Bettina Moissi

Bettina Moissi (born 15 October 1923) is a German stage and film actress. She played the female lead in the 1948 film Long Is the Road, the first German film to portray the Holocaust.

Bettina Moissi
Born (1923-10-15) 15 October 1923
Berlin, Weimar Republic
OccupationActress
Years active1947 - 1950 (film)
Spouse(s)Heinz Berggruen
ChildrenOlivier Berggruen
Nicolas Berggruen
Parent(s)Alexander Moissi
Maria Moissi

Biography

Moisses was born in Berlin in 1923, the second child of leading stage actor Alexander Moissi, a Christian of Albanian descent and his first wife, Maria Moisiu/Moissi, who was from Vienna. Her father was often branded as Jewish due to his name (which translates as "Moses") and his outspoken defense of his fellow Jewish actors and people during a period of growing anti-semitism.[1][2][3][4] She is Catholic but was married to the Jewish Heinz Berggruen.[5]

Personal life

In 1960, she married the art collector Heinz Berggruen. They had two children:[6]

Selected filmography

References
  1. The Jacobean: "Alexander Moissi, Non-Jewish Actor, Indicts Christian World for its Persecution of the Jew" page 5 | December 4, 1931 | "As a Christian, states Moissi, he cannot stand by and see the virus of anti-semitism infect Christian people, nations, and states, robbing them of all semblance of humanity and justice."
  2. Becoming Austrians:Jews and Culture between the World Wars By Lisa Silverman Although actor Alexander Moissi was not Jewish, many assumed he was because of his name..."
  3. Bernard Shaw's Letters to Siegfried Trebitsch By George Bernard Shaw, Siegfried Trebitsch page 335 | In February, 'Too True' opened in Manheim with Alexander Moissi (not a Jew) in the leading role and was disrupted by Nazi shouts of "Jew Moissi" "Jew Shaw" until police intervened.
  4. Jews and the Making of Modern German Theatre edited by Jeanette R. Malkin, Freddie Rokem page 76 | "The appeal and success of some non-Jewish foreign actors among German audiences, however, was due at least in part to their foreignness. Such was the case with star actor Alexander Moissi, whose German was tinged with an "Italian singsong, which fascinated many."
  5. Der Spiegel: "Seinen Geist am Leben erhalten" by Ulrike Von Knöfel and Martin Doerry (in German) "Meine Mutter ist katholisch, mein Vater jüdisch" / My mother is Catholic, my father is Jewish
  6. New York Times: "Heinz Berggruen, Influential Picasso Collector, Dies at 93" By ALAN RIDING February 27, 2007

Bibliography
  • Shandley, Robert R. Rubble Films: German Cinema in the Shadow of the Third Reich. Temple University Press, 2001.
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