Joachim Brennecke

Handsome German actor Joachim Brennecke (1919-2011) never made a great breakthrough in the film business, still, he took part in many films and peaked in the 1950s.


German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3626/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Foto Binz, Berlin.


German postcard by Ross-Verlag, no. G 82, 1941-1944. Photo: Foto Binz, Berlin.


German collectors card in the series Filmstars aus aller Welt by Coconuss, no. 16. Photo: Rank.

Nazi propaganda

Joachim Brennecke was born in Berlin, Germany in 1919. His father was the poet Peter Emanuel Steeg, whose real name was Willy Brennecke.

From 1938 on, Joachim attended the national acting school of the Preußischen Staatstheater and from 1939 to 1945 he worked as a member of the ensemble of the Preußischen Staatstheater.

During his studies, he made his film debut as the lead part in the comedy Zwei Welten/Two Worlds (Gustaf Gründgens, 1940) with Marianne Simson.

Till the end of the war, he also played in Nazi propaganda films like the fluffy romantic musical Wunschkonzert/Request Concert (Eduard von Borsody, 1940) with Ilse Werner and the thriller Anschlag auf Baku/Attack on Baku (Fritz Kirchhoff, 1942) starring Willy Fritsch, René Deltgen, and Fritz Kampers. The film was intended as anti-British propaganda during the Second World War. I

Another propaganda film, U-Boote westwärts!/U-Boat, Course West! (Günther Ritta, 1941) follows the exploits of a German submarine as it prowls the North Atlantic. Der 5. Juni/5 June (Fritz Kirchhoff, 1942) starring Carl Raddatz, J depicts the events of 1940 when German forces successfully invaded France. It was shot on location in France and Germany.


German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3660/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Baumann / Ufa.


German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3660/2, 1941-1944. Photo: Baumann / Ufa.


German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3833/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Baumann / Ufa.


German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3503/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Foto Binz / Ufa.

DEFA

After the war, Joachim Brennecke continued his theatre and film career in Germany and Austria. His engagements led him to Hamburg, Munich and Vienna.

The post-war film also asked him again after 1950. He played the lead in mediocre films like the DEFA production Der Kahn der fröhlichen Leute/The Boat of the Merry People (Hans Heinrich, 1950) and Pension Schöller (Georg Jacoby, 1952) starring Camilla Spira. Other light entertainment films were Die Kaiserin von China/The Empress of China (Steve Sekely, 1953) with Grethe Weiser, and Der Vetter aus Dingsda/The Cousin fromDingsda (Karl Anton, 1953) starring Vera Molnar.

He was last seen in the TV film Bedaure, falsch verbunden/Sorry, Wrong Number (Paul Verhoeven, 1962), based on Lucille Fletcher’s often-filmed thriller. He continued to work in the theatre, but in 1972 he retired from showbusiness to work as a pr consultant and as a publisher of books on the work of his father, poet Peter Emanuel Steeg.

At the age of 92, Joachim Brennecke died in 2011 in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. He and his wife Ilse Brennecke-Batliner had a daughter, Daniela Brennecke.


German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3503/2, 1941-1944. Photo: Foto Binz / Ufa.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. A 3112/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Baumann / Ufa.


German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3833/2, 1941-1944. Photo: Baumann / Ufa.


German postcard by Kunst und Bild, Berlin, no. A 568. Photo: Magna Film / Deutsche London Film. Publicity still for Pension Schöller (Georg Jacoby, 1952).

Sources: Stephanie D'Heil (Steffi-line.de - German), Thomas Staedeli (Cyranos), Filmportal.de, IMDb and Wikipedia.

This post was last updated on 8 August 2023.