Articles by malte

The brothers Arthur and Rudolf Lorch came from a traditional German-Jewish circus family, which resided in the Southern Hessian town Eschollbrücken. Together with their eldest brother Julius, they formed the core of the world-famous Risley […]

As a prominent circus director, tireless crisis manager, and author of numerous novels, stage plays and circus pantomimes, Paula Busch occupies an outstanding place in German circus history. After dropped-out university studies in literature, art […]

Founded by Ahmed Ben Amar el-Gaid in Setif, Algeria, Circus Amar became one of France’s leading circus companies under the direction of his widow Marie Bonnafoux and his sons Ahmed also known as Amar aîné, […]

James Michael was born in Berlin in 1916. He was the second of four children of the Cameroonian colonial migrant Theophilus Wonja Michael and his German wife Martha (née Wegner), who died already in 1926 […]

Born around 1891 in Morocco, Houssein ben Ibrik died nearly a century later in France. What is known about him sounds straight from a romance novel: a fighter of desert pirates, lion tamer, and acrobat […]

Hugo Strassburger came from the most important Jewish circus family in Germany. He worked as stable master, animal trainer, and buffoon horseman “Hugoletty” in the circus of his older brothers Adolf and Leopold, which was […]

Carl Strassburger came from a German-Jewish family, whose horse circus tradition reached back to the early nineteenth century. In 1926, he took over the company from his father Adolf and his uncle Leopold. At that […]

Luisita Leers was a skillful power trapeze artist from Germany. During the 1920s and 1930s, Leers gained popularity both in European and American prestigious circuses such as the Ringling Brothers & Barnum & Bailey Circus. […]