Born in Dredsden as son of a director and an actress, Winds started his career in Leipzig at the age of 18 with the knowledge he had acquired at home.
Via several stations he came to Wuppertal, where in 1945 he again took up the post of artistic director of the Wuppertaler Bühnen, which he had only resigned from in 1944.
From there, he was engaged at the Schauspiel Leipzig [de] as drama director from 1 June 1953.
In 1966, he was appointed as a lecturer at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts.
Winds was married in second marriage to the actress Gisela Bestehorn [de].