Moritz Holfelder’s letter to Georg Stefan Troller

Film journalist Moritz Holfelder’s vivid memories of the first time he met Georg Stefan Troller at his home in Paris.

"Dear Georg Stefan Troller,

I remember. I remember visiting you in Paris. The seventh arrondissement. An elegant building, the flat on the top floor. Sweeping views. You were wearing a housecoat and slippers that seemed strangely large on your feet. Under the housecoat, a shirt and trousers. Your thinning hair combed distinctively to the left. As you opened the door, you instantly asked: “have you checked if I’m crazy or not?”

Dear Georg, I never found you to be crazy – well, perhaps just a little. What made you bring it up? In asking the question, were you playfully suggesting a possible truth about yourself? Were you crazy then?

In summary: you endured life and nonetheless learned to savour it. You experienced anguish, and later joy. To withstand this, maybe you have to be a bit crazy. Born in 1921 as a Viennese Jew, your parents were fur merchants. As a young man, in 1938 you escaped via France to USA and in 1945 you returned as a GI and took part in the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp. A man of the century with a keen sense of savoir vivre. An uncompromising political analyst and at the same time a bon vivant. You had your photograph taken with Playboy bunnies and made films about Karl Kraus and Algerian migrants. As a charismatic television journalist in Paris, you brought France to the Germans and rubbed shoulders with stars like Romy Schneider and Woody Allen.

Dear Georg, you impressed me. Just as you impressed your good friend Alice Schwarzer. She regularly attended your birthdays, lastly your 103 rd , the year before you died. When you turned 100, Alice presented you with EMMA magazine’s sour lemon award, a less than positive prize for sexist journalism. You deserved it, the feminist wrote in her obituary for you  – her beloved charming friend. And you even laughed about it over dessert. Yes, you probably were crazy – in the nicest ways that you can imagine."

Moritz Holfelder will be in attendance at a film screening in remembrance of Georg Stefan Troller within the “Personal Memoriams – A look back at great filmmakers” section at 41 st DOK.fest München. We will be screening BEGEGNUNG IM KNAST on 17 May 2026 at 11am at Literaturhaus.