Konrad Wolf was born on October 20, 1925, in Hechingen, Germany. His father was Friedrich Wolf, a prominent physician and writer known for his antifascist activism, as a result of which the Wolf family went into exile in 1934, eventually settling in Moscow.

There, Konrad and his brother Markus attended the German school and became citizens of the Soviet Union in 1936. In December 1942, at the age of 17, Konrad enlisted in the Red Army. He took part in the liberation of Warsaw in 1945. His experiences as a Russian propaganda officer in Germany at the end of WWII became the basis for his acclaimed film, I Was Nineteen (1967), as well as the innovative Mama I’m Alive (1976).

From 1949 to 1954, Wolf studied at the famous VGIK film school in Moscow. After completing his studies, he decided to return to East Germany and pursue a career in film. He garnered international renown for his work, especially his antifascist films. His awards include: the Karlovy Vary Grand Prize for Lissy in 1957; the Special Jury Prize at Cannes for Stars in 1959; and the Silver Bear for Solo Sunny at the 1980 Berlin Film Festival.

Solo Sunny, Wolf’s last feature film, surprised the audience; they knew him as the director of films on themes such as peace, war, and art, but here was a film that addressed the longings and frustrations of East German youth. Solo Sunny was a smash box-office hit. Wolf became President of the East German Academy of the Arts in 1965, a post he held for 17 years. He died on March 7, 1982, before completing his final film, Busch Sings.

Selected Filmography: 1979 Solo Sunny; 1976 Mama I'm Alive; 1973 The Naked Man on the Athletic Field; 1971 Goya; 1967 I Was Nineteen; 1966 The Little Prince; 1964 Divided Heaven; 1961 Professor Mamlock; 1959 Stars; 1958 Sun Seekers; 1957 Lissy; 1955 Recovery.