Lutz Hachmeister
Encyclopedia
Lutz Hachmeister is a German media historian, award-winning filmmaker and journalist. He particularly gained international attention for directing the 2005 BBC-co-produced film “The Goebbels Experiment” featuring Kenneth Branagh
as the narrator for the Goebbels Diaries
. In 2006 Hachmeister established the Institute for Media and Communications Policy (IfM) in Berlin and Cologne, which is strongly tied to the Anglo-American media scene.
, writing his doctoral thesis
about the history of communication research in Germany. His professorial thesis (Habilitation
) deals with Franz Six
, Adolf Eichmann
’s superior, who was nominated to rule Great Britain as the head of the SD
(Security Service of the Nazi paramilitary force SS) in case of a German occupation. Hachmeister’s book about Six’ career was widely recognized as one of the “new biographies” in the 1990s, describing in detail the mentality and role of the young academic elite in shaping the “Third Reich”.
Contrary to current trends in media studies and communication research, Hachmeister’s “konkrete Kommunikationsforschung” (concrete communication research) relies heavily on the classical socio-psychological models in US communication studies (Harold Dwight Lasswell, Robert Ezra Park). He also frequently refers to the Canadian communication theory and the German decisionist law professor Carl Schmitt
.
", “Die Woche” and "Süddeutsche Zeitung
". He is also associate professor for journalism at the University of Dortmund. His research on former Nazi intelligence specialists in the formative years of Germany’s leading news magazine Der Spiegel
aroused a debate about the history of the paper, which was usually considered to have pure leftist-liberal traditions. Hachmeister’s documentary about the life and death of Hanns Martin Schleyer
, the former head of the German employers association, who was murdered in 1977 by the Red Army Faction
, won a Grimme-Award (Germany’s most prestigious television prize) in 2004. The following year, The Goebbels Experiment premiered at the Berlin film festival und was selected as a New York Times critics’ pick.
Hachmeister currently heads the Institute for Media and Communication Policy and is considered to be “Germanys leading media expert” (Berliner Zeitung
, 21.07.1997). The Institute is particularly known for its high-ranking media colloquia, which host international guests like Alan Rusbridger
, Greg Dyke
or Norman Pearlstine
. Hachmeister is also the founder of the Cologne Conference
, a “media Bauhaus” and festival for aesthetic and strategic trends in the audiovisual industry.
Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from Northern Ireland. He is best known for directing and starring in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays including Henry V , Much Ado About Nothing , Hamlet Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from...
as the narrator for the Goebbels Diaries
Goebbels Diaries
Joseph Goebbels, a leading member of the German National Socialist Party and Propaganda Minister in Adolf Hitler's government from 1933 to 1945, kept a diary from 1923, when he was an unemployed ex-student with no interest in politics, until shortly before his death by suicide in Berlin on 1 May 1945...
. In 2006 Hachmeister established the Institute for Media and Communications Policy (IfM) in Berlin and Cologne, which is strongly tied to the Anglo-American media scene.
Academic career
Hachmeister graduated from the University of MünsterUniversity of Münster
The University of Münster is a public university located in the city of Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. The WWU is part of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, a society of Germany's leading research universities...
, writing his doctoral thesis
Thesis
A dissertation or thesis is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings...
about the history of communication research in Germany. His professorial thesis (Habilitation
Habilitation
Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis based on independent...
) deals with Franz Six
Franz Six
Dr. Franz Alfred Six was a Nazi official who rose to the rank of SS-Brigadeführer. He was appointed by Reinhard Heydrich to head department Amt VII, Written Records of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt...
, Adolf Eichmann
Adolf Eichmann
Adolf Otto Eichmann was a German Nazi and SS-Obersturmbannführer and one of the major organizers of the Holocaust...
’s superior, who was nominated to rule Great Britain as the head of the SD
Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst , full title Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers-SS, or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the...
(Security Service of the Nazi paramilitary force SS) in case of a German occupation. Hachmeister’s book about Six’ career was widely recognized as one of the “new biographies” in the 1990s, describing in detail the mentality and role of the young academic elite in shaping the “Third Reich”.
Contrary to current trends in media studies and communication research, Hachmeister’s “konkrete Kommunikationsforschung” (concrete communication research) relies heavily on the classical socio-psychological models in US communication studies (Harold Dwight Lasswell, Robert Ezra Park). He also frequently refers to the Canadian communication theory and the German decisionist law professor Carl Schmitt
Carl Schmitt
Carl Schmitt was a German jurist, philosopher, political theorist, and professor of law.Schmitt published several essays, influential in the 20th century and beyond, on the mentalities that surround the effective wielding of political power...
.
Professional career
As a journalist, Hachmeister worked for several leading German newspapers, such as "Der TagesspiegelDer Tagesspiegel
Der Tagesspiegel is a classical liberal German daily newspaper...
", “Die Woche” and "Süddeutsche Zeitung
Süddeutsche Zeitung
The Süddeutsche Zeitung , published in Munich, is the largest German national subscription daily newspaper.-Profile:The title literally translates as "South German Newspaper". It is read throughout Germany by 1.1 million readers daily and boasts a relatively high circulation abroad...
". He is also associate professor for journalism at the University of Dortmund. His research on former Nazi intelligence specialists in the formative years of Germany’s leading news magazine Der Spiegel
Der Spiegel
Der Spiegel is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. It is one of Europe's largest publications of its kind, with a weekly circulation of more than one million.-Overview:...
aroused a debate about the history of the paper, which was usually considered to have pure leftist-liberal traditions. Hachmeister’s documentary about the life and death of Hanns Martin Schleyer
Hanns Martin Schleyer
Hanns-Martin Schleyer was an SS officer, a German business executive and employer and industry representative, serving as President of the two influential organizations Confederation of German Employers' Associations and Federation of German Industries...
, the former head of the German employers association, who was murdered in 1977 by the Red Army Faction
Red Army Faction
The radicalized were, like many in the New Left, influenced by:* Sociological developments, pressure within the educational system in and outside Europe and the U.S...
, won a Grimme-Award (Germany’s most prestigious television prize) in 2004. The following year, The Goebbels Experiment premiered at the Berlin film festival und was selected as a New York Times critics’ pick.
Hachmeister currently heads the Institute for Media and Communication Policy and is considered to be “Germanys leading media expert” (Berliner Zeitung
Berliner Zeitung
The Berliner Zeitung, founded in 1945, is a German center-left daily newspaper based in Berlin, published by Berliner Verlag. It is the only East German paper to achieve national prominence since unification. In 2003, the Berliner was Berlin's largest subscription newspaper—the weekend...
, 21.07.1997). The Institute is particularly known for its high-ranking media colloquia, which host international guests like Alan Rusbridger
Alan Rusbridger
Alan Charles Rusbridger is the editor of the British newspaper The Guardian. He has also been a reporter and a columnist.-Early life:...
, Greg Dyke
Greg Dyke
Gregory "Greg" Dyke is a British media executive, journalist and broadcaster. Since the 1960s, Dyke has a long career in the UK in print and then broadcast journalism. He is credited with introducing 'tabloid' television to British broadcasting, and reviving the ratings of TV-am...
or Norman Pearlstine
Norman Pearlstine
Norman Pearlstine joined Bloomberg L.P. in June 2008 as chief content officer, a newly-created position. In this role Pearlstine is charged with seeking growth opportunities for Bloomberg’s television, radio, magazine, and online products and to make the most of the company’s news operations.Prior...
. Hachmeister is also the founder of the Cologne Conference
Cologne Conference
The Cologne Conference is an international Film and Television Festival that takes place annually in Cologne, Germany. With about 5000 visitors, the Cologne Conference is considered as the best attended festival of its kind worldwide...
, a “media Bauhaus” and festival for aesthetic and strategic trends in the audiovisual industry.
Selected Films
- 2011 The Real American - Joe McCarthy (docudrama, starring John Sessions, Justine Waddell and Trystan Gravelle, completed)
- 2010 Three Stars ("Die Köche und die Sterne", TV documentary)
- 2008 Revolution! Das Jahr 1968 (Revolution! The Year 1968, documentary with Stefan AustStefan AustStefan Aust is a German journalist and was the editor-in-chief of the weekly news magazine Der Spiegel from 1994 to February 2008...
) - 2008 Freundschaft! – Die Freie Deutsche Jugend (Friendship, documentary about the Free German YouthFree German YouthThe Free German Youth, also known as the FDJ , was the official socialist youth movement of the German Democratic Republic and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany....
organization in the former German Democratic Republic) - 2007 Baie des Milliardaires (Bay of Billionaires, documentary about the Cap d’AntibesAntibesAntibes is a resort town in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France.It lies on the Mediterranean in the Côte d'Azur, located between Cannes and Nice. The town of Juan-les-Pins is within the commune of Antibes...
) - 2005 The Goebbels Experiment (documentary, narrated by Kenneth Branagh)
- 2004 Schleyer. Eine deutsche Geschichte. (Schleyer – The Business of Terror, documentary)
- 2000 Hotel Provençal. Aufstieg und Fall der Riviera. (Documentary about the rise and fall of the hotel at the French Rivera)
- 1997/98 mondän! (tv series about the posh places of the 1960s like DeauvilleDeauvilleDeauville is a commune in the Calvados département in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.With its racecourse, harbour, international film festival, marinas, conference centre, villas, Grand Casino and sumptuous hotels, Deauville is regarded as the "queen of the Norman beaches" and...
, PortofinoPortofinoPortofino is a small Italian fishing village, comune and tourist resort located in the province of Genoa on the Italian Riviera. The town is crowded round its small harbour, is closely associated with Paraggi Beach, which is a few minutes up the coast...
, Saint Tropez)
Selected bibliography
- Grundlagen der Medienpolitik: Ein Handbuch. Munich, DVA 2008
- Nervöse Zone: Politik und Journalismus in der Berliner Republik. Munich, DVA 2007
- Wer beherrscht die Medien? Die 50 größten Medienkonzerne der Welt.4th ed., Munich, Beck 2005 (edited with Güther Rager)
- Schleyer. Eine deutsche Geschichte. Beck, Munich 2004
- Der Gegnerforscher. Die Karriere des SS-Führers Franz Alfred Six. Munich, Beck 1998
- Theoretische Publizistik. Studien zur Geschichte der Kommunikationswissenschaft in Deutschland. Berlin, Wissenschaftsverlag Spiess 1987
External links
- Institute for Media and Communication Policy: http://medienpolitik.eu/cms/index.php?idcat=95
- International Media Database: http://www.mediadb.eu/ (German)