Trivia

Was severely injured in 1941 while filming a documentary about the fighting on the Russian front. Transported back to Berlin, he died in a hospital during an operation to try to save his life.

Was a painter in his youth. Started in films as a designer and creator of special effects for Paul Wegener and Lotte Reiniger. He was most famous for his documentary feature Berlin, symphonie d'une grande ville (1927).

After Adolf Hitler came to power, he turned out propaganda films for the Nazis. He also collaborated on the editing of Leni Riefenstahl's Berlin 1936: Games of the XI Olympiad (1936).

Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume One, 1890-1945". Pages 983-986. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1987.