Helene Hanfstaengl was one half of an aristocratic married couple at odds over their support of Hitler. She was born in the United States to the parents of German immigrants. In America, she met and married Ernst Hanfstaengl, a German-born industrialist who had graduated from Harvard University. In 1921, the couple returned to Ernst's family home in Germany with their infant son, Egon. The couple later had a second child, a daughter, who died as an infant. Ernst was part of a wealthy elite in Germany who intended to use Hitler for their own economic means. Initially, Helene found Hitler crude and unappealing. On November 9, 1923, when he was injured during the Nazi Party's attempted "putsch," or coup d'etat on the Bavarian government, Hitler fled the chaos to the Hanfstaengl home. There he found only Helene and her children; Ernst had already fled the melee and was on his way to Austria. Hitler put a gun to his head; however, Helene coaxed the weapon from his hand. Hitler was arrested and while imprisoned and waiting for trial, staged a hunger strike. Ernst feared that if Hitler died, there would be no one to answer for the putsch and Hanfstaengl would therefore be brought to trial himself. He sent his wife to once again convince Hitler not to commit suicide. The prisoner began to eat after her visits. When he was released from prison, Hitler credited Frau Hanfstaengl with saving his life. Even as her husband disagreed and, therefore, lost favor with Hitler, Helene became more active in the Nazi Party. Her once happy marriage dissolved in 1936 when she sued for divorce. Eventually, she too became disillusioned with Hitler and returned to America.
Julianna Margulies won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Nurse Carol Hathaway on "ER," and was nominated an additional five times for the Emmy Award as well as five times for the Golden Globe Award for that role. Her other television credits include the mini-series "The Mists of Avalon," for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award, and the television movie "Jenifer" on CBS. Her feature film credits include "The Newton Boys," "Dinosaur," "The Man from Elysian Fields" and "Searching for Debra Winger."
Julianna Margulies won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Nurse Carol Hathaway on "ER," and was nominated an additional five times for the Emmy Award as well as five times for the Golden Globe Award for that role. Her other television credits include the mini-series "The Mists of Avalon," for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award, and the television movie "Jenifer" on CBS. Her feature film credits include "The Newton Boys," "Dinosaur," "The Man from Elysian Fields" and "Searching for Debra Winger."