Artur Brauner

Artur "Atze" Brauner (born Abraham Brauner; 1 August 1918) is a German film producer and entrepreneur of Polish origin. He produced over 300 films since 1946.

He was born the oldest son of a Jewish family in Łódź, Poland. His father was a timber wholesaler. Brauner attained the Abitur at Łódź and studied at the local polytechnic until the German attack on Poland in September 1939. With his parents and four siblings, he fled to the Soviet Union and survived the Holocaust. Following the war, he and his brother, Wolf Brauner emigrated to Berlin; his parents and three of his siblings emigrated to Israel. Twelve of his relatives were killed at Babi Yar, just a portion of the 49 who perished at the hands of the Nazis.

Artur Brauner has been married to Theresa Albert, called Maria, since 1947. They have four children.

As a young man he saw Fritz Lang's film The Testament of Dr. Mabuse that affected him greatly, making him interested in film. In September 1946 he founded the Central Cinema Company or CCC Films in the American sector of Berlin. He prouduced Sag’ die Wahrheit (de), one of the first films produced in Germany after the war, followed by Morituri, which was a commercial failure and threw him into debt. Brauner realised that to produce critically successful films he had to make up their losses by producing critically derided films that were appreciated by the public. He lured back many Germans who had experience in Hollywood such as Robert Siodmak and later Fritz Lang who started a revival of Dr. Mabuse.

In 2009, Yad Vashem received a donation of 21 of Brauner's productions having to do with the Holocaust, including Die Weiße Rose, The Plot to Assassinate Hitler (Der 20. Juli) and Man and Beast (Mensch und Bestie). In 2010, Yad Vashem opened a media center in Brauner's name. Brauner called it the "crowning achievement of my film career".

Artur Brauner is a prominent member of the Jewish community of Berlin and a recipient of the Bundesverdienstkreuz. At the 2003 Berlinale, he was awarded the Berlinale Kamera honouring his lifetime achievement. His many other awards (see below) include two Golden Globes and an Academy Award for his co-production of the film The Garden of the Finzi-Continis by Vittorio de Sica. Artur Brauner lives and works in Berlin.

Artur Brauner (left) shaking hands with Willy Brandt (1971).

"Mich gibt's nur einmal" (autobiography). Munich, Berlin: Herbig (1976)

• 1961: Bambi for Die Ratten
• 1963: Zürcher Filmpreis for The Marriage of Mr. Mississippi
• 1965: Goldene Leinwand for Old Shatterhand
• 1965: Goldene Leinwand for Der Schut
• 1967: Goldene Leinwand for Die Nibelungen
• 1970: Golden Bear for The Garden of the Finzi-Continis
• 1972: Academy Award for The Garden of the Finzi-Continis
• 1983: Deutscher Filmpreis: Filmband in Silber for Die Weiße Rose
• 1990: Deutscher Filmpreis: Filmband in Gold for "long and outstanding work in German cinema"
• 1992: Golden Globe for Europa Europa
• 1993: Bundesverdienstkreuz I. Klasse
• 2000: Goldene Kamera