He was born in Bremen and died on stage of a heart attack during a performance in Copenhagen.
During the war, he sang in Munich and at the opera of The Hague (then occupied by German troops).
He continued singing low bass roles occasionally, such as the Grand Inquisitor from Don Carlos.
In spite of being a famous singer, he often also sang small roles such as Donner in Das Rheingold, Melot in Tristan und Isolde, the Grand Inquisitor in Don Carlos, and Shchelkalov in Boris Godunov.
In the United States, he created a sensation at the Metropolitan Opera in his debut title role as Wozzeck (sung in English), with Eleanor Steber singing Marie.