Fritz Joachim Otto

Fritz Joachim Otto (born November 18, 1916 ; † 1993 ) was a German cameraman and entrepreneur in the optical industry .

Childhood and youth

Fritz Otto was born in Dresden during the First World War and lived with his mother and grandparents in Freiberg / Saxony for the first few years . After the father's return from the Eastern Front , the family moved to Berlin-Friedenau on Schmargendorfer Strasse. In 1922 his father was a co-founder of the Berlin Astro Society Bielicke & CO ("Astro-Berlin"), a precision mechanical and optical workshop. In 1926 Otto became a member of the Federation of German Biblical Groups . After graduating from high school in 1936, he did an internship at the German Aviation Research Institute and began to study physics with a focus on optics . Otto did not graduate.

Cameraman for Organization Todt and Newsreel

Instead of studying, Otto decided to become a cameraman . He initially worked as a camera assistant . In 1942 he became a cameraman and war correspondent for the Todt Organization . Otto held the rank of chief troop leader (roughly a staff sergeant ) and shot color films about the large construction sites of the Todt organization on the Atlantic (e.g. submarine bunker at La Rochelle , Atlantic Wall ).

From 1943 Otto worked until the end of the war for the German newsreel of the UFA as a cameraman. Among other things, Otto took pictures of the accused of the assassination attempt on Hitler on July 20, 1944 , when they were standing before the People's Court . He also contributed to a film about the uprising of Polish nationalists ( Warsaw Uprising ) in 1944 as a cameraman.

Co-partner and managing director of Astro-Berlin

After the end of the war, Otto joined Astro-Gesellschaft, a company that was co-founded by his father and which also took up quarters on Schmargendorfer Str. In Berlin-Friedenau. Otto's son Jörg Hendrik was born the following year. Otto became managing director of Astro-Berlin and carried out this activity until 1987, but continued to advise the company.

In 1951 Otto was still filming the boxing match between Hein ten Hoff and Jack Gardner . From 1960 he also acted as an expert for optical devices (recording and playback optics).

Volunteering

In 1950 Otto joined the Association of Filmmakers and later became the association's first chairman. As an enthusiastic sailor, he donated the Fritz Joachim Otto Memorial Prize for young sailors from associations of the Berlin Sailing Association to the Schiffergilde zu Berlin .

swell

The information comes from the Federal Archives BArch N 1604 / Nachlass Otto, Fritz Joachim (accessed December 18, 2014) , if not individually proven .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Klaus Rademaker's page on Astro-Berlin , accessed on August 9, 2011.
2. ↑ cf. Official website for the deed of foundation