Emerging from a Berlin upbringing under Nazi influence, he attended the elite Adolf-Hitler school at Ordensburg Sonthofen and made his screen debut at fifteen in The Young Eagles, later serving briefly in the 38th SS Grenadier Division before escaping and ending the war as a U.S. prisoner. After the conflict he built a German film career in the 1950s, starring in titles such as Die Jungfrau auf de…
