Walther Dobbertin

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Walther Dobbertin (* 1882 in Berlin ; † January 12, 1961 in Jesteburg-Wiedenhof ) was a German photographer .

Live and act

Walther Dobbertin was born into a family of craftsmen in Berlin. His ancestors came from Mecklenburg , where the Dobbertin monastery is also located. In Rostock he completed an apprenticeship as a photographer and attended painting courses.

In 1903 Walther Dobbertin emigrated to German East Africa . He founded book and art shops in Dar es Salaam , Tanga and Moshi . He developed into the most important photographer in German East Africa. After the outbreak of the First World War he was the only photographer who documented the events on the German side.

In 1916, Dobbertin was taken prisoner by the English as a member of the German protection force . At the end of the war, the Germans were expelled from East Africa and expropriated. However, Dobbertin's wife, Alwine, managed to smuggle her husband's photographic plates out of the country. After his release from captivity, Dobbertin returned to Germany and moved to Wiedenhof, now a district of Jesteburg , south of Hamburg . There he opened a bookstore again.

In 1932 Dobbertin self-published a collection of glorifying portraits of soldiers from the German-East African colonial era.

During the Nazi era , Dobbertin was a member of the SA and district leader of the Reich Colonial Association . Because of these activities, the British occupation authorities revoked his license to run his business in 1945.

After he got his permission back, he ran the bookstore until 1960. Shortly before a planned trip to Africa, the first after his return in 1920, Dobbertin died.

Works

Own books and photo illustrations
  • The soldiers of Lettow-Vorbeck . A book of German military will and German gun honor, Wiedenhof-Buchholz 1932 (English edition: Lettow-Vorbeck's Soldiers . A Book of German Fighting Spirit and Military Honor, Nashville 2005).
  • Hermann Löns , the heather is green . A selection of 25 of the best novels, hunting, animal and nature descriptions. With 112 photos from the film of the same name and based on photos by Walther Dobbertin, Hanover 1932.
  • Alfred Funke, black-white-red over East Africa . Novel. With 126 photographs by Walter Dobbertin, Hanover 1933.
Photographs by Walther Dobbertin (selection)

  • Street scene in Dar es Salaam

  • Protection force

  • Warundi archers

  • Local girl

  • Usambara , Mlalo Mission Station

  • Puff adder

literature

  • Self-portrait in: Lettow-Vorbeck's Soldiers . A Book of German Fighting Spirit and Military Honor, Nashville 2005, pp. 141-143.

Web links

Commons : Walther Dobbertin  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ 982 photographs have been published by the Federal Archives under wiki commons. S. commonslink on this page.
personal data
SURNAME Dobbertin, Walther
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German photographer
DATE OF BIRTH 1882
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH January 12, 1961
Place of death Jesteburg-Wiedenhof