Jens Bjerre (16 March 1921 – 17 February 2020) was a Danish author, filmmaker and

adventurer An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

. He trained as a

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

at newspapers in provincial

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

before becoming political

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

at ''Aftenbladet'' in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

in 1943–47. During the German occupation of Denmark, Bjerre was active in the resistance group BOPA. In 1947, Bjerre embarked on a lifelong career as a freelance journalist by going to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, where he lived among the

San bushmen The San peoples (also Saan), or Bushmen, are members of various Khoe languages, Khoe, Tuu languages, Tuu, or Kxʼa languages, Kxʼa-speaking indigenous hunter-gatherer cultures that are the Indigenous peoples of Africa, first cultures of Sout ...

and studied their culture and customs. The following year, he returned and shot the

documentary movie 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 term ...

'' Kalahari'', which gives an insight into the lives and

rituals A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, ...

of this ancient people. In the mid-1960s, Bjerre spent almost a year among the nomadic aborigines of the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

in Australia. Jens Bjerre wrote five books about his travels and encounters with primitive people, which have been translated into 15 languages. His latest book was the memories ''Lost Worlds'' from (2005). Bjerre was chairman of the Danish branch of The Adventures Club in 1977.

Travel writer

In 1947, Bjerre began working as a freelance travel journalist. He wrote articles for numerous Danish and international newspapers and magazines such as ''

Life Magazine ''Life'' was an American magazine published weekly from 1883 to 1972, as an intermittent "special" until 1978, and as a monthly from 1978 until 2000. During its golden age from 1936 to 1972, ''Life'' was a wide-ranging weekly general-interest ma ...

'', '' Paris Match'' and '' The London Illustrated News'', and he also produced radio features from Africa for the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT 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 ex ...

Scientific expeditions and lectures

Bjerre conducted scientific expeditions to the Kalahari desert and the interior of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in collaboration with 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 ...

in London and the National Museum in Copenhagen. Furthermore, he participated in several mapping expeditions to unknown areas of New Guinea on behalf of the Australian government. He also co-organized and participated in the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

's Noona Dan-expedition to the Pacific in 1961–62. Furthermore, he collected cultural artefacts among tribal people in New Guinea for the

Danish National Museum The National Museum of Denmark (Nationalmuseet) in Copenhagen is Denmark's largest museum of cultural history, comprising the histories of Danish and foreign cultures, alike. The museum's main building is located a short distance from Strøget ...

. Bjerre lectured on universities and museums throughout the world, among them

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

and

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and the

in London. He was also a speaker at the international congress of anthropologists in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

in 1964.

Bibliography in Danish

* ''Blandt menneskeædere på Ny Guinea'', 1955. * ''Kalahari – Atomtidens stenalder'', 1958. * ''Gensyn med Stenalderen'', 1963. * ''Endnu lever eventyret'', 1971. ' * ''Forsvundne verdner – 50 år blandt naturfolk '', 2005.

Danish documentaries

* Blandt menneskeædere på Ny Guinea * Fra Cairo til Cap * Himalaya. Verdens tag * Kalahari. Afrikas buskmænd * Atomtidens stenalderfolk. Australiens aboriginals * På togt med Noona Dan * Sydhavets glemte folk * Det nye Kina * Indiens sjæl

References

Sources

* Jens Bjerre: Lost Worlds, 2005 (autobiography) * Portrait a
www.gyldendal.dk/jens-bjerre
(in Danish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bjerre, Jens 1921 births 2020 deaths 20th-century Danish journalists Danish film directors Danish explorers Danish travel writers 21st-century Danish journalists Danish expatriates in South Africa