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Bertolt Brecht was born on 10 February 1898 in Augsburg, Germany and one of the country's most influential poets, playwrights and screenwriters. His most famous work was the musical "The Threepenny Opera" (with Kurt Weill), but his dramas such as "Mother Courage and Her Children" or "The Good Person of Sezuan" were equally successful. As he opposed the upcoming Nazi movement, he fled Germany in 1933 and finally emigrated to the United States. After testifying before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947, he left Hollywood and returned to Europe. He settled down in East Germany, where he founded the famous "Berliner Ensemble" and became the state's intellectual hero. He died on 14 August 1956 in East Berlin.

Carola Braunbock was born on 9 January 1924 in Vseruby, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic]. She was an actress, known for Der Untertan (1951), Three Wishes for Cinderella (1973) and Frau Venus und ihr Teufel (1967). She died on 4 July 1978 in East Berlin, East Germany.

Hertha Thiele was born on 8 May 1908 in Leipzig, Germany. She was an actress, known for Mädchen in Uniform (1931), Little Man What Now (1933) and Elisabeth und der Narr (1934). She was married to Heinz Klingenberg and Wolfgang Wohlgemuth. She died on 5 August 1984 in East Berlin, East Germany.

Hanns Eisler was a German-Austrian-American composer and lyricist. He was known for his "Das Lied von der Moldau" ("La Chanson du Moldau", "The Song of the Moldau") used in the TV film Schweyk im zweiten Weltkrieg (1961) and also sang by Zarah Leander on TV. He did so many more songs in Hollywood, France, Austria and Germany.

Wolfgang Heinz was born on 18 May 1900 in Pilsen, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Plzen, Czech Republic]. He was an actor and director, known for Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (1922), A Blonde Dream (1932) and Professor Mamlock (1961). He was married to Erika Pelikowsky. He died on 30 October 1984 in East Berlin, East Germany.

He was the son of the German dramatist Friedrich Wolf. He left Germany with his family for the USSR and came back to Germany as a nineteen year old Lieutenant in the Russian Army in 1945. Was a short time commander of the town Bernau near Berlin in Spring 1945. _Ich war 19 (1968)_ is an autobiographical movie about this time.

Seghers grew up in a wealthy Jewish home. From 1919 she studied art history, philosophy, history and sinology in Cologne and Heidelberg. In 1924 she completed her studies with the doctoral thesis "Jews and Judaism in the Works of Rembrandt". In the same year she wrote her first story entitled "The Dead of the Island of Djal", which was only published after her death (1985). In 1925 she married the Hungarian social scientist Lásló Radványi, with whom she had two children. In 1927 she first published a story called "Grubetsch". The work appeared in the Frankfurter Zeitung and was marked with Segher's name.

Since then she has published all of her works under this pseudonym; Behind the name lies a contemporary of the painter Rembrandt. In 1928 the story "Uprising of the Fishermen of St. Barbara" was published, for which she was awarded the Kleist Prize. The German theater manager and director Erwin Piscator adapted the play into a film in the Soviet Union in 1934. In the same year, Anna Seghers became a member of the KPD, the German Communist Party. The following year, 1929, she joined the "Association of Proletarian-Revolutionary Writers" (BPRS). Her novel "The Companions" was published in 1932, in which she warned about the dangers of the emerging fascist rule. After the National Socialists came to power in 1933, Seghers was briefly arrested. She then emigrated to France.

There she supported anti-fascist organizations and magazines. Her first exile novel was written in 1933, entitled "The Head Wage," in which she traces the causes of National Socialism. Two years later the novel "The Road Through February" was published. In the years 1938 and 1939 she maintained correspondence with the philosopher Georg Lukács. In the year that German troops invaded France, Anna Seghers withdrew from Paris to unoccupied Marseille. In 1941 she left for Mexico. There she founded the Heinrich Heine Club, which was a German literary and cultural institution that pursued anti-fascist goals under her leadership. The novel "The Seventh Cross" was published in 1942. The work established her international reputation as a writer who defended herself against fascism.

The original was filmed in 1944 by the American director Fred Zinnemann with Spencer Tracy. The novel was first published in English and then published in German by a Mexican exile publisher. "The Seventh Cross" sensitively tells the story of the escape of seven prisoners from a concentration camp in Rhine-Hesse and everyday life in the Third Reich. Seghers used cinematic design tools that realized the narrative structure in a complex way. In 1944 the novel "Transit" was published. It appeared first in Spanish and then in English, and in German it came out in 1948. Seghers had already started the work in France. It describes the author's personal experiences and fears in exile, which she connects with the theme of loss and preservation of identity. The successful book is one of the most important works about the fears in exile.

In 1947 Anna Seghers returned to Europe and initially settled in West Berlin. She joined the SED, the Socialist Unity Party of Germany. In the same year she was honored with the Georg Büchner Prize, Germany's most prestigious literary award, for her novel "The Seventh Cross". Anna Seghers was committed to reconstruction in Germany. In 1948 she became vice president of the "Culture Association for the Democratic Renewal of Germany". The following year her social novel "The Dead Stay Young" was published. The work was made into a film in 1968. In 1950, Anna Seghers moved to East Berlin. She became a co-founder of the peace movement in the GDR and joined the presidium of the World Peace Council. In the same year she was one of the co-founders of the German Academy of Arts.

In 1951 she was awarded the GDR's first national prize. A trip to China followed. Anna Seghers was a co-founder of the GDR Writers' Association and headed it from 1952 to 1978. Hermann Kant later became her successor. In 1957 the novella "The Just Judge" was completed. For political reasons, the work was not published until 1990. The University of Jena awarded her an honorary doctorate in 1959. Anna Seghers dealt with the time of Mexican exile again in the story "The Real Blue," which was published in 1967. One of her important late works is the title "The Crossing", a love story that came onto the market in 1971. In 1981 she was made an honorary citizen of Mainz.

Sabine Thalbach was born on 4 August 1932 in Berlin, Germany. She was an actress, known for Kleiner Mann - was nun? (1967), The Small White Mouse (1964) and Musterknaben (1959). She was married to Benno Besson. She died on 30 September 1966 in East Berlin, East Germany.

Friedrich Gnaß was born on 13 November 1892 in Langendreer, Bochum, Province of Westphalia, Prussia [now Bochum, North-Rhine Westphalia], Germany. He was an actor, known for M (1931), Danton (1931) and Rasputin, Demon with Women (1932). He died on 8 May 1958 in East Berlin, East Germany.

Eduard von Winterstein was born on 1 August 1871 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]. He was an actor, known for The Blue Angel (1930), Die Sonnenbrucks (1951) and Hamlet (1921). He was married to Hedwig Pauly-Winterstein and Minna Mengers. He died on 22 July 1961 in East Berlin, East Germany.

János Veiczi was born on 30 September 1924 in Budapest, Hungary. He was a director and writer, known for Zwischenfall in Benderath (1956), Streng geheim (1963) and Anflug Alpha I (1971). He died on 26 June 1987 in East Berlin, East Germany.

Helene Weigel was born on 12 May 1900 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]. She was an actress, known for Mother Courage and Her Children (1961), Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder (1955) and Señora Carrar's Rifles (1953). She was married to Bertolt Brecht. She died on 6 May 1971 in East Berlin, East Germany.

Mathilde Danegger was born on 2 August 1903 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]. She was an actress, known for Frau Holle (1963), Die mißbrauchten Liebesbriefe (1940) and Der fliegende Holländer (1964). She was married to Walter Lesch, Herbert Crüger and Herbert Waniek. She died on 27 July 1988 in East Berlin, East Germany.

Günther Simon was born on 11 May 1925 in Berlin, Germany. He was an actor, known for Ernst Thälmann - Sohn seiner Klasse (1954), Ernst Thälmann - Führer seiner Klasse (1955) and Das Lied vom Trompeter (1964). He was married to Margaritha. He died on 25 June 1972 in East Berlin, East Germany.

Hans Székely was born on 7 July 1901 in Budapest, Austria-Hungary. He was a writer, known for Arise, My Love (1940), Paris Calling (1941) and Die singende Stadt (1930). He was married to Erzsi Bársony. He died on 16 December 1958 in East Berlin, East Germany.

Dieter Franke was born on 13 October 1934 in Harthau, Germany. He was an actor, known for Dach überm Kopf (1980), Jeder stirbt für sich allein (1970) and Wer reißt denn gleich vorm Teufel aus (1977). He died on 23 October 1982 in East Berlin, German Democratic Republic.

Rudolf Klix was born on 14 March 1881 in Berlin, Germany. He was an actor, known for Freie Liebe (1919), Emerald of Death (1919) and Träumerei (1944). He died on 8 April 1955 in East Berlin, East Germany.

Walter Felsenstein was born on 30 May 1901 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]. He was a director and writer, known for Fidelio (1956), Ein Windstoß (1942) and Hoffmanns Erzählungen (1970). He was married to Ellen Brenner and Maria ?. He died on 8 October 1975 in Berlin, East Germany.

Siegfried Seibt was born on 19 August 1920 in Görlitz, Germany. He was an actor, known for Das Zaubermännchen (1960), Bärchens Traum (1979) and Spuk unterm Riesenrad (1979). He died on 6 January 1982 in East Berlin, East Germany.

Margarete Kupfer was born on 10 April 1881 in Freystadt in Schlesien, Lower Silesia, Germany [now Kozuchów, Lubuskie, Poland]. She was an actress, known for Nathan der Weise (1922), Woman in the Moon (1929) and Die Insel der verbotenen Küsse (1927). She died on 11 May 1953 in East Berlin, East Germany.

Eckart Friedrichson was born on 14 January 1930 in Wernigerode, Germany. He was an actor, known for Eine Berliner Romanze (1956), Wer seine Frau lieb hat (1955) and Drei Mädchen im Endspiel (1956). He was married to Margitta Friedrichson. He died on 7 June 1976 in East Berlin, East Germany.

Robert Trösch was born on 25 November 1911 in Zürich, Switzerland. He was an actor and director, known for Das Stacheltier - Achtung, Selbstschüsse! (1963), Das Stacheltier - Der Herr Direktor (1962) and Die gleiche Strecke (1961). He was married to Gisela Pyrkan, Ellen Lilienthal and Georgia Kullmann. He died on 14 January 1986 in East Berlin, East Germany.

Hans Klering was born on 8 November 1906 in Berlin, Germany. He was an actor and director, known for Wege übers Land (1968), Rauschende Melodien (1955) and The Rainbow (1944). He was married to Else Korén and Antonia Nizkowskaja. He died on 30 October 1988 in East Berlin, East Germany.

Nico Turoff was born on 6 December 1899 in Kremenchuk, Poltava Governorate, Russian Empire. He was an actor, known for Trenck - Der Roman einer großen Liebe (1932), G.P.U. (1942) and The Devious Path (1928). He died on 22 June 1978 in East Berlin, East Germany.

Siegfried Weiß was born on 18 April 1906 in Chemmitz, Germany. He was an actor, known for Der Geizige (1956), Die Häuser des Herrn Sartorius (1955) and Der Traum des Hauptmann Loy (1961). He died on 8 October 1989 in East Berlin, East Germany.