Heinz Bernard
Encyclopedia
Heinz Bernard was a British actor and director and theatre manager. Of Jewish origin, he also lived and worked in Israel from 1971 - 1981. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, graduating in 1951.
After graduation he worked in the Peter Allan Theatre, possibly the last group of travelling players to operate in the British Isles, performing every night in different towns and villages in the British countryside. He went on to become the manager of the famous leftist Unity Theatre, London
. As manager of Unity theatre he staged the first professional British production of a Brecht
play, the Visions of Simone Marchard. Lionel Bart
, who later gained fame as the author of the musical "Oliver
", designed the poster.
Heinz Bernard also acted and directed in the travelling Century Theatre
and taught at RADA
, where he was director of admissions.
Heinz's name at birth was Heinz Messinger. He was adopted as a baby by a family called Löwenstein. After leaving RADA he worked under the professional name Harry Bernard, eventually dropping the Harry and becoming simply Heinz Bernard.
of the Nuremburg synagogue, as was usual at the time, he was not told by his parents that he was adopted.
In March 1932, when Heinz was nine, his (adoptive) father Max Lowenstein, committed suicide following the collapse of his business.
In 1933 the Nazis came to power in Germany and began persecuting the Jews. Jews were banned from state schools and only one Jewish school, the Israelitische Realschule in neighbouring Fürth
was allowed to operate. Heinz attended this school where the future US Secretary of State
, Henry Kissinger
was in the year above Heinz. The classes were overcrowded, however the teachers were all university professors who had been sacked by the Nazis. Kissinger's father taught biology.
In December 1936 Heinz had his Bar-Mitzvah in the main Synagogue of Nuremburg where his biological father had been the hazzan. In August 1938 Julius Streicher
, editor of Der Stürmer
, ordered the Synagogue torn down. That month Poland issued an order depriving Polish Jews residing outside of Poland of their citizenship. Although Heinz was born in Germany and adopted by native German Jews, his real parents had emigrated from Poland. In 1938 Germany began expelling Jews of Polish origin to Poland. The Poles refused to admit them and some 17,000 Jews became trapped between the two countries. At some point however the Germans began tracing adopted children of Polish emigrants and in 1939 began proceedings to expel Heinz.
In October 1938, during Kristallnacht
most of Germany's synagogues were destroyed and the Jewish community made to pay the costs of the actions against them. Heinz hid with relatives in Frankfurt that night, in which more Jews were killed in Nuremburg then in any other city in Germany (which by then included Austria).
Jews in Nazi Germany were eligible for one way passports only, usable only to leave the country, and other countries would not admit them because of this. Heinz was not eligible even for this kind of passport because of his Polish origins. He was not eligible for a Polish passport either. His mother eventually procured a forged Polish passport for him.
In July 1939 the MP Josiah Wedgewood
, who dedicated his life to saving Jews, asked a parliamentary question directed at the Home Secretary:
"Colonel Wedgwood asked the Home Secretary whether he will authorise a visa to Frau Betty Loewenstein, and her son, Heinz, Nurenberg, guarantee and application for whom was made by Walter Block, Alsager, Stoke-on-Trent, on 10th May, in view of the fact that the boy, aged 16 years, is under expulsion orders for 10th July?"
As a result of this question Heinz and his mother were granted transit visas to pass through England and join his uncles who had migrated to the USA.
At the age of 15, on August 28, 1939 Heinz Bernard was sent to England by his mother who meant to join him a few days later. On the day she planned to leave Germany, war broke out trapping her on the continent. In mid-1940, she took the Trans-Siberian Railway
, travelling through Japanese occupied China to Japan and sailing from there to Seattle. From Seattle she took a bus to Pennsylvania.
Heinz remained trapped in England and learned English by sitting in cinemas watching movies. He eventually joined a home for Jewish orphans run by exiles from the German communist party where he organized weekly plays. Heinz worked in a variety of low paid jobs, including as a rabbit skinner and a waiter, saving enough money to attend the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) in London.
After the war Heinz's mother informed him that he was adopted. A real brother and sister had reached Palestine before the war and now made contact with him. Heinz's brother was a co-founder of Kibbutz Ramat Yochanan and Heinz was a communist party member at this time (despite his conservative adopted family). He went on to run a legendary Communist Party affiliated theatre in London (Unity Theatre) and staged the first productions of Brecht
in the English language. Heinz left the Communist Party in the fifties after antisemitic plotting by Stalin and the invasion of Hungary.
to raise money for the move. In Israel he became a legend on account of his performances in English teaching television programs, "Neighbours" (written by his wife Nettie) and "Here We Are". Each of the series was broadcast twice a week on the single national TV channel for over fifteen years, making him a familiar face to most Israelis. He appeared in many Israeli films of the seventies, working with Shaike Ophir, Ephraim Kishon
and Menachem Golan.
After graduation he worked in the Peter Allan Theatre, possibly the last group of travelling players to operate in the British Isles, performing every night in different towns and villages in the British countryside. He went on to become the manager of the famous leftist Unity Theatre, London
Unity Theatre, London
The Unity Theatre was a theatre club formed in 1936, and initially based in St Judes Hall, Britannia Street, Kings Cross, in 1937 they moved to a former chapel in Goldington Street, near St Pancras, in the London Borough of Camden. Although the theatre was destroyed by fire in 1975 productions...
. As manager of Unity theatre he staged the first professional British production of a Brecht
Brecht
Brecht is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of Brecht proper, Sint-Job-in't-Goor and Sint-Lenaarts. On January 1, 2006 Brecht had a total population of 26,464...
play, the Visions of Simone Marchard. Lionel Bart
Lionel Bart
Lionel Bart was a writer and composer of British pop music and musicals, best known for creating the book, music and lyrics for Oliver!-Early life:...
, who later gained fame as the author of the musical "Oliver
Oliver
The surname Oliver is of several different origins.-Etymology:The surname Oliver is derived from the Old French personal name Olivier. The Oliver surname seems to be French Norman in origin. The Olivers were probably part of William the Conqueror's Norman Invasion of Britain in 1066...
", designed the poster.
Heinz Bernard also acted and directed in the travelling Century Theatre
Century Theatre
The Century Theatre, originally the New Theatre, was a theater located at 62nd Street and Central Park West in New York City. Opened on November 6, 1909, it was noted for its fine architecture but due to poor acoustics and an inconvenient location it was financially unsuccessful...
and taught at RADA
Rada
Rada is the term for "council" or "assembly"borrowed by Polish from the Low Franconian "Rad" and later passed into the Czech, Ukrainian, and Belarusian languages....
, where he was director of admissions.
Heinz's name at birth was Heinz Messinger. He was adopted as a baby by a family called Löwenstein. After leaving RADA he worked under the professional name Harry Bernard, eventually dropping the Harry and becoming simply Heinz Bernard.
German Childhood
Heinz Bernard grew up as a Jewish child in Nuremberg in Nazi Germany. He was adopted by the Lowenstein family after his biological father died of Tubercolosis. His biological father was the hazzanHazzan
A hazzan or chazzan is a Jewish cantor, a musician trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the congregation in songful prayer.There are many rules relating to how a cantor should lead services, but the idea of a cantor as a paid professional does not exist in classical rabbinic sources...
of the Nuremburg synagogue, as was usual at the time, he was not told by his parents that he was adopted.
In March 1932, when Heinz was nine, his (adoptive) father Max Lowenstein, committed suicide following the collapse of his business.
In 1933 the Nazis came to power in Germany and began persecuting the Jews. Jews were banned from state schools and only one Jewish school, the Israelitische Realschule in neighbouring Fürth
Fürth
The city of Fürth is located in northern Bavaria, Germany in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the two cities being only 7 km apart....
was allowed to operate. Heinz attended this school where the future US Secretary of State
Secretary of State
Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
, Henry Kissinger
Henry Kissinger
Heinz Alfred "Henry" Kissinger is a German-born American academic, political scientist, diplomat, and businessman. He is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He served as National Security Advisor and later concurrently as Secretary of State in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon and...
was in the year above Heinz. The classes were overcrowded, however the teachers were all university professors who had been sacked by the Nazis. Kissinger's father taught biology.
In December 1936 Heinz had his Bar-Mitzvah in the main Synagogue of Nuremburg where his biological father had been the hazzan. In August 1938 Julius Streicher
Julius Streicher
Julius Streicher was a prominent Nazi prior to World War II. He was the founder and publisher of Der Stürmer newspaper, which became a central element of the Nazi propaganda machine...
, editor of Der Stürmer
Der Stürmer
Der Stürmer was a weekly tabloid-format Nazi newspaper published by Julius Streicher from 1923 to the end of World War II in 1945, with brief suspensions in publication due to legal difficulties. It was a significant part of the Nazi propaganda machinery and was vehemently anti-Semitic...
, ordered the Synagogue torn down. That month Poland issued an order depriving Polish Jews residing outside of Poland of their citizenship. Although Heinz was born in Germany and adopted by native German Jews, his real parents had emigrated from Poland. In 1938 Germany began expelling Jews of Polish origin to Poland. The Poles refused to admit them and some 17,000 Jews became trapped between the two countries. At some point however the Germans began tracing adopted children of Polish emigrants and in 1939 began proceedings to expel Heinz.
In October 1938, during Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, and also Reichskristallnacht, Pogromnacht, and Novemberpogrome, was a pogrom or series of attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938.Jewish homes were ransacked, as were shops, towns and...
most of Germany's synagogues were destroyed and the Jewish community made to pay the costs of the actions against them. Heinz hid with relatives in Frankfurt that night, in which more Jews were killed in Nuremburg then in any other city in Germany (which by then included Austria).
Jews in Nazi Germany were eligible for one way passports only, usable only to leave the country, and other countries would not admit them because of this. Heinz was not eligible even for this kind of passport because of his Polish origins. He was not eligible for a Polish passport either. His mother eventually procured a forged Polish passport for him.
In July 1939 the MP Josiah Wedgewood
Josiah Wedgwood, 1st Baron Wedgwood
Colonel Josiah Clement Wedgwood, 1st Baron Wedgwood, DSO, PC, DL sometimes referred to as Josiah Wedgwood IV was a British Liberal and Labour politician who served in government under Ramsay MacDonald...
, who dedicated his life to saving Jews, asked a parliamentary question directed at the Home Secretary:
"Colonel Wedgwood asked the Home Secretary whether he will authorise a visa to Frau Betty Loewenstein, and her son, Heinz, Nurenberg, guarantee and application for whom was made by Walter Block, Alsager, Stoke-on-Trent, on 10th May, in view of the fact that the boy, aged 16 years, is under expulsion orders for 10th July?"
As a result of this question Heinz and his mother were granted transit visas to pass through England and join his uncles who had migrated to the USA.
At the age of 15, on August 28, 1939 Heinz Bernard was sent to England by his mother who meant to join him a few days later. On the day she planned to leave Germany, war broke out trapping her on the continent. In mid-1940, she took the Trans-Siberian Railway
Trans-Siberian Railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway is a network of railways connecting Moscow with the Russian Far East and the Sea of Japan. It is the longest railway in the world...
, travelling through Japanese occupied China to Japan and sailing from there to Seattle. From Seattle she took a bus to Pennsylvania.
Heinz remained trapped in England and learned English by sitting in cinemas watching movies. He eventually joined a home for Jewish orphans run by exiles from the German communist party where he organized weekly plays. Heinz worked in a variety of low paid jobs, including as a rabbit skinner and a waiter, saving enough money to attend the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) in London.
After the war Heinz's mother informed him that he was adopted. A real brother and sister had reached Palestine before the war and now made contact with him. Heinz's brother was a co-founder of Kibbutz Ramat Yochanan and Heinz was a communist party member at this time (despite his conservative adopted family). He went on to run a legendary Communist Party affiliated theatre in London (Unity Theatre) and staged the first productions of Brecht
Brecht
Brecht is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of Brecht proper, Sint-Job-in't-Goor and Sint-Lenaarts. On January 1, 2006 Brecht had a total population of 26,464...
in the English language. Heinz left the Communist Party in the fifties after antisemitic plotting by Stalin and the invasion of Hungary.
Israeli Period 1971 - 1981
Following the death of his Israeli brother in the late sixties, Heinz decided to emigrate to Israel. He acted the part of the Rabbi in the West End production of Fiddler on the RoofFiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters by Sholem Aleichem...
to raise money for the move. In Israel he became a legend on account of his performances in English teaching television programs, "Neighbours" (written by his wife Nettie) and "Here We Are". Each of the series was broadcast twice a week on the single national TV channel for over fifteen years, making him a familiar face to most Israelis. He appeared in many Israeli films of the seventies, working with Shaike Ophir, Ephraim Kishon
Ephraim Kishon
' was an Israeli author, dramatist, screenwriter, and film director. He is one of the most widely-read contemporary satirists in the world.- Early life and World War II :...
and Menachem Golan.
Return to England
After ten years in Israel Heinz returned to England where he had to restart his career. He continued to work until his death of a rare blood disease in 1994.External links
- Obituary in the New Theatre Quarterly: http://books.google.co.il/books?id=7WwuK62LKVIC&pg=PA194&lpg=PA194&dq=heinz+bernard&source=bl&ots=tJ_7M5BalD&sig=Alzc2jV5BThM0r3kj-eafz9Rv-I&hl=en&ei=rQJwS8GQM9Wc_Aaj87TIBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CCEQ6AEwCDgU#v=onepage&q=heinz%20bernard&f=false
- Obituary in the Independent (UK) http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituaries-heinz-bernard-1568974.html
Youtube Clips
- Heinz alongside Israeli star Uri ZoharUri ZoharUri Zohar is a former Israeli film director, actor, and comedian who left the entertainment world to become a rabbi.-Biography:Zohar was born in Tel Aviv in 1934. In 1952, he graduated high school and did his military service in an army entertainment troupe. His first marriage ended in divorce.By...
in 1977 Israeli movie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJjGkTFkriw&feature=response_watch - As Mr Cohen in the Israeli cult English teaching TV series written by his wife Nettie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pH58fJxiKqE
- With Thelma Ruby and Sarah Mann in same series http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIy-SM42MjI&feature=related