Margarete Trappe

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Margarete Trappe , née Zehe (born August 3, 1884 in Petersdorf near Sagan , † June 5, 1957 in Momella , Tanzania ) was a German-British big game hunter.

Life

Born as the daughter of a Silesian manor owner, she emigrated with her husband Ulrich Trappe to German East Africa ( Tanganyika ) in 1906 to run a farm there. Their daughter Ursel was born in 1909, followed by son Ulrich in 1911 and son Rolf in 1913. In 1927 their daughter Rosi was born. In 1928 she was divorced from Ulrich Trappe.

In addition to maintaining the farm, she was also active as a hunter and leader of hunting parties, which were very popular at the beginning of the 20th century. After the defeat of the German Empire in World War I and the associated loss of the German colonies, she changed citizenship and became British in order to be able to stay in Tanganyika, later Tanzania.

Because of her unusual career, especially as a white woman in an African country, and her fair behavior towards the local Maasai and the animals, she became very well known in Tanzania. There she was called the "mother of the Maasai".

After her death, her son Rolf leased the farm to Paramount Pictures for Howard Hawks ' film Hatari! In 1961 . . Jim Mallory and Hardy Krüger later took part in the farm and ran the Momella Game Lodge . The farm later opened up in Arusha National Park . Part of Momella is now operated by Hatari Lodge Safaris .

The sons of Rolf Trappe (Rolf jun. Called Putchi and Richard or Ricky) have become professional hunters like their grandmother . Rolf jun. is a godson of Ernest Hemingway .

In 2006, ZDF set up a film memorial for her in the docu-drama Momella - A Farm in Africa with Christine Neubauer in the lead role. The script is based on the biographical work Am Fuße des Meru by Gerd von Lettow-Vorbeck ; another actor is Horst Janson .

In his diary-like report, Hardy Krüger dedicates a farm in Africa. My Momella , from 1970, a longer chapter, called 2nd sheet , "of Momella's founder, Margarete Trappe, whose name became a legend in East Africa".

Fictional mentions of Margarete Trappe

In the American film Young Indiana Jones and the Phantom Train of Doom from the series The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones , Margarete Trappe (played by Lynsey Baxter ) fought on the side of the German Schutztruppe during the First World War and freed Colonel Paul von Lettow in a bold individual action -Vorbeck from the hand of the Allies.

In fact, during the years of the East Africa campaign, Trappe organized supplies for the German units and, as an excellent shooter, was given high honors by friends and foes.

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literature

notes

  1. ↑ With numerous illustrations by Francesca Krüger, photo section with approx. 25 black and white photos of the time, including the Momella farm in the 1960s, i.e. after Trappe's death. Rowohlt, Reinbek 1970 a. ö. ISBN 9783498034153 , pp. 41-61. The first of the photos shows bustard riding a horse, according to p. 128, undated
personal data
SURNAME Bustard, Margarete
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Zehe, Margarete (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German and British big game hunter
DATE OF BIRTH August 3, 1884
PLACE OF BIRTH Petersdorf near Sagan
DATE OF DEATH 5th June 1957
Place of death Momella, Tanzania