About Hans Heinz Zerlett
Lived 1892 – 1949 (aged 56). Hans Heinz Zerlett was a German screenwriter, film director, playwright, production manager, actor and director.
Hans Heinz Zerlett (17 October 1892 – 6 July 1949) was a German screenwriter and film director.
Life Hans H. Zerlett was the son of a musical director and the brother of the screenwriter Walter Zerlett-Olfenius. He initially worked as a theatre actor and served as a soldier in World War I, but had to leave military service early due to illness. After the war he gradually moved from acting to dramaturge in the author's service and wrote revues, schlager lyrics, and cabaret lyrics. He sold his first screenplay in 1927.
He made 25 films under the Third Reich, becoming a key figure in Nazi cinema, a member of the Nazi Party and a close friend of the Nazi culture-politician Hans Hinkel. Shortly before the Second World War he (as a UFA director) left for Bad Saarow near Berlin and bought his friend Max Schmeling's house (Zerlett had made the 1935 sports film Knockout – Ein junges Mädchen, ein junger Mann with Schmeling and his wife Anny Ondra, along with directing the 1936 documentary Max Schmelings Sieg – Ein deutscher Sieg).
On 23 January 1946 he was tracked down in Bad Saarow by the Soviet secret service and interned. He died of tuberculosis in 1949 in Soviet Special Camp 2, in the grounds of the former Buchenwald concentration camp.
Partial filmography As screenwriter Meine Frau, das Fräulein (1921) Das Liebesverbot (1922) Die erste Nacht (1922) Meine Braut ... Deine Braut (1924) Das Radiomädel (1924) Der Skandal mit Molly (1924) Die tanzenden Fräuleins (1926) Light-Hearted Isabel (1927) Pit Pit (1927) Inherited Passions (1929) The Man Without Love (1929) Daughter of the Regiment (1929) The Great Longing (1930) The Caviar Princess (1930) Fairground People (1930) The Jumping Jack (1930) Morals at Midnight (1930) Two People (1930) I Go Out and You Stay Here (1931) Die Fledermaus (1931) The Concert (1931) The Beggar Student (1931) A Man with Heart (1932) Monsieur, Madame and Bibi (1932) A Bit of Love (1932) Kiki (1932) Mamsell Nitouche (1932) The Love Hotel (1933) The Castle in the South (1933) Dream Castle (1933) Daughter of the Regiment (1933) The Csardas Princess (1934) The Switched Bride (1934) The Young Count (1935) The Blonde Carmen (1935) Star of the Circus (1938) Venus on Trial (1941)
As director (1934) Im Schallplattenladen (1934) Da stimmt was nicht (1934) His Late Excellency (1935) Knockout (1935) A Doctor of Conviction (1936) Moral (1936) Dinner Is Served (1936) Max Schmelings Sieg - Ein deutscher Sieg (1936) The Ways of Love Are Strange (1937) Truxa (1937) The Stars Shine (1937) Revolutionary Wedding (1938) Adventure in Love (1938) Two Women (1938) Robert and Bertram (1939) The Golden Mask (1939) My Daughter Doesn't Do That (1940) Venus on Trial (1941) My Friend Josephine (1942) To Be God One Time (1942) The Little Residence (1942) Journey into the Past (1943) Love Letters (1944) Ghost in the Castle (1947) In the Temple of Venus (1948)
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Important facts
People in Hans Heinz Zerlett's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Hans Heinz Zerlett's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Hans Heinz Zerlett?
German film director (1892-1949)
When was Hans Heinz Zerlett born?
Hans Heinz Zerlett was born on 17 August 1892 in Wiesbaden.
When did Hans Heinz Zerlett die?
Hans Heinz Zerlett died on 6 July 1949 in NKVD special camp Nr. 2.
What was Hans Heinz Zerlett's occupation?
Hans Heinz Zerlett was a screenwriter, film director, playwright, production manager, actor and director.
What nationality was Hans Heinz Zerlett?
Hans Heinz Zerlett was German.
Sources & further reading
· Wikipedia: Hans Heinz Zerlett
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Hans Heinz Zerlett. https://biography.guide/hans-heinz-zerlett/
MLA: "Hans Heinz Zerlett." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/hans-heinz-zerlett/.
Chicago: "Hans Heinz Zerlett." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/hans-heinz-zerlett/.
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