Til Kiwe facts for kids

Jan Heinrich Tilman Kiwe (born Eduard Heinrich Kiefer), also known as Til Kiver or Till Kiwe, (born June 7, 1910, in Aachen; died November 30, 1995, in Munich) was a German actor and voice actor. He also worked as a screenwriter. Besides his acting career, he was an ethnologist and served as an officer during World War II. Because of his background, he often played soldiers in movies, like a German guard in the film The Great Escape in 1963.

Early Life and Education

Jan Heinrich Tilman Kiwe was born in Aachen, Germany, on June 7, 1910. He trained to be an actor and also took singing lessons at the Conservatory in Aachen. In 1934, he completed his Abitur, which is a German exam similar to a high school diploma.

From 1934 to 1937, he studied ethnology (the study of human cultures) in Cologne, Germany, and in Baltimore, USA. He also continued his acting training with Swiss actor Adolf Manz and at the "Studio of Dramatic Art." Before Second World War started, he traveled overseas many times. One of these trips was an expedition to the Tibesti Mountains in French Chad in 1938.

Military Service During World War II

During Second World War, Kiwe, then known as Kiefer, served in the German air force, the Luftwaffe. He was part of the Fallschirmjäger, which were paratroopers. From 1941 to 1942, he was in an elite unit called the 1st Parachute Division. This unit was involved in the invasion of the Soviet Union, known as Operation Barbarossa.

In late 1942, Kiefer was moved to the Afrika Korps. This group fought in North Africa. He served as a captain in a special company that was part of the Hermann Goring Division.

He became a prisoner of war on May 12, 1943. This happened when all German and Italian forces in North Africa surrendered in Tunisia. Six days after becoming a prisoner, Kiefer received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, a high military award. He was sent to a prisoner of war camp in Colorado, USA. From there, he tried to escape several times. Once, he made it to St. Louis by train before being caught. Another time, after escaping from a camp in Oklahoma, he reached the Mexican border before he was recaptured. After the war, he was sent back to Germany.

Acting and Other Careers

After the war, Kiefer changed his name to Til Kiwe. In 1946, he started his acting career in Munich at an experimental theater called Die Spieler (The Players). Kiwe acted in Munich until 1972. He performed at several famous theaters, including the Junges Theater (Young Theatre) and the Munich Kammerspiele.

He played many different characters in plays. Some of his roles included Ruprecht in The Broken Jug and Professor Higgins in Pygmalion. He also appeared in several German films called Heimatfilme. He often played German officers from World War II. For example, he played Werner von Haeften in Jackboot Mutiny and a lieutenant in the war drama Die Brücke.

Even though Kiwe was very busy acting, he still found time for his passion: ethnology. He traveled a lot. In 1953 and 1954, he visited places like the Atacama Desert, Easter Island, and the Mato Grosso Plateau. He also went to Sudan and returned to the Tibesti Mountains. He used his experiences to make 17 documentary films for UNESCO. These films included titles like The Call of the Condor.

Starting in 1972, Kiwe also worked as a theatre director. He directed plays such as The Broken Jug and Pygmalion. From 1956 onwards, he appeared on television. He played Superintendent Peters in the crime series Hafenpolizei for 39 episodes in the 1960s. He also wrote some television and movie scripts. As a voice actor, he provided the German voices for famous actors like Errol Flynn and David Niven. He also wrote and directed scripts for dubbing films into German.

Personal Life and Death

Til Kiwe was married and had a son and a daughter. He passed away at the age of 85 in Munich. His grave is located at the Neuer Südfriedhof (New South Cemetery) in the city.

Filmography