Bernhard Wicki

Who was Bernhard Wicki?

Bernhard Wicki was an Austrian actor and film director.

Wicki studied in the city of Breslau such topics as Art History, History und German Literature. In 1938, he transferred to the drama school of the Staatliches Schauspielhaus in Berlin. In 1939, because of his membership in the Bündischen Jugend he was imprisoned for many months in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. After his release he moved to Vienna, and then in 1944 to Switzerland.

After the end of World War II, he starred in many films, like Die letzte Brücke and Es geschah am 20. Juli. He was also a photographer. His first attempt at directing came three years later with the documentary Warum sind sie gegen uns?. He became internationally famous with his anti-war film of 1959 called Die Brücke, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In 1961, he won the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 11th Berlin International Film Festival for his film The Miracle of Father Malachia.

After his death, a fund was started in 2001 and named after him in Munich, the Bernhard Wicki Memorial Fund. Since 2002, it has awarded a film prize, The Bridge, considered a peace prize. A further prize was endowed in 2006 with 15,000 euros, a prize given in the city of Emden since 2000. He was a patron of the International Film Festival in Emden-Norderney which first started in 1990.