Heinz Sielmann (2 June 1917 – 6 October 2006) was a German wildlife photographer,

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual cell, a multicellular organism, or a community of interacting populations. They usually speciali ...

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and ...

and

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

maker.

Early life

Heinz's father was physician Paul Sielmann. His first film, in 1938, was a

silent movie ''Silent Movie'' is a 1976 American satirical comedy film co-written, directed by and starring Mel Brooks, released by 20th Century Fox in the summer of 1976. The ensemble cast includes Dom DeLuise, Marty Feldman, Bernadette Peters, and Sid Ca ...

on bird life in

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label= Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1 ...

and the Memelland. Further work was interrupted by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He was initially stationed in occupied Poland in

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...

(then "Posen"), as an instructor at a radio-communications training unit of the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...

. Sielmann gained a degree in biology and specialized in zoology, in 1940, at the

University of Posen A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which rou ...

, at that time a Germanized university. There he met

Joseph Beuys Joseph Heinrich Beuys ( , ; 12 May 1921 – 23 January 1986) was a German artist, teacher, performance artist, and art theorist whose work reflected concepts of humanism, sociology, and anthroposophy. He was a founder of a provocative art mov ...

, who was his trainee, and they both attended lectures in biology and zoology. Later he was stationed in

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cypru ...

, where he worked in cinematographically. Following time as a prisoner of war of the British in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo met ...

and

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

he started editing the material from

in London for a three-part documentary.

Career

After the war he began widely recognized work for the Educational Film Institute of the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south ...

. His feature film about

woodpecker Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar region ...

s, ''Carpenters of the Forest'' (''Zimmerleute des Waldes'', 1954; UK title: ''Woodpecker'') was a huge success in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

when broadcast by the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

in 1955 at the behest of Sir Peter Scott. It earned Sielmann the nickname "Mr Woodpecker". His work includes the movies ''Lords of the Forest'' (better known in the USA under its title ''Masters of the Congo Jungle'') (1959), the English version narrated by

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

; ''Galapagos – Dream Island in the Pacific'' (1962); ''Vanishing Wilderness'' (1973); and ''The Mystery of Animal Behavior''. During the collaboration on some National Geographic wildlife documentaries in the late 1960s he met

Walon Green Walon Green (born December 15, 1936) is an American documentary film director and screenwriter, for both television and film. Career Green produced and directed documentaries for National Geographic and David Wolper, including ''The Hellstrom Chr ...

with whom he worked as additional photographer on the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment in ...

-winning documentary ''

The Hellstrom Chronicle ''The Hellstrom Chronicle'' is an American film released in 1971 which combines elements of documentary, science fiction, horror and apocalyptic prophecy to present a gripping satirical depiction of the struggle for survival between humans and in ...

'' about insects in 1971. Sielmann was awarded the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

's Cherry Kearton Medal and Award in 1973. He was also cinematographer on the American wildlife documentary, ''Birds do it..., Bees do it...'' in 1974. He was mentioned in the 1974 ''

Monty Python's Flying Circus ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' (also known as simply ''Monty Python'') is a British surreal sketch comedy series created by and starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam, who became know ...

'' episode "Blood, Devastation, Death, War, and Horror". In 1994 he established the Heinz Sielmann-Stiftung, which successfully reintroduced

beaver Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers a ...

s and otters in Germany. His first television work for German Television began in 1956 and his series ''Expeditionen ins Tierreich'' (''Expeditions into the Animal Kingdom''), broadcast on national German television from 1965 to 1991 in 152 installments, made him a household name.

Death and legacy

Sielmann died aged 89 in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

and was buried in the German town of

Duderstadt Duderstadt () is a city in southern Lower Saxony, Germany, located in the district of Göttingen. It is the center and capital of the northern part of the Eichsfeld ("Untereichsfeld"). In earlier times it was the private wealth of the Roman C ...

. A

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honoring his 101st birthday appeared on 2 June 2018.

Bibliography

* 1959: ''Windows in the Woods'', Harper & Bros, New York, ASIN B0007DUDS4 * 1959: ''My Year with the Woodpeckers'', Barrie and Rockliff, London * 1981: ''Wilderness expeditions'', Franklyn Watts, New York,

References

External links

International Herald Tribune Europe - German naturalist and documentary filmmaker Heinz Sielmann diesHeinz Sielmann Stiftung
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sielmann, Heinz 1917 births 2006 deaths People from Mönchengladbach 20th-century German zoologists Photographers from North Rhine-Westphalia German documentary filmmakers Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Luftwaffe personnel of World War II German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United Kingdom