Ilse Obrig

Ilse Obrig (* born February 21, 1908 in Elberfeld; died October 3, 1978 in West Berlin) was a German broadcast-editor, presenter, and a children's book author. She is regarded as the mother of The Sandman (German: Sandmännchen), a famous German children's bedtime television program.

Life

Commemorative plaque in Groß Schönebeck, a small town north of Berlin.

Obirg started working at the Children's radio department for the Central German Broadcasting Company (German: Der Mitteldeutschen Rundfunk AG (MIRAG)) headquarters based in Leipzig in 1928, while still pursuing her studies in Psychology at Leipzig University. Leipzig University accepted Obrig's Ph.D. dissertation, “Kinder erzählen angefangene Geschichten weiter” (English: Children continue unfinished stories) in 1934. Two years later in 1936, Obrig began working at the Reichsender Berlin, a radio station in Berlin. At the radio station, she was a writer and a presenter and worked on the popular children's radio series, Famille Fröhlich.

From 1945 to 1949, Obrig helped establish the Berlin public radio's children's radio programming department. In 1950, Obrig moved to the west side of Berlin and started working for the Radio in the American sector for Northwest German Broadcasting, which at the time was still responsible for public broadcasting in West-Berlin. After the founding of the Free Public Radio of Berlin (Berlin's state public broadcasting institution) in 1954, Obrig worked as their senior editor for children's radio and television there until her retirement in 1973.

In 1951, The First Channel, a flagship national television channel of ARD, was running tests and revising to be screen ready. Ilse Obrig sprung to action and developed Children's Hour (German: Kinderstunde) which was the first German television series for children. After regular television broadcasts began in late 1952, Obrig took turns with other hosts to present Children's Hour.

Children's Hour was a half hour broadcast which aired several times a week until the mid-1960s. Instead of Obrig speaking directly to the camera, the Children's Hour consisted of Obrig sitting in a circle with the children where she read stories, made things, and sang songs.

The Sandman, a famous German children's bedtime television character, was based on an idea Obrig had in early 1959. But before the Free Public Radio of Berlin (West German public broadcasting channel) put the West German Sandman on air in December 1959, the German Television Broadcasting (East German public broadcasting channel) had secretly learned of their plans and made their own version of the Sandman before. German Television Broadcasting were the first to broadcast an East German version of the Sandmann, Unser Sandmännchen (English: Our Little Sandman in November 1959.

Ilse Obrig also wrote nonfiction books and stories for children.

Opinions

Merits

Work

References

  1. ↑ Michael Reufsteck & Stefan Niggemeier: Das Fernsehlexikon. Alles über 7000 Sendungen von Ally McBeal bis zur ZDF-Hitparade. Goldmann, München 2005, ISBN 3-442-30124-6, S. 1031f.
  2. ↑ Michael Reufsteck & Stefan Niggemeier: Das Fernsehlexikon. Alles über 7000 Sendungen von Ally McBeal bis zur ZDF-Hitparade. Goldmann, München 2005, ISBN 3-442-30124-6, S. 650
  3. ↑ Nachkriegsfernsehen in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland” (English: The Postwar Television in the West Germany)
  4. ↑ Kinderfilm und Kinderfernsehen (Thomas Möbius) in Geschichte der deutschen Kinder- und Jugendliteratur (English: History of German Children's and Young Adult Literature) 3th. Edition, published by Reiner Wild (Page. 466); DOI
  5. ↑ Anfänge des Kinderfernsehens; Die Kinderstunde mit Dr. Ilse Obrig (siehe auch)
  6. ↑ Bekanntgabe von Verleihungen des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. (English: Announcement of Awards of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.) In: Bundesanzeiger. Volume. 25, Nr. 103, June 5, 1973.