Karl Gerhart “Gert” Fröbe was an actor who appeared in more than 100 films. American audiences may best remember him as Goldfinger in the James Bond movie by that name. But likely most moviegoers do not know that Gert, born Feb. 25, 1913, Oberplanitz, Zwickau, Germany, was a member of the Nazi Party. He began acting in Germany in 1942. Israel had banned the movie Goldfinger due to his past, but rescinded after finding he had helped a Jewish boy and his mother obtain food stamps before the war.
Searchable Nazi Party membership records preserved by the U.S. National Archives indicate that he belonged to the Nazi Party. The records do not explain why this actor joined the Nazi Party or the extent of his involvement. I do not presume to judge this motives. Those answers largely died with him.
The records were examined with a DIE ZEIT search tool.
- Born Feb 25, 1913
- Gau Hessen-Nassau, Sachsen, Wien
- Member no.408.392
- Party Membership Date Entry unknown, but Gert said he joined at age 21 in 1934,
Memorable movie quotation:
BOND: You’ll kill 60,000 people uselessly.
GOLDFINGER: Hah. American motorists kill that many every two years.
Gert told celebrity journalist Lloyd Shearer that he regretted joining the party and was no longer active in 1937, He died September 5, 1988 (age 75 years), Munich, Germany
Information taken from “Kurt Vonnegut: The Man in the Hole. A Life of Reinvention.” In-progress biography of Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. by Hank Nuwer
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