Erich Ponto Prize renamed after NS controversy

The Dresden State Theatre's Young Talent Award will no longer bear the name of the actor Erich Ponto (1884-1957). The theater's support association decided to change the name in response to new findings about Ponto's work during the Nazi era. Although his career "bears more traits of a biography of adaptation than of active ideological participation", his participation in propaganda films of the National Socialist regime remains undisputed, it said in justification.

Ponto's portrayal of Mayer Amschel Rothschild in the propaganda film "The Rothschilds" (1940) in particular shows "clear traits of the stereotyping of Jewish people for the purpose of defaming them". "The fact that this film is directly linked to the anti-Semitic propaganda of the Nazi regime and the persecution and extermination of Jewish life is also undisputed."

Award winner should not be expected to engage in an ongoing debate

Ponto's motives for his involvement in the films could no longer be clarified, it said. Nevertheless, the Förderverein had raised the question of whether award winners could be expected to continually debate his involvement in Nazi propaganda films.

The board therefore voted in favor of awarding the prize as the "Young Talent Award of the Förderverein Staatsschauspiel Dresden". The general meeting approved this by a large majority. However, the future naming is still open.

Ponto remains an honorary member of the Staatsschauspiel

After a decision by the management of the Staatsschauspiel, Ponto will continue to be listed as an honorary member of the company - with the appropriate contextualization. Because "despite his biography of adaptation", he was an important personality in the history of the Dresden theater as an actor and director, the stage announced.

"Looking at the Nazi past is part of our orientation for the present. The research carried out by the Historical Archive of the Saxon State Theatres has established that Erich Ponto was neither a member of the NSDAP nor of one of its front organizations," emphasized Artistic Director Joachim Klement. Even though Ponto tried to maintain a critical distance in the post-war period, he did not make a clear public statement about his own responsibility as an artist.

Appreciative testimonies about Ponto, including from opponents of the Nazis

However, the research had also shown that there were appreciative testimonies about him from contemporaries, including those persecuted by the Nazi state, argued Klement. "These are the reasons why the Staatsschauspiel Dresden will not retroactively revoke Erich Ponto's honorary membership."

Ponto worked at the Schauspielhaus Dresden from 1914 to 1947 and was considered a great character actor. During the Nazi era, he appeared in many entertainment films such as "Feuerzangenbowle" and "Das fliegende Klassenzimmer". However, he also appeared in National Socialist propaganda plays and films, such as "Ich klage an" and "Blutbrüderschaft" alongside "The Rothschilds". From 1945 to 1946, he was general director of the Dresden stages, which later became the Staatsschauspiel Dresden.