Erich Knocke

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Erich Knocke (born May 2, 1927 in Hanover ; † December 2, 2011 in Essen ) was a German showman and museum founder.

Life

Erich Knocke was born in Hanover in 1927 as the child of a showman family. Even his grandfather went through the country with a people show and brought strange worlds and exotic sensations to the people. His father performed as a comedian in his own showroom and in variety shows, e.g. B. the Berlin winter garden (vaudeville) . He also practiced healing hypnosis.

At the age of seventeen Knocke was drafted into the Navy . Later, deployed in Hungary , he fled westward from the advancing troops. After the end of the war, at the age of 18, he began to build a living with retail and self-made swings. In winter, a wheel of fortune "made by yourself" was set up in restaurants. Building materials were the remains of the war such as aircraft aluminum and vehicle parts. There was also a children's carousel, trading in toys. roasted almonds, coconuts and candied apples. It was more by chance that Erich Knocke came to Essen in the 1950s , where he met his wife and settled down permanently in Essen.

Services

As early as the 1950s, his successful involvement in association work began in what was then still the British Zone . It is thanks to people like him that the prejudices against the entire traveling trade, " traveling people ", to which the showmen were assigned across the board, have greatly decreased. Since 1955 he has been involved in the North Rhine regional association of the HAGD, the main association of the outpatient trade and the showmen in Germany eV In the section showmen of the regional association of the outpatient market and showman trade, of which he has been a board member since 196, he rose from secretary to state chairman ( from 1976). At the same time he was chairman of the Essen district office of the association from 1969 to April 2002.

In 1969 he founded the market and showmen working group and, for the first time, the successful Essen Christmas market and the Essen “Ferienspatz” event on Kennedyplatz. To revitalize the Essen city center, he introduced sales stands from 1970, and in 1973 he founded the Gildemarkt Essen. In 1975 and 1989 he organized two large Federal Showmen Association days in Essen, each connected to major events and exhibitions at the Essen trade fair. His initiatives also include the establishment of the Working Group on Culture and Customs Essen eV in 1981, of which he was the first chairman, and the Market and Showman Museum in 1982, of which he was a director.

Knocke organized the event 20 years of Club Deutscher Drehorgelfreunde 1989 and the "Market and Show" exhibition in Essen, which took place from 1989–1991. Erich Knocke worked intensively in the trade and legal committee of the general association in order to enforce the professional interests of the showmen. As President of the North Rhine Regional Association (since 1993) and full board member of the BSM ( Federal Association of German Showmen and Market Traders ), he was one of the great personalities of the profession.

Market and showman museum in Essen

His life's work arose out of the ambition to preserve the history and experiences of his living environment and to make them accessible to outsiders: the Essen market and showman museum . Over decades he has amassed a unique collection of objects and documents. His extensive and precise knowledge of the technical development of the fairs was increasingly used by cultural and technical historians for publications, lectures and exhibitions. The European idea was so close to his heart that he enthusiastically participated in the EU project A Peep behind the Scenes, virtual exhibition on traveling fairs and showmen in europe from the middle ages till now .

A lively scientific exchange took place through the cooperation with three partner museums in Bergen op Zoom in the Netherlands, Bergantino in Italy and the National Fairground Archive of the University of Sheffield .

Honors

literature

  • 'Erich Knocke (ed.): Collected pleasure: The Essen market and showman museum. Klartext Verlag, Essen 2000, ISBN 3-88474-934-X . (therein: Biographical information on Erich Knocke by Michael Zimmermann, pp. 11–19)
  • Sacha Szabo (Hrsg.): Culture of the fun fair and amusement parks - showmen and rides. Facets of non-everyday places. Bielefeld 2009, ISBN 978-3-8376-1070-3 .
  • Gabriele Klunkert: Trade, Change and Pleasure - the Essen Market and Showman Museum . In: Museums in the Rhineland. H. 3, 2001, pp. 7-10.
  • Brian Steptoe: Vintage Funfairs. Amusement Rides, Carousels and Fairground Art. Jumper Books, Wokingham, Berks. 2002, ISBN 0-9523112-2-4 (especially chapter: Museums and collections)
  • Birthday reception for Erich Knocke. City of Essen and the professional organization honor the jubilee for his life's work. In: The Comet. No. 5211, May 20, 2007, p. 6.
  • Press archive of the Market and Showman Museum. (Association work and events since the 1950s) - accessible by appointment.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Homepage
  2. ↑ Gemeentemuseum het Markiezenhof
  3. ↑ Museo della Giostra e dello Spettacolo Populare
  4. ^ National Fairground Archive
  5. ↑ Office of the Federal President
  6. ↑ Review by: Erich Knocke (Ed.) Gesammeltes Genuss ( Memento of the original from August 11, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.geschichtskultur-ruhr.de
personal data
SURNAME Knocke, Erich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German showman
DATE OF BIRTH May 2, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH Hanover
DATE OF DEATH December 2, 2011
Place of death eat