Heinrich Dathe
Curt Heinrich Dathe (7 November 1910 – 6 January 1991) was a German zoologist best known for being the director of the
Dathe was born in
Dathe helped rebuild the Berlin zoo after the war. He was appointed director for the zoo and he served for more than three decades during which time he appeared regularly in radio and TV shows making him popular.[3]
In his memoirs Dathe downplayed his association with the Nazi party. He claimed that he joined the party before it became politically powerful. Dathe however was a director of the chapter (Ortsgruppe) at Leipzig zoo that helped in grassroots activities.[2]
Dathe died of cancer in 1991. His grave in Friedrichsfelde is specially honored by the city of Berlin. His sons Holger and Falk are also well known zoologists. Heinrich-Dathe-Platz and Dathe-promenade at the Tierpark metro station are named after him. A memorial plaque was installed in the elephant house at the zoo in 2012. A school in Friedrichshain was renamed after him as the Dathe-Gymnasium but it was criticized on the basis of Dathe's NSDAP membership but this was debated and finally retained by a committee.
References
- ^ "Einstiger Tierpark-Chef: kleiner Mann, ganz groß". Bezirks-Journal – Unabhängige Monatszeitung für Lichtenberg, Hohenschönhausen, Marzahn und Hellersdorf. Berliner ... Zeitung für die Bezirke. 6 January 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
- ^ a b Bruce, Gary (2017). Through the Lion Gate: A History of the Berlin Zoo. Oxford University Press. pp. 217–221.
- ^ Mayr, Ernst (1992). "In Memoriam: Heinrich Dathe, 1910-1999" (PDF). The Auk. 109 (3): 648.