Heinz Hentschke was an actor, director and librettist of German-language operettas. Hentschke started out as a theatrical actor working mainly in Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg. He was the director of the Lessing Theatre in Berlin from 1934 to 1944. During this time, he wrote the librettos for 14 grand operettas, among which were Maske in Blau. Most of his works were under direct supervision by, and had to be approved by Josef Goebbels' cultural office of the Nazi party during Adolf Hitler's regime, and therefore were considered "tainted" after World War II.