Helmut Roloff | |
|---|---|
 Helmut Roloff (1940s) | |
| Born | 9 October 1912 |
| Died | 29 September 2001 (aged 88) Berlin, Germany |
| Nationality | German |
| Education | Landgraf-Ludwigs-Gymnasium, Giessen. Hochschule für Musik, Berlin |
| Occupation(s) | Concert pianist, teacher, recording artist |
| Employer(s) | Berlin Hochschule für Musik/Universität der Künste Berlin, Fakultät 3 |
| Organization | Schulze-Boysen/Harnack Resistance Group ("Rote Kapelle") 1941-42 |
| Known for | Piano repertoire. War-time anti-Nazi resistance |
| Honours | Berliner Kunstpreis 1950. Order of the Sacred Treasure (Japan) 1990. |
Helmut Roloff (9 October 1912 – 29 September 2001) was a German pianist, recording artist, teacher and resistance fighter against the Nazi regime. In September 1942 Roloff was arrested in Berlin in the roundup of an anti-Nazi resistance group allegedly at the centre of a wider European espionage network identified by the Abwehr under the cryptonym the Red Orchestra (Rote Kapelle). Covered by comrades who persuaded their interrogators that his contact with the group had been unwitting, he was spared execution and released. In post-war West Berlin, Roloff taught at the Academy of Music (Hochschule für Musik Berlin). After serving as the school's director, he retired in 1978.