Estates / collections

Besides estates or partial estates of film people, photographers and cinema owners, this section also comprises collections of film scholars and private collectors. The estates / collections contain working documents and correspondence, production and film stills as well as location and private photos, biographical documents, promotional material, image and sound carriers or personal items. Estates of very different kinds and sizes are stored according to the principle of provenance and preserved as closed units. In case no restrictions have been imposed by the donor, the materials contained in the estates are made accessible to users.
Some estates and individual-related collections are stored in a database and finding aids exist, some just have preliminary indices.

Contact person: Birgit Scholz
b.scholz@filmmuseum-potsdam.de
Informationen zur Benutzung des Bestandes

Max Adler
Cinema owner
5 April 1890 - 23 January 1953
1 file: administrative documents of the cinema 1938 - 1953 (among others: personal documents on Adler's expropriation after 1945)

Maria Andergast (Ingrid Langner collection)
Actress
4 June 1912 - 14 February 1995
Personal documents, music sheets by Hans Lang, photos from her theatre and film career, promotional material, press clippings. Photos contained in the collection: Kristina Söderbaum, Rudolf Häussler, Hans Lang, Viktor de Kowa, Wolf Albach Retty, Lilian Harvey et al.
1933 - 1995

Hans Albers (Felix Felzmann collection)
Actor
22 September 1891 - 24 July 1960
Personal clothes and items, costumes from German post-war films, film and private photos (including autographs), programmes, posters and promotional material for films and his person
1920 - 1960

Dorit Albrecht
Assistant director
25 February 1941
Personal documents, production records, scripts, photos
1961 - 1997

Rudolf Albrecht
Prop master
8 May 1907 - unknown
Personal documents, contracts with Ufa, LINSA and DEFA, correspondence
1927 - 1954

Amateurfilmstudio Schnepfenthal
Brochures and photos on the studio's work, development records and drafts of the animation stand "unitricks 8/16"
1975 - 1990

Carl Balhaus
Director
4 November 1905 - 28 July 1968
Personal documents, contracts, correspondence, press photos, film and production stills from his film and theatre work, portraits
1925 - 1962

Werner Bergmann
Cinematographer
14 January 1921 - 25 October 1990
Personal documents, correspondence, scripts, working manuscripts, manuscripts on film theory and cinematography, film and production stills, technical equipment and films
1934 - 1990

Helmut Bergmann
Cinematographer
15 February 1926 - 15 March 1998
Scripts, working manuscripts
1956 - 1990

Siegfried Bergmann
Director / cinematographer
3 September 1932
Technical equipment, camera accessories

Werner Bernhardy (Tummeley)
Author
27 June 1918 - 2002
Personal documents, correspondence, scripts, spec scripts for theatre, TV and radio, DEFA photo albums, portrait drawings by Willy Birgel, Brigitte Helm et al., personal items
1948 - 1987

Frank Beyer
Director
26 May 1932 - 1. Octobre 2006
Director’s scripts for his films, spec scripts, exposés for films and for projects not realised, diaries, correspondence, production records, copies of Stasi (State Security of the GDR) documents, film and production stills, test shots, posters, press clippings on his person and films
1953 - 1998
More about F. Beyer and the estate

Friedhelm Boehm
Draftsman, set designer
1925
Albums with film stills and set photos, construction drawings, copies of drafts, press clippings
1956 - 1985

Doris Borkmann
Assistant director
13 March 1935
Shooting scripts, production records, notebooks, film diaries, copies of letters, production stills
1958 - 1998

Wolfgang Braumann
Cinematographer
7 January 1938
Scripts for DEFA and TV films, shooting schedules, working manuscripts, film and production stills
1966 - 1995

Joachim Brennecke
Actor
6 December 1919
Personal documents, correspondence, film and production stills, posters
1939 - 1970

Annekathrin Bürger
Actress
3 April 1937
Photos (films, private), videos, film items, costume parts (by Rolf Römer, among others)

Rudi Burghardt
Head of Kooperationsgemeinschaft Film (Collaborative Film Community) as well as other leading positions at the DEFA feature film studio / DEFA documentary film studio
4 May 1928
Photos from his working life (on CD), personal documents (copies)
1946 - 1989

Hans-Erich Busch
Head of production
6 July 1945
Personal documents, correspondence, production records, scripts
1974 - 1989

Arzen von Cserépy
Director, author, producer
17 July 1882 - [1958]
Script for Fridericus Rex, production records, distribution records, photos, correspondence, press clippings on Fridericus Rex
1920 - 1933
More about A. v. Cserépy and the estate

Ree van Dahlen
Assistant director
15 December 1912 - 25 October 1998
Scripts and working manuscripts for DEFA feature and TV films produced in the GDR
1950 - 1970

Lutz Dammbeck
Filmmaker, designer
17 October 1948
Drawings, watercolours, collages, drafts, figures, scripts, manuscripts, copies of Stasi (State Security of the GDR) documents on his person
1976 - 1993

Paul Dannenberg
Make-up artist
13 January 1894 - 22 January 1957
Personal documents, photos, drawings from the estate
1912 - 1958

Andreas Dresen
Director
16 August 1963
Scripts, exposés
1999 - 2001

Helga Emmrich
Editor
3 August 1926
Personal documents, awards, certificates, photos of the editing department of the DEFA feature film studio
1961 - 1975

Kurt Enz
Film technician, technical journalist
2 September 1931 - 3 May 2004
Working documents on cinema technology at the DEFA centre for film technology / VEB Filmtheatertechnik (GDR state-owned enterprise for cinema technology) and at Zentrale Betriebsschule des Lichtspielwesens der DDR Langenau (GDR state vocational school of film and cinema engineering), photos on cinema technology and GDR cinema history
1965 - 1990

Hans-Ulrich Eylau
Editorial journalist, film journalist
5 August 1909 - 22 July 1982
Personal documents, press clippings, photos
1946 - 1975

Karl Joachim Farber
Cinematographer
26 September 1945
Personal documents, contracts, production records
1985 - 1991

Walter Fiedler
Actor
23 September 1931
Photos, written records on German film history before 1945 (on Harry Piel, Kristina Söderbaum et al.)

Heinz Fischer
Director
2 December 1901 - 13 December 1982
Manuscripts of literary preliminary work for films, correspondence, working notes, photos (DEFA documentary film studio)

Sylvie Fischer
Actress
Dates unknown
Contracts, correspondence, daily call sheets, script for The One-Eyed Soldiers (Yugoslavia, Italy, GB, USA 1963, DIR: John Ainsworth)
1963 - 1995

Manfred Fritzsche
Dramatic adviser, screenplay editor
3 October 1928 - 16 October 2003
Manuscripts on DEFA film productions, collected material on the organisation and work of the DEFA screenplay editing department, prints of the DEFA academy, material on DEFA children’s films, material on DEFA directors, authors and actors, film analyses, production estimates, scripts, spec scripts
1959 - 1990

Regina Fritsche
Draftswoman
1 November 1937
Production records, drawings, scripts, production stills

Karl Gass
Director
2 February 1917
Production records, exposés, spec scripts, correspondence, posters, photos from his films
1950 - 2000

Fritz Gebhardt
Director, author
2 February 1926 - 16 August 1999
Contracts, spec scripts, texts, promotional material, awards, photos (DEFA documentary film studio)

Renate Georgi
Author, film scholar
14 July 1931 - 7 July 1995
Manuscripts of scientific publications, research material, photos (GDR and Eastern Europe)

Gerd Gericke
Dramatic adviser
20 April 1935
Working manuscripts, scripts
1968 - 1990

Christel Gräf
Dramatic adviser
24 December 1935
Escrow: production records, correspondence, scripts, spec scripts, working manuscripts (also for projects not realised)

Roland Gräf
Director
13 October 1934
Escrow: production records, scripts, spec scripts, film and production stills, posters, certificates, awards, press clippings

Wolfgang Grau
Graduate audio, broadcast and frequency engineer
16 May 1920 - 17 October 1998
Prints, business correspondence from his time as technical director of Mosaik-Film Berlin (West), business records of Deutscher Normausschuss
ca. 1950 - 1995

Richard Groschopp
Director
19 February 1906 - 8 July 1996
Scripts, spec scripts, correspondence, personal documents, production records, film and production stills, location photos, posters, promotional material, press clippings, films, awards
1907 - 1994

Veit Harlan
Director
22 September 1899 - 13 April 1964
Scripts, rough drafts (also for projects not realised), handwritten notes, correspondence, photos (film, private), press clippings (the estate also contains documents on Kristina Söderbaum)
1930 - 1968

Lilian Harvey (Wieb Renkema collection)
Actress
19 January 1906 - 27 July 1968
Personal clothes and items, photos (film, private)
1938 - 1955

Emil Hasler (Jutta Walter collection)
Draftsman, set designer
8 November 1901 - 15 January 1986
Contracts, correspondence, personal documents
1924 - 1940

Klaus Heidemann
Audio engineer
26 July 1940
Production records, technology documents from the DEFA documentary film studio and the DEFA feature film studio, audio reels of films, sound effects reels

Hans Heidenheim
Cinema owner, distributor
10 April 1887 - 24 November 1949
Production records, working manuscripts, photos (copies, private)
1933 - 1949

Hans Heinrich
Director
2 November 1911 - 5 November 2003
Scripts, spec scripts (also by other authors), production records of all feature and TV films as of 1939, documents on projects not realised, film and production stills, private photos, press clippings, props, personal items

Wolfgang Held
Author
12 July 1930
Personal documents, correspondence, scripts for DEFA films
1968 - 1984

Hermann Herlinghaus
Film scholar, journalist
30 April 1931 - 19 May 1988
Photos (DEFA history and film history of Eastern Europe), documents on the work of the Association of Film and Television Personnel of the GDR, documents on " Konrad Wolf" Film and Television College, manuscripts on film theory (articles, interviews, analyses), documents on the "H&S" studio, collected material on the work of Sergej Eisenstein and on reception history, drawings by S. Eisenstein (copies), correspondence, writings and collected material on Eastern European film and on the states of the Soviet Union
1958 - 1988

Heinz Herrmann
Head of production
20 January 1920
Photos, correspondence, production records, 4 scripts by Renate Herrmann
1953 - 1991

Harry Hindemith
Actor
16 June 1906 - 21 January 1973
Textbooks, correspondence, personal documents, photos (film and theatre), awards and certificates
1926 - 1973
More about H. Hindemith and the estate

Alfred Hirschmeier
Set designer
19 March 1931 - 27 March 1996
1100 drafts for his films, construction drawings, film and production stills, location photos, negatives, scripts, production records, teaching files, correspondence, posters
1953 - 1995

Herbert Hübner
Actor
6 February 1889 - 27 January 1972
Photos (character photos, private), promotional material, press clippings
1915 - 1964

Joop Huisken
Director
30 April 1901 - 1 April 1979
Literary preliminary work for films, working notes, manuscripts on the theory of documentary film, manuscripts on his teaching activity at " Konrad Wolf" Film and Television College, correspondence, contracts, photos (film)
1946 - 1973

Gerhard Jentsch
Director
4 February 1927
Contracts, correspondence, scripts, photos on DEFA documentary film

Hans Günther Kaden
Director
19 March 1926
Company estate AG Werbefilm Dresden (1961 - 1967, as of 1968: Werbefilm AG): scripts (manuscripts) for productions of DEFA-Produktion Sachsen, of DEFA-Studios für populärwissenschaftliche Filme (DEFA popular scientific film studio), TV advertising spots, films made for the purpose of agitation for DEWAG Dresden, make-to-order productions
1948 - 1990

Heinz Kersten
Author, journalist
12 December 1926
Photos of international films, sound recordings

Hans Kieselbach
Costume designer
23 January 1905 - 2 Ocotber 1992
Figurines, film and production stills, personal working documents, contracts, personal documents, tools
1931 - 1968

Ralf Kirsten
Director
30 May 1930 - 23 January 1998
Scripts, production records, manuscripts, research material, correspondence, film and production stills, press clippings
1956 - 1997

Horst Klein
Producer, cinematographer
1 November 1920 - 3 January 1994
Photo archive (2,685 pictures of the history of the Soviet occupation zone and the GDR as of 1947), sound recordings archive (short interview and speech excerpts, political speeches, songs from GDR history), film archive (documentary film contributions and clippings from the years 1949 to 1990), diaries, filming and projecting equipment (studio equipment)
1936 - 1993

Andreas Kleinert
Director
1962
Production records, scripts, location photos, press clippings, prizes and awards

Thomas Knauf
Author, director
1951
Scripts, production records

Horst Knietzsch
Editorial and film journalist
5 January 1927 - 16 January 2005
Manuscripts, correspondence, press clippings, photos (DEFA, international film)

Erich Kobler
Director, assistant director, cutter
1910
Written records, photos (film)
1932 - 1989

Gottfried Kolditz
Director
14 December 1922 - 15 June 1982
Acceptance protocols, correspondence, personal documents, production records, scripts, spec scripts (also for projects not realised), film and production stills, prizes and awards, footage
1946 - 1982

Christa Kozik
Author
1 January 1941
Film and production stills, portraits, posters, correspondence, manuscripts
1973 - 1991

Peter Krause
Cinematographer
9 November 1935
Scripts and production stills of DEFA and TV films

Peter Kreuder
Composer
18 August 1905 - 28 June 1981
Handwritten scores, music sheets, scripts, correspondence, sketchbooks, press clippings, programmes, photos (tour, private)
1920er - 1980er

Tilly Lauenstein
Actress
28 July 1916 - 8 May 2002
Textbooks, photos (film, private), stage jewellery, personal items and clothes
1947 - 1956

Zarah Leander
Actress
15 March 1907 - 23 June 1981
Heinz Sauer collection: extensive sound carrier collection (records, tapes, CDs) containing 364 titles recorded by Zarah Leander (national and international recordings)

Paul Seiler collection: extensive collection of materials (sorted chronologically in 36 folders, 1907 - 1997), programmes of all films and performances, music and lyrics sheets, press clippings, approx. 1,000 fan letters to Paul Seiler, numerous autographs, photos, posters, tour dress, pearl necklet (stage jewellery)

Hans-Eberhard Leupold
Cinematographer
15 January 1937
Film manuscripts for (among others) Lebensläufe - Die Geschichte der Kinder von Golzow (GDR 1981, DIR: Winfried Junge), production records, correspondence, scripts, press clippings

Fred Linde
Audio engineer
10 September 1924 - 6 August 1999
Photos (DEFA documentary film studio / sound department, DEFA orchestra, music department)
1949 - 1976

Günter Linke
Photographer
8 December 1943
Approx. 140,000 negatives and 40,000 reproductions of pictures of GDR film and cinema history and of Eastern European countries
1968 - 1992
Photographs of actors and actresses
More Photographs from the collection G. Linke

Alexander Lösche
Head of production
31 October 1910 - 2005
Manuscripts on economy and film production planning, DEFA economic conference 1950, several articles from the years 1948 to 1950, photos
1948 - 1965

Rolf Losansky
Director
18 February 1931
Production records, scripts, awards and certificates, film and production stills

Oskar Ludmann
Production manager
9 March 1935
Production records, cast and staff lists, correspondence, personal documents
1957 - 1989

Irene von Meyendorff (Keith Bromley collection)
Actress
6 June 1916 - 28 September 2001
Photos (copies) and personal memorabilia (strass jewellery, gloves, dresses)

Otto Meyer
Director
1 April 1919 - 16 June 2000
Personal documents, correspondence, photos, promotional material, press clippings
1947 - 1953

Karlheinz Mund
Director
11 September1937
Spec scripts, handwritten notes, interview protocols, protocols of the state certification board, film and production stills, film items, sound reels and tapes
1972 - 1996

Igor Oberberg
Cinematographer
20 February 1907 - 22 December 1996
Technical equipment, production stills, few written records

Ira Oberberg
Cutter
Dates unknown
Personal documents, correspondence, press clippings, photos, Filmband in Gold (film award)

Roland Oehme
Director
27 October 1935
Scripts, production records

Petra Peters
Actress
31 March 1925 - 31 July 2004
Correspondence, photos (film, private), dresses, shoes and other personal items

Artur Pohl
Director, painter, stage designer, author
22 March 1900 - 15 June 1970
Personal documents, correspondence, production records, scripts, certificates and awards, set sketches (theatre and film)

Hans Pohl
Stage manager
6 June 1934
Various materials from his working life and from social organisations of DEFA: brigade diaries, meeting books, technical documents, certificates, photos, press clippings, awards

Henny Porten
Actress
7 January 1890 - 15 October 1960
Magdalena Becker collection: film and private photos, correspondence, diary notes, recordings of radio broadcasts, programmes, press clippings, film costume: blouse from the film Rose Bernd (GER 1919, DIR: Alfred Halm), private clothes, personal items
Exhibits from the Magdalena Becker collection

Lutz Bornemann collection: photo albums of the first silent films with Henny Porten, film stills (e.g. of Oskar Messter film productions) until 1919, exchange of letters between Kurt Friebe and Henny Porten from the 1940s and 1950s

Rolf and Roland Raatz collection: private photos taken during the production of Familie Buchholtz (GER 1944, DIR: Carl Froelich), personal items
Exhibits from the Rolf and Roland Raatz collection

Hans Quest
Actor
20 August 1915 - 29 March 1997
Photos, Federal Cross of Merit, oil paintings
1940 - 1995

Carl Raddatz
Actor
13 September 1912 - 19 May 2004
Personal documents, notes, correspondence, photos (film), personal items (clothes, accordion, pipes, etc.), press clippings
1932 - 1987

Mady Rahl
Actress
3 January 1915
Photos, press clippings, 1 pair of shoes
1950s

Rosemarie Rehan
Film critic
21 January 1923
Manuscripts (including interview transcripts) on approx. 70 artists and contemporary persons - among others: Angelica Domröse, Wolfgang Kohlhaase, Katharina Thalbach, Margarethe von Trotta, Lothar Warneke, Konrad Wolf, Jurek Becker, Frank Beyer, Manfred Krug, Armin Mueller-Stahl, published articles, reviews, correspondence, press clippings on GDR politico-cultural events
1947 - 1996

Erika Richter
Dramatic adviser
6 January 1938
Working documents on DEFA feature films: protocols, manuscripts, correspondence, etc., scripts (also for projects not realised), photos

Friedrich Rochow
Director
8 January 1938
Production records of popular scientific films and the series "Verkehrskompass" (TV, GDR), scripts and photos

Marika Rökk (Horn / Schweickhardt collection)
Actress
3 November 1913 - 16 May 2004
Collection of press clippings and photos (of all films and performances), autographs, programmes, posters, costumes

Ursula Rumin
Author
1923
Scripts (among others: Frauenschicksale (GDR 1953, DIR: Slatan Dudow)), contracts, photos
1951

Karla Runkehl
Actress
7 November 1930 - 24 December 1986
Personal documents, photos (film), personal items
1956 - 1981

Udo Scharnowski
Draftsman
Dates unknown
Construction drawings, photos (film), model for the TV film Spätsaison (GDR 1973, DIR: Achim Hübner)

Helmut Schiemann
Director
15 August 1929 - 31 May 1979
Production records, musci sheets, set sketches, scripts, manuscripts, photos, press
1962 - 1977

Evelyn Schmidt
Director
20 June 1949
Working materials relating to DEFA and TV films until 1990: scripts (also for projects not realised), production records, correspondence

William Schönland
Audio engineer, head of production
23 December 1915
Photos and documents as well as a contemporary witness account on his work at Ufa in Babelsberg and on his emigration in 1936 (copies)
1930 - 2002

Ulrich Karl Traugott Schulz
Director, cinematographer, author
15 December 1897 - 18 November1983
Production records, handwritten notes, censorship lists, photos and negatives, personal documents, prints, correspondence, prizes, press clippings
1920 - 1978

Giesela Schulze
Draftswoman
28 March 1935
Sketches, drawings, production stills, equipment

Horst Seemann
Director
11 April 1934 - 6 January 2000
Script and awards for the film Zeit zu leben (GDR 1969, DIR: Horst Seemann), press clippings
1969 - 1970

Rainer Simon
Director
11 January 1941
Scripts, spec scripts, production records, early works from his time at " Konrad Wolf" Film and Television College, correspondence, location photos, test shots, press clippings
1961 - 1999

Gottfried Stejskal
Producer, director, cinematographer
14 February 1924 - 25 October 1991
Company estate Film-Kollektiv Dresden: production documents, photos, correspondence and technical equipment
1960 - 1990

Robert Adolf Stemmle
Director
10 June 1903 - 24 February 1974
Scripts, textbooks, correspondence, books, prints, photos (film and TV, theatre, radio, portraits, private), press clippings
1932 - 1974

Werner Teichmann
Production manager
25 May 1932
Contracts, scripts, photos, personal documents
1951 - 1990

Heinz Thiel
Director
10 May 1920 - 9 March 2003
Manuscripts, correspondence, personal documents, certificates, press clippings, audio and film material, photos

Annelie Thorndike
Director
17 April 1925
Production records, research material, correspondence, diaries, material on "Gruppe 67" and the Leipzig Week of Documentary and Short Film, private drawings, spec scripts and exposés, photos of her own films and the Leipzig Week of Documentary and Short Film, production stills of telecasts, film and event posters, press clippings
(also contains material on Andrew Thorndike (director, 30 August 1909 - 14 December 1979)
More about the film docimentarians A. und A. Thorndike

Gisela Uhlen
Actress
16 May 1919
Manuscripts, theatre texts, photos (film, theatre, private), press clippings
1930 - 1990

Anneliese Uhlig
Actress
27 August 1918
Photos (theatre, portraits, private), programmes, press clippings, videos
1936 - 1997

Dick de Voogt
Collection of photos and slides on the topic "forced labourer at Ufa", book: "Ik werkte in Duitsland" (Kees de B.)
1943/44

Edith Wäscher
Film historian
Dates unknown
Collection of documents on early Soviet film: interview notes on 126 artists, notes on 67 films made by Meshrapom Studios, photos of 120 films, film poster negatives, autographs

Anton Weber
Draftsman
30 August 1904 - 4 June 1979
Scripts, sketches, photos of drafts and models

Brigitte Welzel
Make-up artist
17 August 1934
Equipment, make-up sets, make-up utensils, production stills, press clippings
1970 - 1991

Ilse Werner
Actress
11 July 1921 - 8 August 2005
Contracts, scripts, textbooks, production records, photos (film, TV, theatre, private), programmes of films, stage and TV performances, event posters, correspondence, awards, personal items, stage dresses
1930s - 2005

Albert Wilkening
Director of the DEFA feature film studio, journalist
5 February 1909 - 24 July 1990
Financial and production records, meeting protocols, contracts, correspondence relating to UFA, TOBIS, DEFA, production records of DEFA films, written records on the directors Wolfgang Staudte and Martin Hellberg, material on " Konrad Wolf" Film and Television College
1930er - 1990

Thomas Wilkening
Producer
22 September 1956 - 4 March 2005
Company estate: production records, scripts, photos, costumes, posters of his films
1990 - 2005

Marlene Willmann
Set designer
22 February 1938
Construction drawings and plans, production records, scripts
1972 - 1981

Klaus Wischnewski
Dramatic adviser, author
11 December 1928 - 2003
Manuscripts of publications, evaluations of scripts and spec scripts, rough drafts, personal documents, press clippings

Manfred Wolter
Dramatic adviser, author
18 February 1938 - 14 October 1999
Scripts, spec scripts, rough drafts, treatments, working manuscripts, awards

Paul Wüst
Distributor
Dates unknown
Written records from the financial department of the distribution company, files on distribution activities, distribution correspondence, censorship lists, posters (predominantly of Harry Piel films), hand-drawn posters, various promotional materials (including numerous paper board mats and printing plates), photos
1914 - 1952

Willy Zielke
Director, cinematographer, photographer
18.09.1902 - 16.06.1989
Photos (also from Das Stahltier (GER 1935, DIR: Willy Zielke)), personal documents, correspondence, translations of Russian literature, documents of his father A. A. Zielke (1912 - 1917), negatives and film relics
1935 - 1989