Lutz Hachmeister (born 10 September 1959) is a German media historian, award-winning filmmaker and journalist. He particularly gained international attention for directing the 2005 film ''The Goebbels Experiment'', co-produced by the BBC and the Canadian

History channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disne ...

, and featuring

Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh (; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Branagh trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and has served as its president since 2015. He has won an Academy Award, four BAFTAs (plus ...

as the narrator for the Goebbels Diaries. In 2006 Hachmeister established the

Institute for Media and Communication Policy The Institute for Media and Communication Policy (IfM) was founded in 2005 as an independent research institution that is exclusively dedicated to issues surrounding media and communication policies. It was established in February 2006 in Berlin-Ch ...

(IfM) in Berlin and

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 million ...

, which is strongly tied to the Anglo-American media scene.

Academic career

Hachmeister was born in Minden/Westphalia. He graduated from the

University of Münster The University of Münster (german: Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, WWU) is a public research university located in the city of Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. With more than 43,000 students and over 120 fields of stud ...

, writing his doctoral

thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

about the history of communication research in Germany. His professorial thesis (

Habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...

) deals with

Franz Six Franz Alfred Six (12 August 1909 – 9 July 1975) was a Nazi official, promoter of the Holocaust and convicted war criminal. He was appointed by Reinhard Heydrich to head department Amt VII, Written Records of the Reich Security Main Office ...

Adolf Eichmann Otto Adolf Eichmann ( ,"Eichmann"
''

SD (Security Service of the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

paramilitary force SS) in case of a German occupation. Hachmeister's book about Six's 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 Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

". 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 Robert Ezra Park (February 14, 1864 – February 7, 1944) was an American urban sociologist who is considered to be one of the most influential figures in early U.S. sociology. Park was a pioneer in the field of sociology, changing it from a pas ...

). He also frequently refers to the Canadian communication theory and the German decisionist law professor

Carl Schmitt Carl Schmitt (; 11 July 1888 – 7 April 1985) was a German jurist, political theorist, and prominent member of the Nazi Party. Schmitt wrote extensively about the effective wielding of political power. A conservative theorist, he is noted as a ...

Professional career

As a journalist, Hachmeister worked for several leading German newspapers, such as ''

Der Tagesspiegel ''Der Tagesspiegel'' (meaning ''The Daily Mirror'') is a German daily newspaper. It has regional correspondent offices in Washington D.C. and Potsdam. It is the only major newspaper in the capital to have increased its circulation, now 148,000, s ...

'', ''Die Woche'' and ''

Süddeutsche Zeitung The ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'' (; ), published in Munich, Bavaria, is one of the largest daily newspapers in Germany. The tone of SZ is mainly described as centre-left, liberal, social-liberal, progressive-liberal, and social-democrat. Hi ...

''. He is also associate professor for journalism at the

University of Dortmund TU Dortmund University (german: Technische Universität Dortmund) is a technical university in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany with over 35,000 students, and over 6,000 staff including 300 professors, offering around 80 Bachelor's a ...

. His research on former Nazi intelligence specialists in the formative years of Germany's leading news magazine ''

Der Spiegel ''Der Spiegel'' (, lit. ''"The Mirror"'') is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...

'' 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 The Red Army Faction (RAF, ; , ),See the section " Name" also known as the Baader–Meinhof Group or Baader–Meinhof Gang (, , active 1970–1998), was a West German far-left Marxist-Leninist urban guerrilla group founded in 1970. Th ...

, 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 ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' critics' pick. Hachmeister currently heads the

and is considered to be "Germany's leading media expert" (''

Berliner Zeitung The ''Berliner Zeitung'' (, ''Berlin Newspaper'') is a daily newspaper based in Berlin, Germany. Founded in East Germany in 1945, it is the only East German paper to achieve national prominence since reunification. It is published by Berliner ...

'', 21 July 1997). The Institute is particularly known for its high-ranking media colloquia, which host international guests like

Alan Rusbridger Alan Charles Rusbridger (born 29 December 1953) is a British journalist, who was formerly editor-in-chief of ''The Guardian'' and then principal of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. Rusbridger became editor-in-chief of ''The Guardian'' in 1995, havi ...

Greg Dyke Gregory Dyke (born 20 May 1947) is a British media executive, football administrator, journalist, and broadcaster. Since the 1960s, Dyke has had a long career in the UK in print and then broadcast journalism. He is credited with introducing ' ...

Norman Pearlstine Norman Pearlstine (born October 4, 1942) is an American editor and media executive. He previously held senior positions at the ''Los Angeles Times'', Time Inc, Bloomberg L.P., ''Forbes'' and ''The Wall Street Journal''. Early life and education ...

. Hachmeister is also the founder of the

Cologne Conference The Film Festival Cologne (formerly: Cologne Conference) is an international Film and Television Festival that takes place annually in Cologne, Germany. With about 10.000 visitors, the Film Festival Cologne is considered as the best attended festi ...

, a "media Bauhaus" and festival for aesthetic and strategic trends in the audiovisual industry.

Selected films

*2017 "Wallraff war hier" (biographical documentary about German undercover journalist Günter Wallraff) *2015 "Der Hannover-Komplex" (documentary about the rise of the city of Hanover as a political powerhouse in Germany) *2011 ''The Real American - Joe McCarthy'' (docudrama, starring

John Sessions John Marshall (11 January 1953 – 2 November 2020), better known by the stage name John Sessions, was a British actor and comedian. He was known for comedy improvisation in television shows such as '' Whose Line Is It Anyway?'', as a panellist ...

, Justine Waddell and

Trystan Gravelle Trystan Gravelle (born 4 May 1981) is a Welsh theatre, film and television actor. Life and career Gravelle was born in the Welsh village of Trimsaran in Carmarthenshire. He attended Ysgol Gyfun Y Strade. He was a member of the Llanelli You ...

) *2010 ''Three Stars'' ("Die Köche und die Sterne", TV documentary) *2008 ''Revolution! Das Jahr 1968'' (Revolution! The Year 1968, documentary with

Stefan Aust Stefan Aust (; born 1 July 1946) is a German journalist. He was the editor-in-chief of the weekly news magazine ''Der Spiegel'' from 1994 to February 2008 and has been the publisher of the conservative leading ''Die Welt'' newspaper since 2014 ...

) *2008 ''Freundschaft! – Die Freie Deutsche Jugend'' (Friendship, documentary about the

Free German Youth The Free German Youth (german: Freie Deutsche Jugend; FDJ) is a youth movement in Germany. Formerly, it was the official youth movement of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany. The organization was mean ...

organization in the former German Democratic Republic) *2007 ''Baie des Milliardaires'' (Bay of Billionaires, documentary about the Cap d'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 Riviera) *1997/98 ''mondän!'' (TV series about the posh places of the 1960s like

Deauville Deauville () is a commune in the Calvados department, Normandy, northwestern France. Major attractions include its harbour, race course, marinas, conference centre, villas, Grand Casino, and sumptuous hotels. The first Deauville Asian Film Fes ...

Portofino Portofino (; ) is a ''comune'' located in the Metropolitan City of Genoa on the Italian Riviera. The town is clustered around its small harbour, and is known for the colourfully painted buildings that line the shore. Since the late 19th centur ...

Saint Tropez , INSEE = 83119 , postal code = 83990 , image coat of arms = Blason ville fr Saint-Tropez-A (Var).svg , image flag=Flag of Saint-Tropez.svg Saint-Tropez (; oc, Sant Tropetz, ; ) is a commune in the Var department and the region of Provence-A ...

)

Selected bibliography

*Hôtel Provençal. Eine Geschichte der Côte d‘Azur. Munich, C. Bertelsmann 2021 *Hannover. Ein deutsches Machtzentrum, Munich, DVA 2016 *Heideggers Testament. Der Philosoph, der Spiegel und die SS, Berlin, Propyläen 2014 *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 Günther 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

Footnotes

External links

*
Institut für Medien- und Kommunikationspolitik

International Media Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hachmeister, Lutz 1959 births German documentary film directors German journalists German male journalists People from Minden Media historians Living people German male writers Mass media people from North Rhine-Westphalia