Michael Degen

{{Infobox person

| image = 5143a Michael Degen.JPG

| caption = Degen in 2012

| name = Michael Degen

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1928|01|31|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Chemnitz, Saxony, Germany

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2022|04|9|1928|01|31|df=yes}}

| death_place = Hamburg, Germany

| occupation = {{ubl | Actor |Theatre director | Writer }}

| years active = 1963–2022

| citizenship = Germany
Israel

}}

Michael Degen (31 January 1928 – 9 April 2022) was a German-Israeli actor,{{cite news |last=Riebsamen |first=Hans |url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/rhein-main/im-portraet-michael-degen-vom-verfolgten-zum-publikumsliebling-11756185.html |title=Vom Verfolgten zum Publikumsliebling |language=German |trans-title=From persecution to stardom |work=Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung |date=18 May 2012 |accessdate=19 August 2015 }} in film and theatre, as well as a theatre director and writer.

Early life

Born in Chemnitz as the younger son of Jewish parents,[http://www.deutsches-filmhaus.de/bio_er/d-g_spieler/degen_michael_bio.htm Deutsches Filmhaus: Degen] Degen survived the Holocaust in Berlin, while his older brother was sent to Palestine via Denmark and Sweden.{{cite web | last=Büchsenmann | first=Jens | title=Schauspieler Michael Degen gestorben | website=NDR.de | date=12 April 2022 | url=https://www.ndr.de/kultur/film/Schauspieler-Michael-Degen-gestorben,degen126.html | language=de | access-date=12 April 2022}} His father, Jacob Degen, was a language professor and businessman of Russian Jewish descent. On 13 September 1939, Jacob Degen was arrested by the Secret State Police and taken to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Subjected to severe abuse over the weeks that followed, he was released on 2 February 1940 but never recovered from his injuries, dying shortly afterward.{{cite web |title=Stolpersteine in Chemnitz Jacob Degen | website=Stadt Chemnitz | url=https://www.chemnitz.de/chemnitz/de/unsere-stadt/geschichte/stolpersteine/2019_degen.html | language=de | access-date=12 April 2022}} To survive, Michael and his mother, Anna, hid in a Berlin allotment until the end of the war.{{cite web | last=Nutt | first=Harry | title=Michael Degen: Wenn es um ihn selbst ging, war er eher still | website=Frankfurter Rundschau | date=30 January 2022 | url=https://www.fr.de/kultur/michael-degen-wenn-es-um-ihn-selbst-ging-war-er-eher-still-91269676.html | language=de | access-date=12 April 2022}}

In 1946, Degen appeared on stage for the first time and received his education through a scholarship at the acting school of the Deutsches Theater in East Berlin. In 1949, he emigrated to Israel for two years.{{cite web | title=Michael Degen im Alter von 90 Jahren gestorben | website=tagesschau.de | date=12 April 2022 | url=https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/michael-degen-103.html | language=de | access-date=12 April 2022}} Degen served as a soldier in Israel and acted in theatres in Tel Aviv.

Career

In 1954, Degen joined Bertolt Brecht's Berliner Ensemble at the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm in East Berlin.{{cite web | title=Michael Degen | website=Biografie WHO'S WHO | url=https://whoswho.de/bio/michael-degen.html | language=de | access-date=12 April 2022}} In 1955–1956, he worked with the Schauspiel Köln. From 1956 to 1963 he was at the Mannheim National Theatre, followed by the Schauspiel Frankfurt in 1963–1964. From 1967 to 1973, he worked at the {{ill|Staatliche Schauspielbühnen Berlin|de}}. During his career, he played Shakespeare's Hamlet 300 times.{{cite web | last=Cordes | first=Von Ulrike | title=Hamburg: Michael Degen: Vielseitiger Künstler und politischer Kopf | website=donaukurier.de | date=31 January 2022 | url=https://www.donaukurier.de/nachrichten/kultur/Medien-Fernsehen-Theater-Leute-Michael-Degen-Vice-Questore-Patta-Donna-Leon-Venedig-Hamburg-Deutschland-Michael-Degen-Vielseitiger-Kuenstler-und-politischer-Kopf;art598,4846873 | language=de | access-date=12 April 2022}}{{cite news | last=Kegel | first=Sandra | title=Zum Tod von Michael Degen: Der traurige Prinz | website=FAZ.NET | date=12 April 2022 | url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/buehne-und-konzert/michael-degen-im-alter-von-90-jahren-gestorben-der-traurige-prinz-17953793.html | language=de | access-date=14 April 2022}}{{cite web | title=Theatertreffen Archiv | website=Berliner Festspiele | date=22 October 2019 | url=https://www.berlinerfestspiele.de/de/chronicle/archiv/production/hamlet-1965 | access-date=14 April 2022}} A reviewer of The Times wrote of Degen's acting in Harry Buckwitz's 1965 Hamlet production at Schauspiel Frankfurt, "Nervously impulsive and sometimes violently emotional".{{cite news |date=21 January 1965 |title=Hamlet Made an Extrovert Individualist |work=The Times |location=London |page=17}} Degen performed in Munich, Salzburg and Hamburg and worked with directors including Ingmar Bergman, George Tabori{{cite web |last=Sommer |first=Maria | title=Als Auschwitz erstmals auf die Berliner Theaterbühne kam | website=Der Tagesspiegel | date=13 December 2019 | url=https://www.tagesspiegel.de/kultur/george-taboris-die-kannibalen-als-auschwitz-erstmals-auf-die-berliner-theaterbuehne-kam/25329232.html | language=de | access-date=14 April 2022}} Peter Zadek{{cite web | last=Sobol | first=Joshua | title=Aus den Tiefen seiner Seele | website=Jüdische Allgemeine | date=31 January 2022 | url=https://www.juedische-allgemeine.de/kultur/aus-den-tiefen-seiner-seele/ | language=de | access-date=14 April 2022}}{{cite web | title=Theatertreffen Archiv | website=Berliner Festspiele | date=22 October 2019 | url=https://www.berlinerfestspiele.de/de/chronicle/archiv/production/ghetto-1985 | access-date=14 April 2022}} and Claude Chabrol. He was Molière's Dom Juan in Ingmar Bergman's production at the Salzburg Festival{{cite web | title=Salzburger Festspiele: Molière, Dom Juan | website= Salzburger Festspiele Pfingsten – 7. bis 10. Juni 2019 | date=27 July 1983 | url=https://archive.salzburgerfestspiele.at/archive_detail/programid/665/id/0/j/1983 | access-date=14 April 2022}} and Adam in Kleist's The Broken Jug.{{cite web | title=Zum Tod von Michael Degen – Ein Leben voller Härte und Glück | website=Deutschlandfunk Kultur | date=12 April 2021 | url=https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/michael-degen-gestorben-100.html | language=de | access-date=12 April 2022}} He was also a director: his premiere was in Goethe's Urfaust in 1972.{{cite web | last=Dössel | first=Christine | title=Schauspieler Michael Degen wird 90 | website=Süddeutsche.de | date=31 January 2022 | url=https://www.sueddeutsche.de/kultur/michael-degen-commissaria-brunetti-90-geburtstag-1.5518254 | language=de | access-date=12 April 2022}} He was a director for four years at the {{ill|Bayerisches Staatsschauspiel|de}}, Munich. Degen began appearing in films in 1963.{{cite web | title=Michael Degen feiert seinen 85. Geburtstag | website=Sozialverband VdK Deutschland e.V. | date=27 October 2021 | url=https://www.vdk.de/deutschland/pages/themen/72129/buehne_und_film_sind_seine_welt_michael_degen_feiert_seinen_85_geburtstag | language=de | access-date=12 April 2022}} In Franz Peter Wirth's Buddenbrooks television adaptation (1979), he played the role of Bendix Grünlich.{{cite web | title=Gut gemacht und gut gemeint | website=Cicero Online | date=23 July 2009 | url=https://www.cicero.de/kultur/gut-gemacht-und-gut-gemeint/43960 | language=de | access-date=12 April 2022}} He played Adolf Hitler in Michael Kehlmann's 1988 film {{ill|Geheime Reichssache (film)|de|Geheime Reichssache (Film)|lt=Geheime Reichssache}} as well as Dr. Martin Sanders in Diese Drombuschs.{{cite web | title=Michael Degen spielte Martin Sanders | website=Drombuschs.de | url=https://www.drombuschs.de/schauspieler/biografien/michael-degen/ | language=de | access-date=12 April 2022}} His last role was the vain Vice-Questore Patta in the television series Donna Leon.{{cite web | title="Donna Leon"-Verfilmungen: Michael Degen ist tot | website=Der Spiegel | date=12 April 2022 | url=https://www.spiegel.de/kultur/michael-degen-ist-tot-a-4083bffb-15d7-4e7d-afa8-eab9ec628b99 | language=de | access-date=12 April 2022}}{{cite web | title=Schauspieler Michael Degen mit 90 Jahren gestorben | website=BR24 | date=12 April 2022 | url=https://www.br.de/nachrichten/kultur/schauspieler-michael-degen-mit-90-jahren-gestorben,T2nDLB7 | language=de | access-date=12 April 2022}}

Degen wrote in his 1999 debut {{lang|de|Nicht alle waren Mörder. Eine Kindheit in Berlin.}} (Not All Were Murderers. A childhood in Berlin.) about his own experiences during the Nazi era.{{cite news | title=Michael Degen im Alter von 90 Jahren gestorben | website=Die Zeit | date=12 April 2022 | url=https://www.zeit.de/kultur/2022-04/michael-degen-schauspieler-gestorben | language=de |agency=dpa | access-date=12 April 2022 | last1=Albrecht | first1=Fabian }}

Personal life

Degen lived with his third wife in Hamburg. He had four children from previous marriages. He was an Israeli and German citizen.

He died on 9 April 2022 in Hamburg, at the age of 94.{{cite web | title=Michael Degen im Alter von 90 Jahren gestorben | website=stern.de | date=12 April 2022 | url=https://www.stern.de/lifestyle/leute/schauspieler-michael-degen-im-alter-von-90-jahren-gestorben-31776414.html | language=de | access-date=12 April 2022}} An obituary of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung called Degen "an actor of melancholic elegance".

Legacy

In 2006, Jo Baier filmed Degen's memoirs with Aaron Altaras and Nadja Uhl for ARD ({{Ill|Not All Were Murderers|de|Nicht alle waren Mörder (Film)}}).{{cite web | title=Auf der Flucht vor den Nazis | website=stern.de | date=1 November 2006 | url=https://www.stern.de/kultur/tv/-nicht-alle-waren-moerder--auf-der-flucht-vor-den-nazis-3324752.html | language=de | access-date=12 April 2022}}

Awards

1969 Großer Hersfeld-Preis{{cite web |title=Hersfeld-Preis und Großer Hersfeld-Preis | website=Freunde der Stiftsruine | url=https://www.freunde-der-stiftsruine.de/hersfeldpreistraeger.html | language=de | access-date=12 April 2022}}
1988 {{ill|Kainz-Medaille|de}}{{cite web | title=Wienbibliothek / Retrodigitalisierung / (1989) März [203] | website=wienbibliothek | year=1989 | url=http://www.digital.wienbibliothek.at/wbrobv/3484948 | language=de | access-date=12 April 2022}}
2003 {{ill|Berliner Bär (B.Z.-Kulturpreis)|de}}{{cite web | title=Ziegler, Ferch und Degen bekommen B.Z.-Kulturpreis | website=Blickpunkt | url=https://beta.blickpunktfilm.de/details/127707 | language=de | access-date=12 April 2022}}

Selected filmography

Source:{{cite web | title=Michael Degen | website=filmportal.de | date=31 January 1932 | url=https://www.filmportal.de/en/person/michael-degen_ef764d2dc49a2394e03053d50b371c7c | access-date=12 April 2022}}

class="wikitable sortable"

+ Film

! Year

! Title

! Role

! class="unsortable" | Notes

1974

| Supermarket

|Frank

1976

|21 Hours at Munich

|Mohammed Khadif

|TV film

1977

|Beyond Good and Evil

|Karl Andreas

1979

|Phantasten

|Sollier

|TV film

1982

|{{Ill|Elective Affinities (1982 film)|fr|3=Les Affinités électives (téléfilm)|lt=Elective Affinities}}

|Hauptmann Otto

|TV film

1983

|{{ill|The Oppermanns (film)|de|3=Die Geschwister Oppermann (Film)|lt=The Oppermanns}}

|Dr. Gustav Oppermann

|TV film

1987

|{{ill|The Colony (1987 film)|de|3=Die Kolonie (1987)|lt=The Colony}}

|Karl Brunner

rowspan=2|1988

|{{ill|The Bomb (1988 film)|de|3=Die Bombe (1988)|lt=The Bomb}}

|Paul Meyerdiercks

|TV film

{{ill|Geheime Reichssache (film)|de|3=Geheime Reichssache (Film)|lt=Geheime Reichssache}}

|Adolf Hitler

|TV film

rowspan=2|1990

|Dr. M

|Reimar von Geldern

{{ill|The Master of the Day of Judgment (film)|de|3=Der Meister des Jüngsten Tages (Film)|lt=The Master of the Day of Judgment}}

|Waldemar Solgrub

|TV film

rowspan=2|1998

|Eine ungehorsame Frau

|Georg Winterborn

|TV film

Frankfurt Millennium

|Walter

rowspan=2|2000

|{{ill|Manila (2000 film)|de|3=Manila (2000)|WD=|lt=Manila}}

|Walter

Rote Glut

|Gustav Kohmers

|TV film

2001

|Leo & Claire

|Leo Katzenberger

2002

|{{ill|At Night in the Park|de|Nachts im Park}}

|Krahn

2003

|Babiy Yar

|Genadij Lerner

rowspan=2|2012

|{{Ill|Lost in Siberia (2012 film)|de|3=Ausgerechnet Sibirien|lt=Lost in Siberia}}

|Fengler

Hannah Arendt

|Kurt Blumenfeld

Source:{{cite web | title=Filmografie Michael Degen | website=fernsehserien.de | date=22 February 2022 | url=https://www.fernsehserien.de/michael-degen/filmografie | language=de | access-date=12 April 2022}}

class="wikitable sortable"

+ TV Series

! Year

! Title

! Role

! class="unsortable" | Notes

1979

|The Buddenbrooks

|Bendix Grünlich

|3 episodes

1987–1990

|Diese Drombuschs

|Dr. Martin Sanders

|15 episodes

1988

|Game, Set and Match

|Werner Volkmann

|13 episodes

1993–1994

|Auto Fritze

|Otto Fritze

|26 episodes

1994

|Anna Maria – Eine Frau geht ihren Weg

|Hannes Seeberger

|First episode

1996

|Tanz auf dem Vulkan

|Karl Reichmann

|TV miniseries

2000–2019

|Donna Leon

|Vice-Questore Patta

|25 episodes

2004

|{{Ill|The Wishing Tree (miniseries)|de|3=Der Wunschbaum (2004)|lt=The Wishing Tree}}

|Fritz Hofmann

|TV miniseries

2008

|{{ill|Die Patin – Kein Weg zurück|de}}

|Jochen Bühler

|TV miniseries

Writings

{{cite book | last=Degen | first=Michael | title=Nicht alle waren Mörder : eine Kindheit in Berlin | publisher=Econ | publication-place=München | year=1999 | isbn=978-3-430-12049-4 | oclc=43557684 | language=de}}{{cite web | title=Nicht alle waren Mörder | website=Berlin von A–Z, Lexikon zur Stadt-Entwicklung, Chronik und Gegenwart— www.berlingeschichte.de | url=https://berlingeschichte.de/lesezei/blz00_02/text08.htm | language=de | access-date=12 April 2022}} and {{cite book | last=Degen | first=Michael | title=Nicht alle waren Mörder : eine Kindheit in Berlin | publisher=List | publication-place=Berlin | year=2010 | isbn=978-3-548-60910-2 | oclc=729967730 | language=de}}
{{cite book | last=Degen | first=Michael | title=Blondi | publisher=List | publication-place=München | year=2004 | isbn=3-548-60409-9 | oclc=76502376 | language=de}}{{cite news | title=Blondis Wiedergeburt | website=Die Welt | date=16 November 2011 | url=https://www.welt.de/print-welt/article411547/Blondis-Wiedergeburt.html | language=de | access-date=12 April 2022}}
{{cite book | last=Degen | first=Michael | title=Der Steuerhinterzieher | publisher=Ullstein | publication-place=Berlin | year=2005 | isbn=3-550-08617-2 | oclc=63125762 | language=de}}{{cite web | last=Fischer-Zernin | first=Verena | title=Michael Degen: Der Steuerhinterzieher | website=Hamburger Abendblatt | date=31 October 2009 | url=https://www.abendblatt.de/kultur-live/article107589076/Michael-Degen-Der-Steuerhinterzieher.html | access-date=12 April 2022}}
{{cite book | last=Degen | first=Michael | title=Mein heiliges Land : auf der Suche nach meinem verlorenen Bruder | publisher=Rowohlt Berlin | publication-place=Berlin | year=2007 | isbn=978-3-87134-559-3 | oclc=124038151 | language=de}}{{cite web | title=Aus dem Nachkriegsdeutschland ins junge Israel | website=vorwärts | date=21 March 2007 | url=https://www.vorwaerts.de/artikel/nachkriegsdeutschland-ins-junge-israel | language=de | access-date=12 April 2022}}
{{cite book | last=Degen | first=Michael | title=Familienbande | publisher=Rowohlt Berlin | publication-place=Berlin | year=2011 | isbn=978-3-87134-633-0 | oclc=724798726 | language=de}}{{cite web | title=Die Geschichte eines um Vaterliebe buhlenden ungeliebten Sohnes | website=CZ – Cellesche Zeitung | date=14 October 2011 | url=https://www.cz.de/Celle/Aus-der-Stadt/Celle-Stadt/Die-Geschichte-eines-um-Vaterliebe-buhlenden-ungeliebten-Sohnes | language=de | access-date=12 April 2022}}
{{cite book | last=Degen | first=Michael | title=Der traurige Prinz Roman einer wahren Begegnung | publisher=Rowohlt Berlin | publication-place=Berlin | year=2015 | isbn=978-3-87134-768-9 | oclc=897128120 | language=de}}{{cite web | title=Gipfeltreffen von Gauklern | website=Der Tagesspiegel | date=6 July 2015 | url=https://www.tagesspiegel.de/kultur/michael-degens-roman-der-traurige-prinz-gipfeltreffen-von-gauklern/12010216.html | language=de | access-date=12 April 2022}}