Who was he?
Conrad Veidt was an actor and human rights activist from Germany, who saw international fame between the 1920s-40s for his genre defining roles in cinema. Born to a working class family as Hans Walter Conrad Veidt, the young lad found a passion in acting and theatre which was encouraged by his adoring mother.
Veidt originally started off in the theatre, earning roles and training down to his sheer devotion to the craft, an opportunity his family would have never been able to afford from money alone. During the late 1910s after returning from war, Veidt was given an opportunity to work in film, a decision which would propel him into stardom.
Veidt's significant breakout role would come in 1920 where he played the somnambulist Cesare in The Cabinet of Dr.Caligari. His natural extremely tall thin frame, gaunt limbs and piecing eyes captivated the world, leading Conrad to become the face of the widely influential movement of German expressionism, which became the bedrock for much of modern culture including horror films, the goth subculture, comic books villains and animated films. Veidt would continue to work in the film industry until his death, spending much of his time between Germany, England, and the USA, eventually taking up permanent residence and citizenship in England when the Nazi regime came to power
Conrad Veidt died in April 1943 at aged 50 from a catastrophic heart attack whilst playing golf with his physician. He was declared dead on the scene, likely due to his genetic heart problem exacerbated by his chain-smoking. Conrad died in America just a year after playing the lead antagonist in the infamous film Casablanca, alongside not being able to see the fall of the Nazi regime that he so detested. He was mourned heavily by close associates and fans, although has widely left the public eye in modern times in comparison to his close friends and peers like Marlene Dietrich
Notable Films:
Many people are often unaware of how influential Conrad has been as an actor. Here are a list of films Veidt was most well known for, and have left a lasting impact on societies creative subconscious
- The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
- Different From The Others
- The Man Who Laughs
- Casablanca
- The Thief of Baghdad
- Jew Süss
- Rome Express
Humanitarian Work:
- Played the protagonist in the first ever pro-gay film in history. He received death threats for his part in this project, but he continued to support the films conception, alongside for sticking up and sympathizing with his many queer friends he had, especially during the Nazi's rise to power. He was a bisexual himself, despite all long term relationships being with women
- Was an early form of feminist, believing that negative views on women were 'outdated', and that a woman could become a doctor, lawyer, actor or genius just as much as any man. He actually preferred to keep female companions more than male as he found as friends he got on with them much better
- Stood up for minorities within Nazi Germany. Conrad, despite himself being fully German, showed solidarity with the Jewish community by writing his race was Jewish in front of Goebbels- effectively making him an enemy of the state and giving up his career in acting in Germany. This caused him to later be kidnapped by the Gestapo when returning to Germany briefly to help Jewish and queer friends to get to Switzerland. He was denied food and sleep until he would provide a proper greeting in Seig Heil. Conrad refused to do such a thing, and was only able to escape because the British government stepped in and demanded his release. Veidt never gave a single salute
- During War time when Conrad lived in London, he helped foster orphaned children with him and his wife in their house in Hampstead. Alongside this he gave over 5,000 gifts to vulnerable children in London at Christmas during wartime, with an air raid warden commenting on how Conrad was one of the kindest celebrities he had ever come across. Even more so, Conrad donated most of his salary to the British war effort until his death- this led Conrad's actual finances to be uncovered as very slim upon his passing as he had given away so much
- In his time in USA during wartime, due to being German Conrad was often typecast as Nazi's for propaganda films. He obliged, as he had seen their wrath first hand and wanted America to join the war effort in Europe, but made Hollywood sign a contract with him that all Nazi characters he was to play would be shown with no sympathy and must be evil
- Alongside this, both him and Marlene Dietrich founded a charity in America to help refugee Germans to assimilate into American culture, helping to breakdown the vilification of Germans in the country who were against Nazism