Horst Joachim Arthur Caspar (20 January 1913 – 27 December 1952) was a German actor, prominent in German theatre and film in the 1930s and 1940s. His postwar career was cut short by his sudden death at 39.
Caspar was born in Radegast, the son of Max Caspar, an army officer. He had one Jewish grandparent. His mother Emmy died when he was 18 months old, and he was raised by his aunt in Berlin. He attended the Treitschke-Reform-Realgymnasium in Berlin-Wilmersdorf. In 1932 he took his abitur (school leaving exam), but did not go to university, since he had already decided to be an actor. He took acting lessons at the school of Ilka Grüning and Lucie Höflich, along with future stars of German cinema such as Lilli Palmer, Inge Meysel and Brigitte Horney. In the late 1930s Caspar, a handsome young man, appeared regularly in German films and on the stage. He was taken up by the director Saladin Schmitt and became a leading man at his theatre in Bochum, where he performed in plays by Shakespeare and Friedrich Schiller. When he gave his final performance in Richard II in 1939, he received 108 curtain calls.Under the Nazi regime's anti-Jewish Nuremberg Laws, Caspar was classed as a Mischling (mixed race) of the second degree. Despite his part-Jewish ancestry, he continued to work as an actor. This was partly because he enjoyed the protection of Schmitt, who as a homosexual was no friend of the Nazi regime. But he also enjoyed the patronage of Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. Goebbels personally vetted cases of part-Jewish performers and allowed a number of popular part-Jewish actors to continue working.Caspar's first leading film role was as the young Schiller in Friedrich Schiller – The Triumph of a Genius. In 1940 Caspar joined one of the most important German theatres of the time, the Schiller Theatre in Berlin. In 1942 he performed at the prestigious Burgtheater in Vienna. This was regarded as a "rare and special privilege" for a part-Jewish actor in a city where all Jews had been purged from cultural life.In 1943 Caspar was engaged by the director Veit Harlan to play the young August Neidhardt von Gneisenau, who in 1807 defended the Prussian fortress town of Kolberg against the French during the Napoleonic Wars, in Kolberg, an epic film produced on the orders of Goebbels. This was only Caspar's second leading film role, but it is the one for which he is now best remembered, despite the fact that film was finished only shortly before the end of World War II and was seen by few people at the time.
On 20 January 1944 Caspar married a 22-year-old actress Antje Weisgerber (1922–2004). She gave birth to a son and a daughter. After the end of the war Caspar moved to Düsseldorf where he again worked in the theatre and in films. His last role was as a reporter named Peter Zabel in crime film called The Orplid Mystery, produced in 1950. In 1952 he recorded an LP of poetry readings, including works by Schiller and Goethe. Caspar died suddenly in Berlin in December 1952 of a stroke at the age of 39. His son Frank died on the day of his father's funeral, aged eight. His widow had a successful film career extending into the 1970s. All three are buried at St Anne's churchyard in Berlin-Dahlem.
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Some of their strengths
Horst Caspar has many admirable traits.
Based on spiritual traditions from around the world, they are someone who can be described as Intelligent, Passionate, Hardworking, Loyal, Generous, Optimistic, and Communicative.
Smart and Hardworking
According to Mysticism’s Astrology tradition, Horst Caspar is someone who is a smart, hardworking, reliable, and loyal person, who is detail-oriented and orderly, but also generous and optimistic. A person who is charismatic and resourceful.
Charming and Sophisticated
Based on Daoism’s Ba-Zi or ‘Chinese Zodiac’ tradition, people who know Horst Caspar well know them as someone who can be classy, glamorous, and worldly, like jewelry.
Optimistic and Frank
According to Hinduism’s Jyotisha or ‘Vedic Astrology’ tradition, many would also describe Horst Caspar as someone who is optimistic, principled, adventurous, and direct.
A person who isn't shy about expressing their opinions, loves competition, loves learning things themself, who is known for being inventive and original, and who loves being surrounded by friends and loved ones.
Charismatic and Instinctual
Based on the Mayan Tzolk’in or ‘Mayan Astrology’ tradition, Horst Caspar is someone who handles stress better than most people, and who tends to have a powerful charisma and convictions.
They are also someone who is altruistic, tolerant, and sophisticated, and who tends to be a perfectionist who is always working to try and make everything and everyone better.
Patient and Perseverent
According to Judaism’s Kabbalah tradition, Horst Caspar tends to be someone who is patient, faithful, hardworking and persistent, and who wants to achieve a lot in life. Who tends to be rather private when it comes to expressing feelings, enjoys being independent and self-sufficient, and who is not afraid of any obstacle.
Some of Horst Caspar's challenges
While Horst Caspar has many strengths, nobody is perfect. They also have some challenging traits they need to manage.
For example, Horst Caspar can be Stubborn, Suspicious, Hypocritical, Self-centered, Pushy, Restless, and Irritable.
Suspicious and Stubborn
One of Horst Caspar's key challenges is that they are someone who can be suspicious and stubborn.
Pushy and Restless
Horst Caspar is someone who can be arrogant and bossy, who can have difficulty concentrating and focusing, be unable to separate emotions from business decisions, and who can engage in excessive spending in support of an expensive lifestyle and habits.
Callous and Stubborn
Finally, Horst Caspar also can come across as cold and unemotional, be too dismissive of others' opinions, and be overly suspicious, selfish and crafty.
