Ervin Knausmyuller

Ervin Knausmyuller was an Austrian anti-fascist who escaped from the Nazis and fled to the Soviet Union. There he made a new career as a journalist and film actor, and appeared in such anti-war films as Italiani brava gente (1964) and War and Peace (1965). He was born Ervin Knausmyuller on December 12, 1912, in Linz, Austria. In 1932 he graduated form traded Academy in Graz, Austria. During 1933 * 1935 he was a member of anti-fascist resistance in Austria. In 1935 he was arrested by the Nazis. Eventually, Ervin Knausmyuller escaped from the Nazis and fled to the Soviet Union in 1936. He worked as a trade consultant for the Moscow Bureau of the International of Labour Unions (Profintern), and also was employed by the Central Department Store in Moscow. In 1939 Knausmyuller was recruited in the special forces of NKVD, predecessor of the KGB. He fought on the front-lines during the Secod World War, and was decorated for his courage in battles against the Nazis. From 1947 to 1950, Ervin Knausmyuller was editor of the German-language newspaper "Mitteilumen" in the Soviet Union. From 1951 to 1970 he hosted the German-language radio show aimed at German and Austrian listeners. From 1970 to 1982 he worked for the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then was a consultant for several Russian-German projects. Ervin Knausmyuller made his film debut in 1958, in war drama Zolotoy eshelon (1959) by director Ilya Gurin. After that movie, Knausmyuller was typecast as "German" character. Eventually, he appeared in over 20 Soviet and Russian film productions playing German-speaking characters, such as generals, spies, politicians, scientists, and businessmen. Ervin Knausmyuller died on January 4, 2000, and was laid to rest in Vvedenskoe German Cemetery in Moscow, Russia.