Michael Jentzsch
Michael Jentzsch [ ˈmaɪkəl ˈjɛnt͡sʃ ] (born August 23, 1975 in Bremen ) is a German writer who now lives in Bremen and works as an English and sports teacher at the Hermann-Böse-Gymnasium .
From the age of 8 to 15, Jentzsch lived as the son of a missionary in Africa , first in Niger on the edge of the Sahara and then on the coast of Liberia , where his father worked for the Christian radio station ELWA . In Liberia he became close friends with Benjamin Kwato Zahn , who came from the Nimba Mountains. When he was 15 years old, the family fled the outbreak of civil war in Liberia to Germany via the Ivory Coast in 1990 .
Accustomed to a life in nature and the African culture, it was difficult for him to adapt to Germany. Jentzsch studied on teaching in the subjects of sports and English and played basketball last in the 2. Bundesliga at the Bremen Roosters .
Meanwhile, the family of the friend Benjamin Kwato Zahn was murdered in the civil war. Threatened by starvation, fleeing from the coastal area to his native Nimba Mountains, he was forcibly recruited as a child soldier by the National Patriotic Front of Liberia . He deserted and made his way as a teacher and school principal, diamond seeker, field worker, farmer and goat farmer.
14 years later Michael Jentzsch went looking for his friend. He found Benjamin Kwato Zahn again and they wrote a book together about this childhood friendship and the story of Benjamin Kwato Zahn afterwards. The resulting book Blood Brothers - Our Friendship in Liberia became a bestseller on the Spiegel bestseller list .
Michael Jentzsch is committed to supporting the people of Liberia and promoting African culture and was awarded the Bremen Citizens' Prize in 2007.
In 2011 he was voted the best teacher in Bremen and the second best teacher in Germany on the teacher evaluation platform spickmich.de.
On February 15, 2014 he was a candidate in the television show Schlag den Raab , but had to admit defeat to Raab after 13 games.
On September 12, 2017, he took part in the Galileo science show.
Honors
- Bremen Citizens' Prize 2007
- for the book Blood Brothers - Our Friendship in Liberia, the Liberian Golden Image Award of Liberia 2011 - International category, presented on July 20, 2011 by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.studentenpack.uni-luebeck.de/index.php/2011/05/ein-blutsbruder/
- ↑ Looking for a job in a detour to Africa. In: NWZ Online , July 25, 2009
- ↑ Ingo Schiweck: Paperback bestseller: First Playmobil, then civil war. In: spiegel.de , September 14, 2009.
- ↑ blutsbrueder.eu
- ↑ Awards
- ↑ Maren Beneke: Jentzsch scores with unusual lessons . ( weser-kurier.de [accessed on February 28, 2018]).
- ↑ http://www.boersenblatt.net/450463/
Web links
- Literature by and about Michael Jentzsch in the catalog of the German National Library
- Blood Brothers co-authors website
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Jentzsch, Michael |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German author |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 23rd August 1975 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Bremen |