Herbert Engelsing

Herbert Enke Wilhelm Engelsing (born 2 September 1904 in Overath, died 10 February 1962 in Konstanz) was a right-wing German Catholic lawyer in Berlin and resistance fighter against the Nazi regime. When the Nazi regime began, Engelsing found himself unable to work in law. Instead he found work in the German film industry, becoming a very successful film producer with Tobis Film. In 1938, Engelsing and his wife Ingeborg became close friends with Libertas and Harro Schulze-Boysen who were part of a resistance organisation against the Nazis. Engelsing maintained a high profile in the film business and low profile in the resistance, but made his mark by introducing many new people into the organisation, brokering deals and providing secure locations for meetings.

Life Engelsing studied law, literature and art history and earned a doctorate in law.

In 1938, Engelsing married Ingeborg Engelsing née Kohler. Kohler came from a prominent Berlin based legal family. When she went for her race characteristics exam, and although the photographer attempted to portray her as tall, blond and slim, she was refused permission to marry. (16 August 1938) and a daughter, Catherine (9 September 1941). These women's work units were introduced by the Reich Minister of the Economy Walther Funk in 1943 and would have meant Ingeborg being assigned to a farming unit in occupied Poland.

Career In 1935, he became a lawyer at the Tobis Film company, after the Nazis took over the courts. Engelsing retained the right to practice as a lawyer, by joining the firm of Carl Langbehn, a well known and prominent law firm. and Jakko. Between 1937 and 1944, Engelsing was executive producer on thirty-four films. He was sufficiently successful to maintain his own division in 1942

Engelsing friends included the actors Heinz Rühmann and Theo Lingen Engelsing was close to many members of the Babelsberg film community, the home of the Babelsberg Studio.

Resistance Both Herbert and Ingeborg Engelsing were anti-Nazis who were active during the war in resisting the Nazis. They collected and distributed food to dispossessed Jews and other people who didn't possess ration-cards and identity papers. In 1938, the Engelsings met the couple Harro Schulze-Boysen and Libertas Schulze-Boysen at a party, held by a mutual friend. Ingeborg was largely kept in the dark about the groups resistance activities, as being both a young mother and Jewish made her particularly vulnerable.

In 1939, the Engelsing's introduced Maria Terwiel and her future fiancé Helmut Himpel into the group. Himpel had been the Engelsings family dentist for a number of years. His work was so good that Engelsing had recommended him to his film friends and that led to him to build a career as a dentist to German film stars.

In 1940, Adam and Greta Kuckhoff met Harro and Libertas Schulze-Boysen at the home of the Engelsing's. In 12–13 May 1940, the couple spent the weekend at Liebenberg castle, the family home of Libertas Schulze-Boysen, where they were joined by the Schumachers, Günther Weisenborn

At the end of the war, he had made his last entertainment film with director Gustav Fröhlich on the island of Mainau on Lake Constance in the summer of 1944, and brought his family from Berlin to safety on Lake Constance.

In the spring of 1945, agents of the CIC, the intelligence service of the US Army, operating out of Zurich, contacted Engelsing and used him as a source of information on members of the Nazi state. At the beginning of 1950, Engelsing made himself available as a witness in the preliminary proceedings against the then representative of the prosecution in the "Red Orchestra Trial", the Nazi apologist and General Judge Manfred Roeder. However, the proceedings were discontinued.

After the war Before the end of the war, Engelsing moved from Berlin to Konstanz at the time in the French occupation zone in Germany. Engelsing was admitted to the bar of the French military courts in 1945, where he was one of two lawyers admitted to practice. He ran a criminal and civil law practice. In addition to the usual mandates, he also represented victims of Nazi Aryanization as well as German and French Sinti families in restitution proceedings. He also took on mandates for some former southwest German military economic leaders in denazification proceedings.

In March 1947, Ingeborg emigrated with her family to Berkeley, California, where Ingeborg's parents had moved to in 1939 and immediately applied for American citizenship. Herbert arrived in the United States in December 1947. Attempts by Herbert to regain a foothold there in the film business failed. Engelsing remained a lawyer until his untimely death in 1962.

Filmography The following is a list of films that were produced by Engelsing:

1937: Don't Promise Me Anything (Versprich mir nichts) 1937: Another World (Andere Welt) 1937: Der Katzensteg 1937: Capers 1937: Serenade 1937: The Roundabouts of Handsome Karl (Die Umwege des schönen Karl) 1938: Covered Tracks (Verwehte Spuren) 1938: Dir gehört mein Herz 1939: Bel Ami 1940: The Fox of Glenarvon (Der Fuchs von Glenarvon) 1940: The Three Codonas (Die 3 Codonas) 1941: Jakko 1941: My Life for Ireland (Mein Leben für Irland) 1941: The Night in Venice 1941: Der Fall Rainer 1942: Der große Schatten 1942: My Friend Josephine 1943: Kohlhiesel's Daughters (Kohlhiesels Töchter) 1943: Light of Heart 1943: Herr Sanders lebt gefährlich 1944: Harald Arrives at Nine 1944: Philharmonic 1944: The Years Pass 1945: Leb’ wohl, Christina (unvollendet) 1945: Der Scheiterhaufen (unvollendet) 1948: An Everyday Story (Eine alltägliche Geschichte) 1949: Ruf an das Gewissen

Literature