Hans Albers

Hans Philipp August Albers (22 September 1891 – 24 July 1960), also known by his nickname “der blonde Hans” (The Blond Hans), was a German actor and singer. He was the biggest male movie star in Germany between 1930 and 1960 and one of the most popular German actors of the twentieth century.

Early life

Hans Albers was born in Hamburg, the son of a butcher, and grew up in the district of St. Georg. He was seriously interested in acting by his late teens and took acting classes without the knowledge of his parents. In 1915 Albers was drafted to serve in the German Army in World War I, but was wounded early on. After his release from the Hospital in Wiesbaden where he had been treated, he performed in the local Residenztheater in comedies, antics and operettas. After the war Albers moved to Berlin, where he found work as a comedic actor in various Weimar-Era Berlin theatres. His breakthrough performance was that of a waiter in the play Verbrecher (Criminals). It was also in Berlin that Albers began a long-term relationship with Jewish actress Hansi Burg (1898–1975). Their relationship ended only when he died in 1960. While Albers himself never showed public support for the Nazi regime, he became the most popular actor under Nazi rule. The actor nevertheless avoided an overly close association in public. As the ultimate sign of his popularity, the Nazis even silently accepted his relationship with Hansi Burg for a long time. But Albers finally gave in to pressure. Hansi Burg went to Switzerland and then to Great Britain in 1939, but they secretly remained a couple with him even managing to send her financial support. They were reunited after the war, when she returned to Germany in a British uniform. and died months later on 24 July 1960 at a sanatorium in Kempfenhausen near Lake Starnberg at the age of 68. He was cremated and subsequently buried at the Ohlsdorf Cemetery in Hamburg, the city of his birth.

Legacy Hans Albers statue in the Hans-Albers-Platz, Hamburg-St. Pauli. By Jörg Immendorff, 1986

Memorial plaque to Hans Albers. Schöneberger Ufer 61, Berlin-Tiergarten Albers' name will forever be closely associated with his hometown of Hamburg, in particular the district of St. Pauli where there is a square named Hans-Albers-Platz in his honour. Today he is probably better known for his music than his films; some of his songs have remained familiar to later generations of Germans.

Outside of Northern Europe, Albers remains virtually unknown; however the image of an older man in a seaman's cap and raincoat playing accordion and singing remains familiar internationally. As a case in point, McDonald's used such an image in an American television ad campaign in 1986. Albers actually had no significant experience on the water, this being restricted to a one-day trip to Heligoland.

Many of Albers' songs were humorous tales of drunken, womanizing sailors on shore-leave, with double entendres such as "It hurts the first time, but with time, you get used to it" in reference to a girl falling in love for the first time. Albers' songs were often peppered with expressions in Low German, which is spoken in Northern Germany. One of his signature songs is Auf der Reeperbahn nachts um halb eins, ("On the Reeperbahn at Half Past Midnight") which has become one of the best-known songs about Hamburg and also an unofficial anthem of the St. Pauli district where the Reeperbahn itself is located. Hans-Albers-Platz, one block south of the Reeperbahn, features a statue of Albers, created by the German artist Jörg Immendorff.

Filmography

Silent films

Sound films

Songs (selection) 1931 Das ist die Liebe der Matrosen (from picture Bomben auf Monte Carlo) Kind, du brauchst nicht weinen (from picture Der Draufgänger) 1932 Flieger, grüß' mit mir die Sonne (from picture F. P. 1 antwortet nicht) Hoppla, jetzt komm' ich (from picture Der Sieger) Komm' auf die Schaukel, Luise (from stage play Liliom) Komm und spiel mit mir (from picture Quick) 1933 "Mein Gorilla hat 'ne Villa im Zoo" (from picture Today Is the Day) 1936 "In meinem Herzen Schatz, da ist für viele Platz" (from picture Savoy-Hotel 217) 1937 "Jawohl, meine Herrn" [with Heinz Rühmann] (from picture Der Mann, der Sherlock Holmes war) 1939 "Good bye, Jonny" (from picture Wasser für Canitoga) 1944 "La Paloma" (from picture Große Freiheit Nr. 7) "Auf der Reeperbahn nachts um halb eins" (from picture Große Freiheit Nr. 7) 1952 "Kleine weiße Möwe" (from picture Käpt'n Bay-Bay) "Nimm mich mit, Kapitän, auf die Reise" (from picture Käpt'n Bay-Bay) 1954 "Auf der Reeperbahn nachts um halb eins" (from picture Auf der Reeperbahn nachts um halb eins) "Komm auf die Schaukel, Luise" (from picture Auf der Reeperbahn nachts um halb eins) 1957 "Das Herz von St. Pauli" (from picture Das Herz von St. Pauli) 1959 "Mein Junge, halt die Füße still" (from picture Dreizehn alte Esel)