Elsa Bassermann (1878–1961) was a German screenwriter, stage and film actress. She was married to Albert Bassermann and often acted with him. As she was Jewish the couple had to leave Nazi Germany and go into exile in Switzerland and the United States. She later returned to Germany, where she died in 1961.
As a celebrated stage actress she joined the film industry in 1913.
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The actress Else Bassermann made her stage debut at the Köln Residenztheater in 1902, one year later she acted in Nuremberg before she went to Berlin in 1904, among others working at the Lessingtheater and for Max Reinhardt.
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When Else Bassermann was refused to take part at a guest performance in Leipzig because of her Jewish extraction her husband - Albert Bassermann - left the Reichstheaterkammer and the couple went to Switzerland.
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The Bassermann's returned to Europe after the war and in 1949 they also appeared again in Germany for the first time since their emigration. She did no longer take part in movies but remained active on stage.
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Else Bassermann was not only active as an actress but also wrote numerous screenplays for German silent movies under the pen name Hans Hennings.