Ilse Baerwald


Ilse Helene Baerwald (14 September 1903 – after 1939), was a German stage actress of Jewish descent who was active in the area of political theater in the 1920s and early 1930s.

Life and work

Ilse Baerwald was born in 1903 to Richard Baerwald and Olga Baerwald (née Lundt) in Berlin-Charlottenburg. She was a graduate of the acting school of the Deutsches Theater (German: Schauspielschule des Deutschen Theaters zu Berlin).[1]

Between 1924 and 1928 she belonged to the Volksbühne Berlin ensemble, where she appeared in numerous productions of Erwin Piscator's political theater, including the world premieres of Paul Zech's Das trunkene Schiff (1926) with projections by George Grosz and Alfons Paquet's Sturmflut (1926). During this time, she also appeared on stage with Marlene Dietrich and Helene Weigel, among others.

Baerwald was also active in film and sound. She appeared in Zwischen Nacht und Morgen (1931) as well as Das erste Recht des Kindes (1932), a feature film that dealt critically with the subject of abortion and was banned in 1933 at the instigation of Heinrich Himmler.[2]

Baerwald was persecuted because of her Jewish ancestry. In 1939, she lived in Berlin-Tiergarten.[3]

Theater (selection)

Voice roles

  • 1930 (DF): Vorhang auf! (OT: Gold Diggers of Broadway, USA 1929)[15]

Films

References

  1. ^ Schauspielschule des Deutschen Theaters zu Berlin: Fünfundzwanzig Jahre Schauspielschule des Deutschen Theaters zu Berlin. 1930, S. 24, 84.
  2. ^ "Ilse Baerwald | filmportal.de". www.filmportal.de. Retrieved 2025-07-17.
  3. ^ "MtL - Mapping the Lives". mappingthelives.org. Retrieved 2025-07-17.
  4. ^ Marlene Dietrich : life and legend. Univ. of Minnesota Press. 2011. p. 480. ISBN 978-0-8166-7584-5.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "Spielzeitchronik 1920 bis 1930". volksbuehne.adk.de. Retrieved 2025-07-17.
  6. ^ "Landesarchiv Berlin". www.landesarchiv-berlin.findbuch.net. Retrieved 2025-07-17.
  7. ^ "Landesarchiv Berlin". www.landesarchiv-berlin.findbuch.net. Retrieved 2025-07-17.
  8. ^ "Landesarchiv Berlin". www.landesarchiv-berlin.findbuch.net. Retrieved 2025-07-17.
  9. ^ "Erwin Piscator - Inszenierungen". www.erwin-piscator.de (in German). Retrieved 2025-07-17.
  10. ^ "Erwin Piscator - Inszenierungen". www.erwin-piscator.de (in German). Retrieved 2025-07-17.
  11. ^ The German "Zeitstück" 1928-1933. University of Wisconsin–Madison. 1979. p. 366.
  12. ^ "Chronik: Berlin im Jahr 1930, Fakten Tag für Tag". berlingeschichte.de. Retrieved 2025-07-17.
  13. ^ Strindberg, August. "Der Vater. Drama in drei Akten". www.performing-arts.eu. Retrieved 2025-07-17.
  14. ^ "easydb.archive". archiv.adk.de (in German). Archived from the original on 2025-06-12. Retrieved 2025-07-17.
  15. ^ kinofilmfan (2016-01-06). "Ilse Baerwald". Die vergessenen Filme (in German). Retrieved 2025-07-17.