Thilo Thielke (24 January 1968 – 29 October 2020) was a German journalist and writer.

Biography

In 1985, Thielke was hired as a journalist for the daily newspaper ''Neuve Presse''. From 1990 to 1996, he was editor-in-chief of the television program Spiegel TV and their reports on the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

. GermanIn 1996, he was awarded a prize at the New York Television Festival for his work on the

Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place from 1991 to 2001 in what had been the Socialist Federal Republic of ...

. The following year, he began working for the magazine ''

Der Spiegel (, , stylized in all caps) is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of about 724,000 copies in 2022, it is one of the largest such publications in Europe. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...

''. From 2003 to 2008, he was a correspondent in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

, where his children were born, then in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

. In 2013, he lived with his family in a lodge on

Mount Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world, at above sea level and above its plateau base. It is also the highest volcano i ...

. Thielke wrote numerous books on contemporary history in countries such as

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

and the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. He also wrote about footballer Reinhard Libuda. His first book, ''Eine Liebe in Auschwitz'', helped him rise to fame. A biographical novel, it contained elements of journalistic reporting and historical and political documentation. Other places where Thielke worked as a journalist include Die Achse des Guten and '' The European''. Thilo Thielke died in

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

on 29 October 2020, at the age of 52 and was found dead in his lodge while on a research trip. He died of a heart attack.

Works

*''Eine Liebe in Auschwitz'' (2000) *''« An Gott kommt keiner vorbei... » Das Leben des Reinhard « Stan » Libuda'' (2002) *''Krieg im Lande des Mahdi: Darfur und der Zerfall des Sudan'' (2006) *''Kenia: Reportagen aus dem Inneren eines zerissenen Lande'' (2008) *''TraumFußball: Afrikanische Fußballgeschichten'' (2009) *''Philippinen: Unterwegs im Land der 7000 Inseln'' (2011) *''Thailand 151: Portrait des farbenfrohen Königreichs in 151 Momentaufnahmen'' (2013) *''Tansania - Reportagen und Reiseberichte aus dem Herzen Ostafrikas'' (2015) *''Reiseführer Tansania, Sansibar: Reisen mit Insider-Tipps. Inklusive kostenloser'' (2016)

Awards

*Nomination for the Axel-Springer-Preis for his

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

report ''Auf dem Boden der Hölle'' (2000)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thielke, Thilo 1968 births 2020 deaths German journalists German male writers People from Hanover