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Martin Kosleck (March 24, 1904 – January 15, 1994) was a German film actor. Like many other German actors, he fled when the Nazis came to power. Inspired by his deep hatred of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, Kosleck would make a career in Hollywood playing villainous Nazis in films. While in the United States, he would appear in more than 80 films and television shows in a 46-year span. His icy demeanor and piercing stare on screen made him a popular choice to play Nazi villains. He portrayed Joseph Goebbels, Adolf Hitler's propaganda minister, five times, and also appeared as an SS trooper... MORE

Martin Kosleck (March 24, 1904 – January 15, 1994) was a German film actor. Like many other German actors, he fled when the Nazis came to power. Inspired by his deep hatred of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, Kosleck would make a career in Hollywood playing villainous Nazis in films. While in the United States, he would appear in more than 80 films and television shows in a 46-year span. His icy demeanor and piercing stare on screen made him a popular choice to play Nazi villains. He portrayed Joseph Goebbels, Adolf Hitler's propaganda minister, five times, and also appeared as an SS trooper and a concentration camp officer. Kosleck was born Nicolaie Yoshkin in Barkotzen in Pomerania, Germany, the son of a Jewish Russian forester. He became interested in acting at an early age. He spent six years in the Max Reinhardt Dramatic School, particularly excelling in Shakespearian roles, and working in revues and musicals in Berlin. At the age of 23, he appeared in his first film, a silent movie directed by Johannes Brandt called Der Fahnenträger von Sedan. Two years later he appeared in Lupo Pick's Napoleon auf St. Helena. Kosleck would appear in two more films in Germany in 1930; the LESS