Heinrich Joachim Auerbach was born in Breslau in 1890 and studied law. He served in the German army during the first World War, and afterwards became involved in the film industry. In 1929 he was elected by the board of Tobis Tonbild Syndikat to the position of chief executive (Generaldirektor), but was forced to resign the following year. Despite ill health he remained involved in the legal disputes surrounding Tobis, Tri-Ergon, Western Electric, and Fox Film Corporation regarding the use of and possible patent infringement on the Tri-Ergon sound-on-film technology. This work brought him to the United States during the 1930s as an agent of the Tri-Ergon Switzerland AG.
Tri-Ergon and Tobis Tonbild Syndikat were instrumental in the development of sound-on-film technology, which quickly led to a revolution in the motion picture that ushered in the end of the silent film era. The sound-on-film technology was at the center of a contentious series of lawsuits and negotiations involving many individuals, notably William Fox, corporations such as Tri-Ergon, Fox Film, and AEG, and the governments of several different countries. The legal and commercial issues took nearly a decade to resolve. For a fuller account see Douglas Gomery's article Tri-Ergon, Tobis-Klangfilm, and the Coming of Sound in Cinema Journal v. 16.1 (1976), pages 51-61 .
From the guide to the Heinz (Heinrich) Auerbach Collection, circa 1850-1968, (Leo Baeck Institute Archives)
