Gertrud Reif Kanitz (died January 15, 1943)[1] was an Austrian actress in German language films and theatre in the 1910s and 1920s.

Her family fled from their home country to the United States in 1938 when the Anschluss began.

Raised in Vienna, Austria, Kanitz attended Max Reinhardt's acting school and debuted on the stage as Snow White in fairy tale plays during the winter of 1916 in Hamburg.

[2] She later lived with her husband and children in a rural area of Austria where she taught a school classroom for students from varying countries.

In March of 1938, while they were back in their rural village, the family was informed about the Anschluss occurring in Vienna.