Bettina Moissi

Bettina Moissi (15 October 1923 – 21 November 2023) was a German stage and film actress. She played the character Victorine in the 1941 film The Comedians.

Bettina Moissi
Born	(1923-10-15)15 October 1923 Berlin, Germany
Died	21 November 2023(2023-11-21) (aged 100) Zurich, Switzerland
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1941–1950 (film)
Spouse	Heinz Berggruen
Children	Olivier Berggruen Nicolas Berggruen
Parent(s)	Aleksandër Moisiu Herta Hambach

Biography

Bettina Moissi was born in Berlin on 15 October 1923, the second child of leading stage actor Aleksandër Moisiu. Her father was often branded as Jewish due to his name (which translates as "Moses") and his outspoken defense of his fellow Jewish actors and people during a period of growing antisemitism.^[1][2][3][4] She was Catholic but was married to Heinz Berggruen who was Jewish.^[5]

Personal life

In 1960, she married the art collector Heinz Berggruen. He predeceased her in 2007.^[6] They had two children:^[7]

• Olivier Berggruen, curator at the Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, Germany
• Nicolas Berggruen, a financier and art collector

Moissi died in Zurich on 21 November 2023, at the age of 100.^[8]

Selected filmography

• The Comedians (1941) as Victorine
• In Those Days (1947) as Marie
• The Original Sin (1948) as Eva Meier-Eden
• Long Is the Road (1948) as Dora Berkowicz
• The Orplid Mystery (1950) as Leata

References

1. The Jacobean: "Alexander Moissi, Non-Jewish Actor, Indicts Christian World for its Persecution of the Jew" page 5 | 4 December 1931 | "As a Christian, states Moissi, he cannot stand by and see the virus of anti-semitism infect Christian people, nations, and states, robbing them of all semblance of humanity and justice."
2. Becoming Austrians:Jews and Culture between the World Wars By Lisa Silverman Although actor Alexander Moissi was not Jewish, many assumed he was because of his name..."
3. Bernard Shaw's Letters to Siegfried Trebitsch By George Bernard Shaw, Siegfried Trebitsch page 335 | In February, 'Too True' opened in Manheim with Alexander Moissi (not a Jew) in the leading role and was disrupted by Nazi shouts of "Jew Moissi" "Jew Shaw" until police intervened.
4. Jews and the Making of Modern German Theatre edited by Jeanette R. Malkin, Freddie Rokem page 76 | "The appeal and success of some non-Jewish foreign actors among German audiences, however, was due at least in part to their foreignness. Such was the case with star actor Alexander Moissi, whose German was tinged with an "Italian singsong, which fascinated many."
5. Der Spiegel: "Seinen Geist am Leben erhalten" by Ulrike Von Knöfel and Martin Doerry (in German) "Meine Mutter ist katholisch, mein Vater jüdisch" / My mother is Catholic, my father is Jewish
6. Heinz Berggruen, Influential Picasso Collector, Dies at 93
7. New York Times: "Heinz Berggruen, Influential Picasso Collector, Dies at 93" By ALAN RIDING 27 February 2007
8. "Berggruen-Söhne trauern um ihre Mutter (100)". Bild. 16 December 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2023.

Bibliography

• Shandley, Robert R. Rubble Films: German Cinema in the Shadow of the Third Reich. Temple University Press, 2001.

External links

• Bettina Moissi at IMDb