John Hagenbeck

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Hagenbeck (standing, right) with Ludwig Heck (left), Indians and an Asian elephant in the Berlin Zoo

John Heinrich August Hagenbeck (born October 15, 1866 in Hamburg , † December 16, 1940 in Colombo ) was a German animal dealer , plantation owner , film producer and writer .

Live and act

John Hagenbeck was the eldest son from the second marriage of Carl Claes Gottfried Hagenbeck. His father, who worked as a fish wholesaler, was a half-brother of Carl Hagenbeck , who ran a pet shop and owned a zoo . From 1881 he worked in Carl Hagenbeck's company, for which he transported animals, accompanied folk shows and circus performances. His first trip took him to Ceylon in 1886 . Here he recruited actors for Hagenbeck's Völkerschau .

Carl Hagenbeck ended his work in 1891. John Hagenbeck went to Colombo in Sri Lanka , where he worked independently as a ship chandler and planter. In the next few years he bought plantations for rubber, cocoa and tea. He also set up a pet shop. British authorities expelled Hagenbeck at the beginning of World War I in August 1914. He initially chose Batavia as his place of residence, but had to flee to the British due to the threat of extradition from the Dutch side. He disguised himself as a Belgian colonial soldier and left the continent on a Dutch ship for Europe.

Hagenbeck went back to Hamburg to support Lorenz and Heinrich Hagenbeck in running the zoo. In 1918 he founded John-Hagenbeck-Film GmbH in Berlin , which made 14 feature films and nine short animated films between 1919 and 1923. The films dealt with the exotic, adventure and wild animals. The first film with the title Dante was shot in 1919 in the zoological garden near the Dammtor . In addition, Hagenbeck wrote numerous books, which appeared in multiple, partly revised editions. The works dealt with experiences he had made during his travels to East Asia.

In 1927 John Hagenbeck went back to Colombo. He became a successful merchant again and traded animals. In 1935 he sold a zoo founded in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia to the state. The British authorities arrested Hagenbeck at the beginning of World War II in 1939. They confiscated all property. John Hagenbeck died in Colombo in late 1940.

plant

Filmography (selection)

Literature (selection)

  • John Hagenbeck's adventurous escape from Ceylon: my expulsion from Ceylon and flight to Europe. Publisher Deutsche Buchwerkstätten, 1917
  • With India's Travelers . August Scherl Verlag, Berlin, 1932
  • The string of the seven knots . Iris Verlag, Iserlohn, 1948
  • People and devils in chains . Adolf Sponholtz Verlag, Hanover, 1951
  • On the forbidden road to Lhasa . Adolf Sponholtz Verlag, Hanover, 1951
  • The tyrant of the jungle . Sponholtz Verlag, Hanover, 1952
  • In the realm of the white elephant . Walter Schwerdtfeger Verlag, Frankfurt / M., 1954
  • Danger in the jungle. Neuer Jugendschriften-Verlag, Hanover 1957
  • Sacred Snakes - The Fate of Indian Snake Charmers . Walter Schwerdtfeger-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, 1957
  • On dangerous paths. Kolibri-Verlag, Wuppertal 1959
  • The secret of the white Degi. Kolibri-Verlag, Wuppertal 1959
  • Under the spell of the Himalayas. Kolibri-Verlag, Wuppertal 1959
  • Tiger attacks. Kolibri-Verlag, Wuppertal 1959
  • Anuk the tiger. New publishing house for young people, Hanover 1960
  • Alone among predators. Kolibri-Verlag, Wuppertal 1961
  • Sinister forces. Kolibri-Verlag, Wuppertal 1961
  • Face to face with 1000 animals. Book Club Ex Libris, Zurich 1962
  • The new Robinson. Verlag Klein, Lengerich 1962
  • On the trail of the gray giants. Neuer Jugendschriften-Verlag, Hanover 1962
  • The secret of Kaa Island. Hirundo-Verlag, Munich 1967
  • Capture of predators in Sumatra. Engelbert-Verlag, Balve 1977

together with Victor Ottmann:

  • Twenty-five years of Ceylon: experiences and adventures in the tropical paradise. Verlag Deutsche Buchwerkstätten, 1922 (Forgotten Books, 2017)
  • South Asian Drives and Adventure: Experiences in British and Dutch India, the Himalayas and Siam. Verlag Deutsche Buchwerkstätten, 1924 (Severus Verlag, 2015)
  • Criss-cross through the Indian world: experiences and adventures in front and rear India, Sumatra, Java and on the Andamans. Publisher Deutsche Buchwerkstätten, 1926
  • Under the Indian sun: experiences and adventures in Ceylon, India, Sumatra, Java and the Andamans. Publisher Deutsche Buchwerkstätten, 1926

Web links

literature

personal data
SURNAME Hagenbeck, John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hagenbeck, John Heinrich August
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German animal dealer, plantation owner, film producer and writer
DATE OF BIRTH October 15, 1866
PLACE OF BIRTH Hamburg
DATE OF DEATH December 16, 1940
Place of death Colombo