Paula Wessely (1907–2000)

Wessely’s performances in Germany meant she became a member of the Reich Association of Film Professionals as early as 1934. In her job she promoted the Nazi regime. She campaigned in favour of the “Anschluss” during the staged plebiscite and acted in countless propaganda films. As part of the Gottbegnadetenliste—a list of artists considered “divinely gifted”—she was among the few artists under the special protection of the ruling Nazi elite. Some colleagues persecuted as Jews by the Nazi regime report that Wessely continued to support them. 

In 1945, Wessely was banned from performing by the American forces controlling Austria. From the end of 1946, she resumed her career as a film and theatre actress, appearing at venues including the Theater in der Josefstadt and the Burgtheater. She remained the most popular actress and became a symbol of Austria. Her involvement in Nazi propaganda was only widely discussed when the writer Elfriede Jelinek broke a taboo in 1982 with her play Burgtheater: In the story, Wessely's character serves as an example of the seamless transition between Nazi German propaganda and Austrian nostalgia. In the 1980ies, when Austrian nationalism had become established, the work made it clear how much the content and objectives of Nazi and thus German cultural policy still resonated in the supposedly typical Austrian tradition of theatre and cinema. Representatives of the cultural sector, the media and politics defended Wessely and attacked Jelinek fiercely and viciously. To date, Jelinek's play has only been performed twice in Austria, in 2005 by the Theater im Bahnhof in Graz and in 2025 at the eponymous Burgtheater in Vienna. 

Wessely has been honoured with numerous awards, including the honorary title of ‘Doyenne’ of the Vienna Burgtheater in 1987. In 1988, she supported an open letter calling for the resignation of Federal President Kurt Waldheim following the final report of a commission of historians on his role.