Hans Rosenthal (2 April 1925 – 10 February 1987) was a radio editor, director, and one of the most popular

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

radio and television hosts of the 1970s and 1980s.

Life

Rosenthal grew up in a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family on Winsstraße No. 63, in the

Prenzlauer Berg Prenzlauer Berg () is a locality of Berlin, forming the southerly and most urban district of the borough of Pankow. From its founding in 1920 until 2001, Prenzlauer Berg was a district of Berlin in its own right. However, that year it was incor ...

district of

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. His childhood was marked by an aggressive antisemitic atmosphere, the result of rising German

Nazism 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) i ...

. His father died of kidney failure in 1937 after he had lost his job at

Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Sto ...

AG. When his mother died of colorectal cancer in 1941, Hans and his younger brother Gert (born 1932) found themselves in the orphanage. Starting in 1940, Hans was forced to participate in

unfree labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...

, while his brother was deported and like many other relatives murdered in the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

. After Hans escaped the last deportation of German Jews (German: ''

Fabrikaktion (, 'Factory Action') is the term for the roundup of the last Jews deported from Berlin, beginning in 27 February 1943. Most of the remaining Jews were working at Berlin plants or for the Jewish welfare organization. The term ''Fabrikaction'' was c ...

'') in February 1943, he went into hiding and until 1945 was able to stay at a

safe house A safe house (also spelled safehouse) is, in a generic sense, a secret place for sanctuary or suitable to hide people from the law, hostile actors or actions, or from retribution, threats or perceived danger. It may also be a metaphor. Histori ...

in a small garden allotment in Berlin-

Lichtenberg Lichtenberg () is the eleventh borough of Berlin, Germany. In Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it absorbed the former borough of Hohenschönhausen. Overview The district contains the Tierpark Berlin in Friedrichsfelde, the larger of Berlin ...

, where three German women helped him to survive. After the war, Rosenthal began an apprenticeship as an assistant director at

Berliner Rundfunk The Berliner Rundfunk (BERU) was a radio station set in East Germany. It had a political focus and discussed events in East Berlin. Today it is a commercial radio station broadcast with the name "Berliner Rundfunk 91.4". History The Berliner ...

, a public broadcaster. However, he soon came into conflict with the supervisors of the Soviet Military Administration and from 1948 onwards worked for the ''

Rundfunk im amerikanischen Sektor RIAS (german: Rundfunk im amerikanischen Sektor; en, ''Radio in the American Sector'') was a radio and television station in the American Sector of Berlin during the Cold War. It was founded by the US occupational authorities after World War ...

'' (RIAS), a broadcaster controlled by the American occupying forces. He became chief entertainment editor and soon began hosting his own radio quiz shows: ', ', ', ' (broadcast from London's

Paris Theatre The Paris Theatre (also known as the Paris Studios) was originally a cinema located at 12 Lower Regent Street in central London which was converted into a studio by the BBC for radio broadcasts requiring an audience. It was used for severa ...

during the 1966 FIFA World Cup), ', ''Da ist man sprachlos'', ' and '. Later on the German

ZDF ZDF (, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; ; "Second German Television") is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all fe ...

public television channel, he presented shows like ', ', ', ''Das Schlagerfestival der 20er Jahre'', and ', a co-production with

ORF ORF or Orf may refer to: * Norfolk International Airport, IATA airport code ORF * Observer Research Foundation, an Indian research institute * One Race Films, a film production company founded by Vin Diesel * Open reading frame, a portion of the ...

, an Austrian broadcaster. Hans Rosenthal und Monika Sundermann Dalli-Dalli

The most popular of these, the TV show ''Dalli, Dalli'' (derived from csb, dali, dali! or pl, dalej!, "Hurry Up!"), aired 153 times from 1971 to 1986. Celebrities had to compete in several fast-paced quiz rounds and games of skill, critiqued by a panel of judges. Even today, Rosenthal is known in Germany for his catchphrase ''Sie sind der Meinung, das war ... ?'' ("So you all think that was... ?") when he thought something impressive had been done. The TV audience then answered ''Spitze!'' ("Great!"), at which point Rosenthal would jump into the air. Because he was not tall, he was often referred to affectionately as ''Hänschen'' Rosenthal (literally "Little Hans"). He was a member of the

Central Council of Jews in Germany The Central Council of Jews in Germany (German name: Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland) is a federation of German Jews. It was founded on 19 July 1950, as a response to the increasing isolation of German Jews by the international Jewish communi ...

from the 1960s onwards. He often took his vacation in

Utersum Utersum ( Fering North Frisian: ''Ödersem'', da, Yttersum) is a municipality on the island of Föhr, in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The municipality includes the hamlet of Hedehusum. Geography The village is ...

on the island of

Föhr Föhr ( ''Fering'' North Frisian: ''Feer''; da, Før) is one of the North Frisian Islands on the German coast of the North Sea. It is part of the Nordfriesland district in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein. Föhr is the second-largest No ...

, of which he was eventually made an honorary citizen. From 1965 until 1973 Rosenthal was chairman of the

Tennis Borussia Berlin Tennis Borussia Berlin is a German football club based in the locality of Westend in Berlin. History The team was founded in 1902 as ''Berliner Tennis- und Ping-Pong-Gesellschaft Borussia'' taking its name from its origins as a tennis and ta ...

football club. Rosenthal started a foundation called ''Schnelle Hilfe in Akuter Not'' (which roughly translates as "Fast Help in Dire Need"). In 1980, Rosenthal published his autobiography ''Zwei Leben in Deutschland'' ("Two Lives in Germany"). In 1986, along with

Paul Spiegel Paul Spiegel (31 December 1937, in Warendorf, Germany – 30 April 2006, in Düsseldorf, Germany) was leader of the Central Council of Jews in Germany (Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland) and the main spokesman of the German Jews. He was widely ...

, he started an international media agency, which promoted actors, TV presenters and artists. In the same year Rosenthal fell ill with stomach cancer and was no longer able to work as a TV host. He died in 1987 in Berlin, aged 61.

Awards

* 1972 – Federal Cross of Merit ( Bundesverdienstkreuz) * 1973 –

Bambi ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American animated drama film directed by David Hand (supervising a team of sequence directors), produced by Walt Disney and based on the 1923 book ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'' by Austrian author and hunter Felix Salten ...

* 1974 –

Goldene Kamera The Goldene Kamera ("Golden Camera") is an annual German film and television award, awarded by the Funke Mediengruppe. The award show is usually held in early February in Hamburg, but has also taken place in Berlin in the past. The gold-plat ...

* 1979 – Goldene Kamera * 1984 – Goldene Kamera * 1985 –

Goldene Europa Goldene Europa award is the oldest German Television award for artists and entertainers. It was awarded from 1968 to 2003. In the years 1989 and 2001, there were no ceremonies. Since 1981, the gala was broadcast on television. The original sculpt ...

* 1986 – Telestar

Other honours

* 1993 – The square in front of the RIAS building (now the home of

Deutschlandradio Kultur Deutschlandfunk Kultur (; abbreviated to ''DLF Kultur'' or ''DKultur'') is a culture-oriented radio station and part of Deutschlandradio, a set of national radio stations in Germany. Initially named ''DeutschlandRadio Berlin'', the station was ren ...

) in Berlin-

Schöneberg Schöneberg () is a locality of Berlin, Germany. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a separate borough including the locality of Friedenau. Together with the former borough of Tempelhof it is now part of the new borough of Tempe ...

was named Hans-Rosenthal-Platz * 2007 – A sports center in Berlin- Westend was named ''Hans-Rosenthal-Sportanlage''

Bibliography

* ''Zwei Leben in Deutschland'', Bergisch Gladbach 1980,

References

Sources

* Leonard Gross : ''The Last Jews in Berlin'', Simon & Schuster, USA 1982, * Thomas Henschke: Hans Rosenthal. ''Ein Leben für die Unterhaltung. Schwarzkopf u. Schwarzkopf'', Berlin 1999, * Michael Schäbitz,

, Curth Flatow: ''Hans Rosenthal. Deutschlands unvergessener Quizmaster; bewusster, stolzer Jude. Jüdische Miniaturen'', Band 19. Stiftung Neue Synagoge Berlin – Centrum Iudaicum / Hentrich and Hentrich, Teetz 2004,

External links

*
Literature by and about Hans Rosenthal
in

German National Library The German National Library (DNB; german: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek) is the central archival library and national bibliographic centre for the Federal Republic of Germany. It is one of the largest libraries in the world. Its task is to colle ...

Hans Rosenthal Foundation
(in German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenthal, Hans 1925 births 1987 deaths Deaths from stomach cancer German game show hosts 20th-century German Jews German radio personalities German television personalities German television presenters Jewish entertainers Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany People from Pankow Rundfunk im amerikanischen Sektor people ZDF people German World War II forced labourers Mass media people from Berlin