Claus Biederstaedt

Claus Biederstaedt was born in Stargard, a mid-sized historic town in Pomerania, the son of a senior educational councillor who was also a conductor and taught music and art history. He was conscripted into the army as a 16-year old and served on the Eastern Front, barely managing to escape to the west ahead of the Russian advance in 1945. His mother, believing her only son killed in action, tragically committed suicide by poison. Biederstaedt eventually reunited with his father in Hamburg and began to study medicine on the way to a career as a physician. However, after matriculating, he changed his plans and instead joined the ensemble of the Deutsches Theatre in Hamburg where he received acting tuition from noted thespians Will Quadflieg and Joseph Offenbach. He made his stage debut in 1950 and two years later first appeared on screen in the medical drama Die große Versuchung (1952), winning a coveted Film Award in Gold as most promising newcomer. At the peak of his popularity in th