Wolfgang Heinz

David Hirsch (18 May 1900 – 30 October 1982), known as Wolfgang Heinz, was an Austrian and East German actor and theater director. He served as President of the Academy of the Arts in Berlin between 1968 and 1974. Biography Early life Born to journalist and theater director Julius Hirsch and his wife Camilla, David Hirsch was the half-brother of Heinrich Theodor Hirsch. He left the Archduke Rainer Gymnasium in Vienna at the age of 17 to pursue an acting career. Heinz was exempted from military service due to a lung illness. He moved to Germany, working in theaters in Friedrichroda and Eisenach during 1917. Although he never attended an acting studio, he was also given roles in theaters in Berlin, Hamburg and other cities. In November 1918, he joined the cast of the Deutsches Theater. He had his debut on screen in the 1919 film Die Geächteten; another of his early roles in cinema was that of the first mate on the Empusa in Nosferatu. He married during 1921, but his wife suffered from Pleurisy and died after six months. Heinz later acted in the Schauspielhaus Berlin, which he left at 1923, when voice problems forced him to abandon his career for three years. In 1926, Max Reinhardt accepted him to the cast of the Deutsches Theater again, where he also started to direct plays. Heinz was a close friend of actor Hans Otto, and under his influence became a member of the Communist Party of Germany at 1930. Exile Along with all the Jewish and leftist actors, Heinz was dismissed from his work on 27 February 1933. He left for the Netherlands, from where he moved to Great Britain, and on to Vienna. He finally settled in Switzerland, in which - with many other exiles from Germany - he acted in the Schauspielhaus Zürich. At 1938, he began to direct plays in the theater. During his time in Switzerland, Heinz was one of the founders and the president of the Swiss Free Austrian Movement. He rescinded his membership in the KPD at 1943.