Rosa von Praunheim

Rosa von Praunheim, a renowned German filmmaker, author, painter, and prominent gay rights activist in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, was born Holger Bernhard Bruno Waldemar Mischwitzky. Throughout his illustrious career, he has directed an astonishing number of feature films, exceeding seventy. Initially, he was affiliated with the influential New German Cinema movement, holding a senior position within the Berlin school of underground filmmaking. Von Praunheim chose the artistic female name Rosa von Praunheim as a poignant reminder of the pink triangle, a symbol of oppression, which homosexuals were forced to wear in Nazi concentration camps.