Therese Giehse
| Therese Giehse | |
|---|---|
Therese Giehse in 1919
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| Born |
Therese Gift 6 March 1898 Munich, Germany |
| Died | 3 March 1975 (aged 76) Munich, Germany |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1920–1975 |
| Spouse(s) | John Hampson-Simpson (1936–?) |
Therese Giehse (6 March 1898 – 3 March 1975), born Therese Gift, was a distinguished German actress. Born in Munich to German-Jewish parents, she first appeared on the stage in 1920. She became a major star on stage, in films, and in political cabaret. In the late 1920s through 1933, she was a leading actress at the famous Munich Kammerspiele.
When the Nazis came to power in 1933, Giehse left Germany for Zürich, Switzerland, where she continued to act in exile, playing leading roles in Zürich, including in Erika Mann's acclaimed political cabaret, Die Pfeffermühle (which was itself also an exile, having been transported from Munich to Zürich in 1933 as well). During her exile, she traveled throughout central Europe with Pfeffermühle. On 20 May 1936 she married the homosexual English writer John Hampson, in order to obtain a British passport and thereby avoid capture by the Nazis. She returned to Germany after World War II, and performed in theatres on both sides of the Iron Curtain, but mostly in her native Bavaria, until her death in 1975.
In exile, Giehse played the first Mother Courage in the world premiere of Bertolt Brecht's play Mother Courage and Her Children, in 1941 at the Schauspielhaus Zürich.
After the war, Giehse returned to Munich and to the Munich Kammerspiele, where, in 1950, she again played the role of Mother Courage, this time directed by Brecht himself. This production became documented as the second "Model production" of Brecht's play (the first "Model production" had been performed by Brecht's wife, Helene Weigel in 1949 in Berlin). Giehse and Brecht would often converse in their strong Bavarian (southern German) dialect during rehearsals, making Brecht's wife jealous of their kindred spirit.
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