Johannes Zopke

Johannes Friedrich Wilhelm Zopke (born June 11, 1866 in Berlin , † August 25, 1918 in Hamburg ) was a German engineer and school director .

Live and act

Johannes Zopke was a son of Wilhelm Karl Julius Zopke and his wife Mathilde Caroline Auguste, née Schmidt. The father worked as senior city secretary in Berlin, where Johannes Zopke attended the Luisenstädtische Realgymnasium and graduated from high school. He then studied mechanical engineering and electrical engineering at the TH Charlottenburg . After a “practical year” at the royal railway workshops and in the Borsig company , he received a state examination with distinction in 1890. He then did military service and in one year trained as a site manager. During this time he submitted a contribution to a competition organized by the Association of German Machine Engineers, which was looking for "Beuth competition". Since he received the 1st prize, he did not have to submit any written work in order to be approved as a builder. He received the master builder examination in 1894.

Zopke received a state scholarship, which he used for a study trip that took him to the USA in the summer of 1894. Here he dealt with the use of electric railways. At the end of 1895 he was offered a professorship at George Washington University , where he taught until the fall of 1897. He then went to Germany and initially worked for Farbwerke Hoechst , later in a managerial position at a Berlin company. He was involved in the Association of Berlin Merchants and Industrialists and was an associate member of the merchant court in Berlin for a year. On April 1, 1901, in Berlin, he married Elisabeth Gleim, whose father was a councilor and with whom he had two daughters.

Technikum am Berliner Tor, today the main building of HAW Hamburg

On January 1, 1907, Zopke received a call from the technical center in Hamburg. This went back to the general trade school and existed since April 1, 1905 as an independent higher educational institution. The technical center (officially Technical State Schools ), which was located on Steintorplatz until 1914 , imparted knowledge in mechanical engineering, shipbuilding and marine engineering and electrical engineering. It is one of the predecessor institutions of today's Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW). After starting service on March 1, 1907, Zopke was promoted to professor on June 8, 1907.

Since the premises on Steintorplatz were no longer considered to be up-to-date and the educational institution wanted to increase its level, the administration of the vocational school system had been planning a new building since 1901. Together with the school administration, headed by Adolph Stuhlmann , Zopke prevailed against the will of the finance and building authorities, which had initially rejected a large new building. During his service time, a new building was built according to plans by Fritz Schumacher , which can be found at the Berliner Tor .

In addition to his work as director, Zopke initiated the first general lecture system in Germany . This offered professional engineers further training opportunities. Classes took place from November 1, 1910 in the general trade school and later moved to the main building of the technical center. The highly regarded concept found imitators in Berlin and Chemnitz, among others .

Since 1914 Zopke suffered from a serious illness. On April 30, 1918, he asked the school administration to be allowed to retire on April 1, 1919. However, he died before that date in August 1918.

literature

• Sigrid Schambach: Zopke, Johannes . In: Franklin Kopitzsch, Dirk Brietzke (Hrsg.): Hamburgische Biographie . tape 6 . Wallstein, Göttingen 2012, ISBN 978-3-8353-1025-4 , p. 394-395 .