Jean-Marie Derscheid

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Jean-Marie Eugène Léon Charles Derscheid (born May 19, 1901 in Sterrebeek , Brabant , Belgium ; † March 13, 1944 in the Brandenburg-Görden prison ) was a Belgian zoologist and breeder of exotic water birds in captivity. He published numerous scientific articles on a wide variety of animal species and he was the director of the first African national park.

Life

Derscheid was a student of the entomologist Auguste Lameere (1864-1942) and the botanist Jean Massart (1865-1925). At a young age he developed an interest in ornithology and aviculture. On his family home in Sterrebeek, he built Armendy Farm, a research station for bird behavior that was active in the 1930s. Working with his colleagues in France, England, Germany, the United States of America and Australia, he was very successful in breeding ducks, swans, geese, lories and other parrots. In particular, he kept a group of keas from New Zealand. Derscheid researched the birds' nutritional requirements and incubation, and he sent specimens to zoos in Europe, America and Australia. Derscheid was particularly interested in aspergilliosis , a bronchial disease caused by mold that attacked and decimated the sea ducks during their acclimatization in the freshwater environment of his park. Finally, Derscheid managed to cure the disease. Derscheid's techniques were widely adopted and used, especially in the Zwin nature reserve in Belgium, where specialized waders were kept in an aviary.

In 1930 Derscheid was appointed director of the Albert National Park by King Albert I of Belgium, the first national park in Africa and the predecessor of the Virunga National Park .

On October 8, 1941, Derscheid was arrested by the secret field police in Brussels on charges of espionage and extradited to Germany in January 1942, where he was imprisoned in various prisons and concentration camps for 30 months. Masauji Hachisuka , a Japanese colleague of Derscheid, used his influence on Emperor Hirohito in vain to convince the National Socialists to spare Derscheid's life. On March 13, 1944, on Himmler's orders , Derscheid was executed in the Brandenburg-Görden prison.

literature

  • Dan Reboussin: Biography of Jean-Marie Derscheid In: Biographie nationale 37 (supplément tôme 9, 1er fasc.), 1971: 211–235 (English translation by Paul Brien)
  • Patricia Van Schuylenbergh: Biography Jean Marie-Derscheid In: Jaarboek voor Ecologische Geschiedenis 2009: Natuur en milieu in Belgische en Nederlandse kolonieën, 2010, pp. 94–97, ISBN 978-9038215303 (Dutch)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Derscheid, Jean-Marie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Derscheid, Jean-Marie Eugène Léon Charles (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Belgian zoologist and aviculture
DATE OF BIRTH May 19, 1901
PLACE OF BIRTH Sterrebeek , Brabant , Belgium
DATE OF DEATH March 13, 1944
Place of death Brandenburg-Görden prison