initially settling in the Netherlands. By 1938 they had divorced, without acrimony, as their lives diverged.[5] Eva settled in Paris while Ernst initially made his home in the Soviet Union where he worked with Gustav von Wangenheim on the 1935 film "Kämpfer" ("Fighters"). In 1937 he joined the International Brigades to fight against the fascists in Spain. His wartime songs were then recorded and broadcast by Radio Barcelona and Radio Madrid. After the Spanish Republic fell to General Franco, Busch migrated to Belgium where he was interned during the German occupation and later imprisoned in Camp Gurs, France and Berlin. Freed by the Red Army in 1945, he settled in East Berlin, where he acted in the first play to be produced in the American-occupied zone, Robert Ardrey's Thunder Rock.[6][7] He would go on to start his own record label and work with Bertolt Brecht and Erwin Piscator at the "Berliner Ensemble". A beloved figure in the German Democratic Republic, he is best remembered for his performance in the title role of Brecht's Life of Galileo and his recordings of workers songs, including many written by Hanns Eisler. He also made a memorable recording of "Peat Bog Soldiers".

Recordings of Spanish Civil War songs (incomplete list)

From "Canciones de las Brigadas Internacionales" and "Solidarität".

  • Adelante Campesinos
  • Am Rio Jarama – "On the Jarama Front"
  • Ballade der XI Brigade on YouTube / Lied von der XI Brigade – "Song of the XIth Brigade"
  • Los Campesinos – "The Peasants"
  • Las Compañías de Acero
  • Los Cuatro Generales
  • Himno de Riego / Riego Hymne – "Colonel Riego's Hymn"
  • Hans Beimler
  • Des Lied von der Einheitsfront' / Einheitsfrontlied
  • Lied der Internationalen Brigaden' / Lied Der Interbrigaden – "Song of the International Brigades"
  • Mamita Mia
  • Die Moorsoldaten – "Peat Bog Soldiers"
  • Nuestra Bandera – "Our Flag"
  • Peter, Mein Kamerad – "Peter, My Comrade"
  • "Spaniens Himmel" or "Die Thälmann-Kolonne" – "Spain's Heaven" or "The Thälmann Battalion"[8] (Page 30f)

Recordings of Second World War and other songs (incomplete list)

  • Ach Ihr Wege
  • Alle Waffen gegen Hitler
  • Ami go home
  • Aufbaulied
  • Die Armeen Europas
  • Ballade von den Säckeschmeißern
  • Der Barrikaden
  • Dank Euch Ihr Sowjetsoldaten
  • Das Lied vom SA-Mann
  • Diplomaten
  • Der Graben
  • Der heimliche Aufmarsch
  • Es Kommt der Tag
  • Einheitsfrontlied
  • Frieden der Welt
  • Kämpfen wie Lenin
  • Kampflied gegen den Faschismus
  • Korea
  • Lenin
  • Lied der Bergarbeiter
  • Lied der Interbrigaden
  • Lied der Partei
  • Lied des Werktätigen
  • Lied vom Adler Stalin
  • Lied vom Vaterland
  • Linker Marsch
  • Links Rechts
  • Lob des Kommunismus
  • Marsch der Antifaschisten
  • Der Marsch Ins Dritte Reich
  • Matrosen von Kronstadt
  • Der rote Wedding
  • Sehnsucht nach der Heimat
  • Solidaritätslied
  • Stalin Freund Genosse
  • Trotz alledem
  • Vorwärts Bolschewik
  • Wir sind des Geyers schwarzer Haufen

Awards, medals, and recognition

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ernst Busch (actor).

Germany's most prestigious school for stage acting and directing is named after the actor, the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts (Hochschule für Schauspielkunst "Ernst Busch", HFS) in Berlin. Busch was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize for 1970–71.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1929Katharina Knie
1931The Street SongDer Straßensänger
1931GassenhauerPeter
1931Das Lied vom LebenSänger
1931KameradschaftWittkopp
1931Die Koffer des Herrn O.F.
1931Hell on EarthErnst Kohler
1932Kuhle WampeFritz
1932Raid in St. PauliSinger
1932Strafsache van Geldern
1932Die Zwei vom SüdexpressHans, Heizer
1932Eine von unsPeter
1933The Lake CallsBesatzung der 'Carola'
1936Der KampfJudge
1960Five CartridgesSinger
1961Mutter Courage und ihre KinderKoch
1971Goya or the Hard Way to EnlightenmentGaspar Melchor de Jovelianos(final film role)

See also

References

  1. ↑ Ernst Busch – ein Jahrhundertleben. ernst-busch.net.
  2. ↑ Karl Siebig. "Ich geh' mit dem Jahrhundert mit" : Ernst Busch – eine Dokumentation. Rowohlt (1980). ISBN 9783499251498. p. 13.
  3. ↑ Michel Stermann " Dienstag geh ich ins Theater " – Ernst Busch – Von der Werft zur Bühne 1917–1920, TwentySix, 2017,ISBN 9783740726683, p. 7.
  4. ↑ Michel Stermann: My Maman Grete – An educator from Germany for orphans of Holocaust victims in France and other family portraits. Twentysix Publishing, Norderstedt 2018, ISBN 978-3-74074-400-7, p. 141.
  5. ↑ Eike Stedefeldt (18 September 1996). "Ich habe zu viele Leben gelebt Zwischen Berlin, Paris und Ravensbrück". "Die Scheidung war kein Mangel an Liebe, sondern unsere Ehe war einfach unmöglich." – Eva Busch. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  6. ↑ Aldgate, Anthony et al. Britain Can Take It: The British Cinema in the Second World War 2nd ed. London: I.B. Tauris, 2007. pp. 178. Print.
  7. ↑ Ernst Busch – ein Jahrhundertleben. ernst-busch.net.
  8. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 February 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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