Harry Liedtke (12 October 1882 – 28 April 1945) was a German film actor.
Early life
Liedtke was born in Königsberg, East Prussia as the seventh out of 12 children of a merchant. After his father's death in 1896, he grew up in an orphanage and began a qualification in retail business. By the chance acquaintance of Hans Oberländer, a stage director at Berlin, he started to take stage classes and was first engaged at the municipal Theater of Freiberg, Saxony. In 1908 Liedtke worked at the New German Theatre in New York City and in 1909 at the Deutsches Theater Berlin.
Liedtke's first marriage was to Ernestine Emaline Johanne Proft, also known as Hanne Schutt. The two had one child together before divorcing in 1916. From 1920 to 1928, Liedtke was married to the actress Käthe Dorsch. Shortly after their divorce, he married atress Christa Tordy on 27 March 1928.[2]
Death
Grave of Harry Liedtke and his spouses Käthe Dorsch and Christa Tordy in Pieskow, Bad Saarow
On 28 April 1945 Liedtke was murdered by Red Army soldiers in his house at Bad Saarow-Pieskow east of Berlin together with his wife Christa Tordy.[3] While attempting to save Tordy from being raped and murdered, he died after either being smashed on the head with a beer bottle,[4] or after being clubbed to death.[5] Prior to their murder, the couple had attempted suicide.
Tordy and Liedtke's bodies were exhumed in October 1948 and buried at Waldfriedhof Saarow-Pieskow Cemetery.[6][7] Upon Liedtke's ex-wife Käthe Dorsch's death in 1957, she was buried alongside the two.
