Höflich, Lucie

(Helena Lucie von Holwede, 1883-1956)

   Actress, manager, teacher. "Flaxen-haired, wide-hipped, and flat-chested" (John Willett, The Theatre of the Weimar Republic [New York: Holmes and Meier, 1988], 163), Höflich was an ideal peasant type in Naturalist plays like Rose Bernd during the Wilhelmine period. She was a stalwart in Max Reinhardt's productions, playing dozens of roles at the Deutsches Theater; most notable among them Gretchen in Faust, Part 1, Nora in A Doll's House, and, as she matured, a superb Mrs. Alving in Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts. During the Third Reich, Höflich was one of the few women directors in Berlin; her Moral (Morality) by Ludwig Thoma in 1936 earned widespread praise. She also ran a small studio in Berlin during the Nazi years, mounting small productions and training young actors. Among her most noted students was Angelika Hurwicz, who later became closely identified with Bertolt Brecht and the Berliner Ensemble in that company's most highly publicized productions. After the war Höflich became director of the Schwerin State Theater, which was untouched by the ravages of war. There she also revived the Ekhof Theater School.