Jens Feddersen
Jens Feddersen (born January 30, 1928 in Coburg ; † May 28, 1996 in Essen ) was a German journalist and publicist .
Feddersen, who was considered a “typical Berliner”, although he was born in Franconia and spent most of his life in the Ruhr area, began his journalistic career after graduating from high school in 1946 with an internship at the East Berlin CDU newspaper Neue Zeit . A year later, the politically inconvenient editorial office was replaced by the Soviet occupying power and Feddersen went to West Berlin to see the tabloid " Der Abend ". In the following years he worked as a correspondent for West German newspapers and helped build television in Berlin. In 1954, at the age of 26, Feddersen was appointed head of the politics department of the Neue Ruhr Zeitung in Essen. Seven years later he became editor-in-chief and remained so for over 30 years until 1993.
Feddersen, characterized as an independent mind, quickly moved into the top group of prominent German journalists with his comments and in-depth analyzes. He saw and represented political objectives in overcoming the German division and promoting the German-American, Atlantic partnership. Feddersen, who was considered to be an “edgy and energetic editor-in-chief”, avoided any adaptation to the zeitgeist. His little pieces of paper or beer mats were legendary, on which he immediately wrote down keywords for topics that were in the current conversation, whether on the plane or at the counter.
In numerous television appearances - he was a regular guest at Werner Höfer's International Morning Pint for many years - he committed his point of view. His battle of words with GDR commentator Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler ( The Black Canal ) went down in post-war history on Dutch television in 1972 as a sensational one. The future Federal President Johannes Rau remembered it with the words: "We were glad that there were no weapons in the room!" Rau praised his long-term companion as one of the few journalists "who also confidently represented uncomfortable opinions".
Awards
- 1975: Federal Cross of Merit, 1st class
- 1987: Order of Merit of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia
- 1989: Georg Schulhoff Prize from the Düsseldorf Chamber of Crafts
- 1991: Gold Medal of Honor from Austria
- 1992: Konrad Adenauer Prize from the Germany Foundation
- 1993: Badge of Honor from the West German Chamber of Crafts
Web links
- Jens Feddersen in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Jens Feddersen in the Munzinger archive ( beginning of article freely accessible)
Individual evidence
- ↑ List of winners of the Medal of Honor for Services to the Republic of Austria . Retrieved December 9, 2015.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Feddersen, Jens |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German journalist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 30, 1928 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Coburg , German Empire |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 28, 1996 |
| Place of death | Essen , Germany |