Conrad Veidt
Delve into the life of German-British actor Conrad Veidt (1893–1943), famous for The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The Man Who Laughs, The Thief of Bagdad, and Casablanca. Explore his artistry, moral choices, exile, and enduring legacy.
Introduction
Hans Walter Conrad Veidt was a German actor whose career spanned silent film, expressionist cinema, British and Hollywood sound films. Born January 22, 1893, and dying April 3, 1943, Veidt is remembered not only for his compelling screen presence—often as villains or morally complex characters—but also for the courage of his personal convictions. He rejected Nazi ideology, left Germany at its rise, and used his art and his life to stand in opposition. His story combines artistry, exile, integrity, and transformation.
Early Life and Background
Conrad Veidt was born in Berlin, German Empire, on January 22, 1893, to Amalie Marie (née Gohtz) and Philipp Heinrich Veidt. His family was Lutheran and he was baptized and confirmed in Protestant churches.
He had a younger brother Karl who died in 1900 of scarlet fever, an event that affected the family deeply. In his youth, Veidt struggled in school: he attended the Sophiengymnasium in the Schöneberg district, and in 1912 he graduated last in his class of 13 without a diploma.
Despite academic setbacks, Veidt developed early interest in the stage. After school, he took acting lessons and auditioned for Max Reinhardt’s theater company, securing work as an extra for the 1913–1914 season.
When World War I broke out, he served in the German army. He was sent to the Eastern Front, where he contracted illness (pneumonia, jaundice) and was hospitalized. During illness, he was assigned to entertain troops in a front theater before being fully discharged in early 1917 due to medical unfitness.
After his discharge, he returned to Berlin and resumed stage work, including with the Deutsches Theater, while gradually entering film.
Career and Achievements
German Silent & Expressionist Films
Veidt began appearing in films around 1917 (e.g. When the Dead Speak) and by 1919 starred in Different from the Others (Anders als die Andern) — one of the earliest films to sympathetically portray homosexuality.
He gained fame as Cesare, the somnambulist, in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), a landmark of German Expressionist cinema. Other notable works included The Hands of Orlac (1924), Waxworks (1924), The Student of Prague (1926), and The Man Who Laughs (1928) — in which his portrayal of the disfigured character inspired the visual design of the comic-book villain the Joker.
He also starred in Germany’s first talking picture, Das Land ohne Frauen (“Land Without Women,” 1929).
By the late 1920s, he attempted work in Hollywood, but the transition to talkies was difficult for many German actors; he returned to Germany for a time.
Exile, British & English-language Career
With the rise of the Nazis in 1933, Veidt, who opposed anti-Semitism and had married a Jewish woman (Ilona Prager), left Germany. In a dramatic gesture, when asked to declare his “racial” status, he wrote “Jude” in protest — though he was not Jewish himself — refusing to renounce his wife or comply with Nazi regime orders.
He relocated to Britain, where he became a significant figure in British cinema, with roles in The Spy in Black (1939), Contraband (1940), and The Thief of Bagdad (1940). He became a British citizen in 1939.
In Britain, he used his platform to help with the war effort—donating significant funds for relief and also giving gifts to children in London bomb shelters during air raids.
By 1941, Veidt moved to the United States, where he continued acting in Hollywood. He starred in A Woman’s Face (1941), Nazi Agent (1942) — in which he played twin brothers — and most famously, Major Heinrich Strasser in Casablanca (1942). In Casablanca, ironically his most widely known Hollywood role, he portrayed a Nazi officer, a role dramatically opposed to the one he fled.
Style, Significance & Legacy
Veidt was noted for his striking appearance, expressive face, ability to play characters who combined menace with charisma, and his fluency in conveying psychological tension. BFI describes him as “probably best remembered as a leading exponent of Expressionist acting in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” and also for his later role in Casablanca as Major Strasser.
His moral courage in exile, resistance to Nazi demands, and generosity (e.g., donating funds to support Britain) are significant aspects of his legacy beyond acting. He became a symbol of artistic resistance to tyranny.
After his death, the Conrad Veidt Society was founded (in 1990) to preserve his memory; in 1998, his ashes, together with those of his wife, were interred at Golders Green Crematorium in London.
Personality, Interests & Personal Life
Veidt had varied interests outside of acting. He enjoyed gardening, reading, classical music, swimming, golfing, and had interest in occultism and spiritual topics (he at times thought of himself as a medium). He disliked heights, flying, the number 17, wearing ties, pudding, and interviews.
His personal life included three marriages: first to Gussy Holl (1918–~1922), then to Felicitas “Felizitas” Radke (1923–1932, with whom he had a daughter, Vera Viola Maria), and lastly to Ilona Prager (married 1933 until his death). He remained devoted to Ilona, and his departure from Germany was intimately tied to his refusal to abandon her.
He was known to be generous: during the Blitz in London he arranged gifts for children in bomb shelters, financed wartime aid, and smuggled in relatives of his wife to safety.
Veidt’s death came suddenly. He suffered a fatal heart attack at age 50 on April 3, 1943, while playing golf at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles.
Famous Quotes
While fewer sources preserve his personal reflections, here are a couple of attributed quotes:
“It is still a deep regret to me this day that in choosing acting as my career I was forced to hurt him. He died too early to see I had done the right, the only thing.”
“I turned down the first script offered to me, and the second. I lay on my back one day under an umbrella, in the garden, reading the third, and wondered why I had turned down the first.”
These reveal a reflective, sometimes self-critical side, wrestling with sacrifice, choices, and regret.
(Note: Many quote collections attribute additional lines to him, but their authenticity is less certain.)
Lessons from Conrad Veidt
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Artistry coupled with courage.
Veidt’s career shows that acting and principle need not be separate. He risked his career and safety to stand against injustice. -
The power of exile.
Forced migration enriched his work—he worked across languages and cultures, bringing depth gained from adversity. -
Complex villainy as empathy.
His most famous roles were villains or tormented figures; yet he could imbue them with nuance, avoiding caricature. -
Choices matter.
His personal decisions—refusing to repudiate his wife, donating lands and funds, risking his standing—demonstrate that character often shows in what one refuses to do. -
Legacy endures beyond film.
Veidt’s name is preserved not only in film but in remembrance societies, retrospectives, and in the moral resonance of his exile story.
Conclusion
Conrad Veidt remains one of cinema’s most fascinating figures: a master of German Expressionism, a star who reinvented himself in exile, and a man whose values shaped his life as much as his roles shaped film history. His portrayals—from Cesare in Caligari to Major Strasser in Casablanca—live on, but so too does his example of integrity under pressure.