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Hildegard Knef at 100: Germany Reappraises a Restless Icon

German broadcasters mark her centenary with documentaries featuring intimate recollections from her widower plus her longtime make-up artist.

Overview

  • New programming includes ARD’s Hildegard Knef – Ich will alles and the ARD-Mediathek documentary So oder so ist das Leben, renewing interest in her life and work.
  • Paul von Schell says he will visit Knef’s grave and toast her with Dom Pérignon, while visagist René Koch recalls her wit, signature lashes and resilience.
  • Knef’s path ran from a 1946 breakthrough in Die Mörder sind unter uns to a nationwide scandal with Die Sünderin, international film roles and a Broadway lead offered by Cole Porter.
  • She later became a defining chansonnière and bestselling author; Der geschenkte Gaul topped charts internationally and Das Urteil confronted her cancer with unusual candor.
  • Reports revisit her severe health struggles and financial troubles before her 2002 death, even as classics like Für mich soll’s rote Rosen regnen and her Berlin persona endure.