Holocaust hero-turned-actor Curt Lowens dead at 91

Polish actor Curt Lowens has died, aged 91.
A Holocaust survivor and World War Two hero, Lowens ironically portrayed German officers in such films like Tobruk and Torn Curtain.
He passed away on Monday (08May17) in Beverly Hills.
Lowens also appeared in Two Women, Counterpoint, The Secret of Santa Vittoria, and To Be or Not to Be, while his TV credits included roles in Wonder Woman, Hogan’s Heroes, Mission: Impossible, The Six Million Dollar Man, and The A-Team.
Born Curt Loewenstein in 1925, he and his family were attempting to flee to England from Berlin, Germany in 1938, when they were caught by Nazis in Holland and sent to a concentration camp.
Upon his release he pretended to be a teacher and helped save Jewish children by finding families who agreed to hide them from the Nazis. He also rescued two American airmen and received a commendation from Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower for his services.
Working as an interpreter with the British Eighth Corps, he also informed Adolf Hitler’s successor, Karl Doenitz, that the war was over and the Germans had been defeated.
He arrived in America after the war and studied to become an actor in New York. He scored his first role as a Nazi officer in the original Broadway production of Stalag 17 in 1951.