Biography:

Richard Groschopp was born in Kölleda, Germany on February 19, 1906 and died in Kleinmachnow, outside of Berlin on July 8, 1996. He began to direct short films at the age of 25, joined the Amateur Filmmaker Association, and received many awards for his films. Groschopp directed short documentaries and films for the industry and his main employer was an advertising studio in Dresden. During the war he worked on educational films for the German navy and was a member of Leni Riefenstahl’s Olympia camera team.

Groschopp joined the DEFA Documentary Film Studios in 1946, where he worked as a cameraman and editor, as well as the director of more than 100 documentaries, mainly newsreels. He started his career at the East German Feature Film Studios at the beginning of the 1950s. Groschopp was a member of the “Stacheltiere” team, directing the short satirical film series about daily life in East Germany. From 1953-1958 he directed over 50 of these short films. He later became best known for his crime stories, spy films, and Westerns.