Weimar Republic (1918-1933) 20th century
Franz Heckendorf was a German painter and graphic artist who was particularly successful during the Weimar Republic. During the National Socialist era, he was sentenced to ten years in prison after helping Berlin Jews threatened with deportation to extermination camps to escape to Switzerland.
Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl was a German film director, photographer and actress known for her role in producing Nazi propaganda.
A talented swimmer and an artist, Riefenstahl also became interested in dancing during her childhood, taking lessons and performing across Europe. After seeing a promotional poster for the 1924 film Mountain of Destiny, she was inspired to move into acting and between 1925 and 1929 starred in five successful motion pictures. Riefenstahl became one of the few women in Germany to direct a film during the Weimar Period when, in 1932, she decided to try directing with her own film, Das Blaue Licht ("The Blue Light").
