Hans Benirschke

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Hans Benirschke (born October 26, 1925 in Christdorf ; † November 4, 2011 in Hamburg ) was a German journalist . From 1968 to the end of 1990 he was editor-in-chief of the German Press Agency (dpa) .

Life

Hans Benirschke grew up as the son of a farmer in North Moravia . During the Second World War he was a paratrooper and was taken prisoner by the US. After his discharge, he studied at the Bavarian Julius Maximilians University of Würzburg , and in 1951 at the Faculty of Philosophy with the dissertation Arnold J. Toynbee : A Study of History. An English attempt to grasp the whole of human history as a unit. Discussion contribution to the universal historical problem for Dr. phil. received his doctorate .

During his studies, he began working as a freelancer the Main-Post first steps in journalism, but also worked - he spoke fluent English - for Wuerzburg Information Control Division (ICD) . He also joined the Socialist German Student Union (SDS) .

After that, Benirschke began his career at the German Press Agency (dpa), first from 1952 in their central foreign editorial office in Hamburg and then from 1958 to 1963 as the agency's office manager in London . He then worked for several years as the England correspondent for several newspapers, including the Süddeutsche Zeitung and the Rheinische Post . During these years he reported on the death of Winston Churchill as well as on the dissolution of the British Empire .

Benirschke worked as an informant for the German foreign intelligence service BND . On a list submitted to the Federal Chancellery in 1970, he appears under the code name Beppo as a so-called "special press connection" of Category II (formal contact) of his liaison leader Boje (code name Bogener ).

In 1966, Hans Benirschke returned to dpa as deputy editor-in-chief and in 1968, succeeding Erich Eggeling, became editor-in-chief of the news agency. One of the first major tasks that he had to master was the internal upheaval when the first computers were used in the editorial offices in the early 1970s . The dpa then dissolved all telex departments, continuously expanded the use of the new technology and thus played a pioneering role on the way to the digitized future.

During Benirschke's tenure, there was also the separation from the post-war partners Reuters and United Press International (UPI) , the establishment of its own international network Wort through the dpa and its own business editorial office. Under his leadership, dpa developed into a large international agency. After the turn of 1989/1990 Benirschke was still in the construction of dpa-country services in the new federal states involved before the end of 1990, retired left.

With the resolution of the Federal President Dr. Rudolf Kirchschläger on November 7, 1978, Benirschke was awarded the Great Decoration of Honor for Services to the Republic of Austria . In the reason for the award it says u. a .: "Dr. Hans Benirschke has been at the head of the editorial team at the German Press Agency in Hamburg for ten years now . During all these years, Dr. Benirschke has seen it as his task to maintain relations with the international press, especially with neighboring German states Hans Benirschke has a particularly close relationship with the Austria Press Agency, which has a reciprocity agreement with the dpa, and looks after their interests in an excellent manner close contact and on this occasion acts as a mediator and spokesman for Austrian issues. "

In 1991 Hans Benirschke was awarded the Cross of Merit 1st Class of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Benirschke is editor of the book 40 years of dpa, Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH (1989) and main author of dpa reports ... 50 years of Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH (1999).

Hans Benirschke lived in Hamburg with his wife Gisela, with whom he had been married since 1952. He died there on November 4, 2011 at the age of 86.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hans Benirschke. In: whoswho.de. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  2. ^ Died: Hans Benirschke . In: Der Spiegel . No. 45 , 2011, p. 178 ( online ).
  3. ↑ a b c N.N .: dpa mourns former editor-in-chief Dr. Hans Benirschke , dpa obituary dated November 7, 2011; Retrieved November 8, 2011
  4. ↑ a b c N.N .: "We'll knock the bastard off again". The secret files of the US military government in Bavaria 1945 to 1949 (III) . In: Der Spiegel Heft 49/1980, p. 119 ( version at Spiegel online )
  5. ↑ a b N.N .: Hans Benirschke 80 , BDZV Intern No. 24/2005 of November 3, 2005; Retrieved November 4, 2011
  6. ^ A b dpa: Contemporary witness and journalist: Hans Benirschke is 80 . In: Hamburger Abendblatt , online version from October 22, 2005; Retrieved November 4, 2011
  7. ↑ Erich Schmidt-Eenboom: Secret Service, Politics and Media . Kai Homilius Verlag 2004, p. 276.
  8. ↑ Hans Benirschke: "History is a chain of changes" - dpa is 60 years old , online article on n-tv from August 18, 2009; Retrieved November 4, 2011
  9. ↑ File entry Austrian Presidential Chancellery from October 25, 1978 no .: 88640/1 Dlg. 3
  10. ^ Hamburger Abendblatt: Award for a journalist.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) (PDF; 1.7 MB) In: Hamburger Abendblatt . May 16, 1991@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.abendblatt.de
personal data
SURNAME Benirschke, Hans
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German journalist and editor-in-chief
DATE OF BIRTH October 26, 1925
PLACE OF BIRTH Christdorf
DATE OF DEATH November 4, 2011
Place of death Hamburg