Michael Holzach
Michael Holzach (born April 8, 1947 in Heidelberg , † April 21, 1983 in Dortmund ) was a German journalist and book author .
Life
He studied social sciences for nine semesters at the Ruhr University in Bochum and during this time went on scholarship trips to Israel and India . After an internship at the Westfälische Rundschau , Holzach worked as a reporter for ZEIT magazine, where he published reports on marginalized groups. In addition to the issue of minorities, he also dealt with other social problems. In cooperation with Timm Rautert , reports were created on youth alcoholism, guest workers , the unemployed and the anti-nuclear movement .
He spent 1978 with the German Hutterites in North America and wrote down his experiences in the book The Forgotten People . Excerpts from this book are summarized in a report for Geo Magazin . The photos for both works are also from Timm Rautert.
However, Holzach only became really well known through his dropout report Germany for free. On foot and without money through an affluent country , in which he described his journey through the Federal Republic from north to south (and back again) in 1980. He undertook the hike with his dog Feldmann , whom he had fetched from an animal shelter especially for this purpose.
In the spring of 1983, preparatory work began on filming his travelogue. While looking for a motif on the Emscher in Dortmund-Dorstfeld , his dog "Feldmann" slipped on the concrete embankment and fell into the canal. Holzach jumped after, but was swept away by the strong current, hit his head against a concrete pillar and drowned. His dog, however, was saved by the fire department .
Based on the travel report Germany void , which has since become a cult book , ten years (1993) after Holzach's death, a four-part ZDF TV series with the title “On foot and without money” was created. The series with Robert Atzorn in the lead role only partially reproduced Holzach's experiences and the storyline of the book.
Holzach had been in a relationship with the artist Freda Heyden, who lives in Munich, since 1977.
Michael Holzach is buried in the cemetery of the Landschulheim am Solling in Holzminden , where he graduated from high school in 1968. Near his place of death in Dortmund-Mengede a street was named after him Michael-Holzach-Weg .
Works
- The forgotten people. One year with the German Hutterites in Canada . Photos Timm Rautert. Hoffmann & Campe , Hamburg 1980 ISBN 3-455-08844-9 ; dtv 30008, Munich 1996 ISBN 3-423-30008-6
- The Hutterites. Report for a year with the German Hutterites in Canada. In: GEO . Gruner & Jahr, Hamburg August 1979 ISSN 0342-8311 pp. 74 - 104
- Germany for free. On foot and without money through an affluent country . Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1982 ISBN 3-45510-3022
- Freda Heyden (drawings), Michael Holzach (text): My name is Feldmann and I am a dog. A children's book. Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1983 ISBN 3-455-08731-0
- Freda Heyden (Ed.), Michael Holzach: Zeitberichte . Willi Weismann , Munich 1985 ISBN 3-88897-019-9 ; dtv 11071, Munich 1989 ISBN 3-423-11071-6
documentary
Death in the Emscher . Documentary by Enno Hungerland. First broadcast: WDR 3, November 21, 1985.
Individual evidence
- ↑ see cover of: Holzach: The forgotten people
- ↑ The Emscher
- ↑ http://www1.wdr.de/fernsehen/menschen-hautnah/ueber-menschen-hautnah/index.html
- ↑ http://www.tvprogramme.net/80/1985/19851121.htm
Web links
- Literature by and about Michael Holzach in the catalog of the German National Library
- Michael Holzach in the Lexicon of Westphalian Authors
- www.michaelholzach.de
- The pioneer from Holzminden , In: Der Tagesspiegel on July 27, 2017
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Holzach, Michael |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German journalist and book author |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 8, 1947 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Heidelberg |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 21, 1983 |
| Place of death | Dortmund |