Heck, Lutz |
| ZOOLOGIST, AUTHOR, ZOO DIRECTOR (GERMANY) |
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BORN 23 Apr 1892, Berlin - DIED 6 Apr 1983, Wiesbaden, Hessen BIRTH NAME Heck, Ludwig Georg Heinrich GRAVE LOCATION München, Bayern: Waldfriedhof (050-W-1) |
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Lutz Heck was the son of Professor Dr. Ludwig Heck, the Director of the Berlin Zoo from 1888 to 1931. He studied in Berlin and was promoted in 1922. He became assistant director of the Zoo in Halle an der Saale and from 1924 onwards he assisted his father in Berlin. In 1932 he succeeded as the director of the Berlin Zoo. He joined the SS in 1933 and the the NSDAP in 1937. Together with his brother Heinz Heck he started a breeding program that attempted to recreate extinct animal species. They created breeds of cattle and horse that were known as the Heck cattle and Heck horse. They believed they succeeded, but the new creations are now seen as too much unlike their ancestors. During the Second World War he took part in the plundering of the Warshaw Zoo. The most valuable animals were taken to Germany. After the Battle of Berlin he fled to Bavaria to escape the Russians. He was replaced as the scientific director of the Berlin Zoo by dr. Katharina Heinroth. After the war he lived in Wiesbaden and worked as a researcher and an author. In 1958 he travelled to South Africa. After his death in 1983 a bust of him was placed in Berlin Zoo in 1984. Only in later years it became clear that he had been a member of the NSDAP and that he knew Hermann Göring well. Related persons • is brother/sister of Heck, Heinz |
| Images |
 The grave of Heinz and Lutz Heck at the Waldfriedhof, Munich. Picture by Androom (05 Dec 2015) |
