Brigitte Helm

In 2017 the Deutsche Kinemathek was able to acquire several pieces from Helm’s estate through her son Christoph H. Kunheim. This small collection comprises correspondence and contracts dating from her work in sound films until the mid-1930s, diverse photographs from films and public appearances, congratulatory letters from German politicians on her birthdays and press materials. A special feature is a portrait of Helm’s head, depicting her much praised and unmistakable “Greek” profile. It originates from the Jewish sculptor Jussuf Abbo, who lived in Berlin in the 1920s and early 1930s. He has recently been rediscovered and is considered one of the most outstanding sculptors of the Weimar Republic. Another “highlight” is made up of several manuscript pages written by the couturier Harald Mahrenholz, the owner of a Berlin fashion salon in the 1920s. In these pages he describes his first encounter with “der Helm” – amusingly illustrated by a sketch. His brother, the well-known portrait and fashion photographer Rolf Mahrenholz, photographed the actress in the early 1930s, and this image is also among the inventory. The photo of a painting of Brigitte Helm, which Ufa commissioned the painter Felix Loesch to make in 1930, is flanked by a thank you note to the artist from Ernst Hugo Correll, Ufa’s production director. Another interesting subject area is represented by a folder with congratulatory notes from famous colleagues, dating from the period in which Helm was active in film until her 60th birthday. Among them are very personal, sometimes handwritten addresses of actors, including those for Francis Lederer, Gustav Fröhlich, Hubert von Meyerinck and Rudolf Forster. Although it is only a small archival collection, it nevertheless shows quite well the short, intensive career of this unusual German actress, who deserves to be rediscovered for her work beyond her involvement in ‘Metropolis’. (Text: Nils Warnecke)