Biography:

János Veiczi was born in Budapest (Hungary) in 1924 and grew up in extremely impoverished circumstances. During WWII, he was transported to Berlin as forced labor, from which he escaped and then went underground. After the war, he worked as a driver and reporter. From 1949 until 1951, Veiczi was a trainee at the DEFA Studio, where he studied directing and dramaturgy. He then worked as assistant director to Martin Hellberg (Geheimakte Solvay, 1952) and Gerhard Klein (Alarm im Zirkus, 1954).

In 1956, Veiczi directed his debut film, Zwischenfall in Benderath, a story about young West Germans who resist their fascist teacher. Veiczi, who also wrote or co-wrote his own screenplays, created a small oeuvre of nine films, which focused on Nazi history, the Cold War and the divided city of Berlin. Aside from for eyes only – streng geheim, his most successful film was Die gefrorenen Blitze, about the Nazis’ secret V-2 weapons research. János Veiczi died on June 26, 1987 in Berlin.

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