Age, Biography and Wiki

Theodor Wonja Michael was born on 15 January, 1925 in Berlin, Germany, is a German journalist (1925–2019). Discover Theodor Wonja Michael's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Learn How rich is he in this year and how he spends money? Also learn how he earned most of networth at the age of 94 years old?

Popular As N/A
Occupation N/A
Age 94 years old
Zodiac Sign Capricorn
Born 15 January 1925
Birthday 15 January
Birthplace Berlin, Germany
Date of death 19 October, 2019
Died Place Cologne, Germany
Nationality Germany

We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 15 January. He is a member of famous Journalist with the age 94 years old group.

Theodor Wonja Michael Height, Weight & Measurements

At 94 years old, Theodor Wonja Michael height not available right now. We will update Theodor Wonja Michael's Height, weight, Body Measurements, Eye Color, Hair Color, Shoe & Dress size soon as possible.

Physical Status
Height Not Available
Weight Not Available
Body Measurements Not Available
Eye Color Not Available
Hair Color Not Available

Dating & Relationship status

He is currently single. He is not dating anyone. We don't have much information about He's past relationship and any previous engaged. According to our Database, He has no children.

Family
Parents * Theophilius Wonja Michael (father) * Martha Wagner (mother)
Wife Not Available
Sibling Not Available
Children Not Available

Theodor Wonja Michael Net Worth

His net worth has been growing significantly in 2023-2024. So, how much is Theodor Wonja Michael worth at the age of 94 years old? Theodor Wonja Michael’s income source is mostly from being a successful Journalist. He is from Germany. We have estimated Theodor Wonja Michael's net worth, money, salary, income, and assets.

Net Worth in 2024 $1 Million - $5 Million
Salary in 2024 Under Review
Net Worth in 2023 Pending
Salary in 2023 Under Review
House Not Available
Cars Not Available
Source of Income Journalist

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Timeline

1916

He had three siblings: James (b. 1916), Juliana (b. 1921) and Christiana.

Michael's father worked in human zoos where his son also had to perform in stereotypical African dress.

1925

Theodor Wonja Michael (15 January 1925 – 19 October 2019) was a German child actor, journalist and public servant, as well as a prominent speaker on living as an Afro-German and a prisoner in Nazi forced labor camps during Nazi Germany.

Theodor Wonja Michael was born in Berlin in 1925 as the youngest son of the Cameroonian colonial migrant Theophilius Wonja Michael and his German wife Martha (née Wegner).

1926

When his mother died in 1926, he grew up as a half-orphan with foster parents, who were the operators of a human zoo and used him there from 1927, at the age of two, as an extra.

1934

His father died in 1934 and the siblings were separated.

1939

Although he finished elementary school in 1939, he could not move further in education due to the Nuremberg Race Laws.

He initially worked as a porter in a Berlin hotel, but was dismissed due to a guest's complaint about his skin colour.

His German passport was revoked and he became stateless.

He was not drafted into the Wehrmacht because of his skin colour.

He earned his living as a circus actor and as an extra in colonial movies made by UFA.

1942

Until 1942 he made about 100 colonial movies on behalf of the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda which glorified the German colonial era.

The films were shot in Germany with black actors and offered black Germans and African migrants employment and protection from persecution.

Prisoners of war were also used.

Theodor Wonja Michael was clear about the intention of the films: "We were the Moors you needed. For us this was a question of existence".

He also played a minor role as an extra in the film Münchhausen (with Hans Albers and others).

1943

In 1943 he was imprisoned near Berlin and forced to labor until the labor camp was liberated by the Red Army in May 1945.

1945

After 1945 he worked as a civilian employee for the US occupation troops and took on roles as an actor.

He completed his high school diploma and studied political science in Hamburg and Paris with a degree in economics.

One of his academic teachers was Ralf Dahrendorf.

He then worked as a journalist and became editor-in-chief of the magazine Afrika Bulletin.

In spite of a lack of formal education about Africa, he was asked to serve as an expert.

Michael's independent study of African intellectuals, such as Kwame Nkrumah, and contemporary thought, such as Léopold Sédar Senghor's Négritude, led him to amass a personal library of nearly 700 volumes.

The collection was donated to the University of Bayreuth, though the books were integrated into the library's catalogue rather than being preserved as a collection.

He was also a government advisor to the SPD, a lecturer for the German Foundation for International Cooperation and a civil servant at the Federal Intelligence Service.

By his own account, he was Germany's first black federal official in civil service.

He also took on qualified acting roles in theatre, film, television and radio.

1960

He only found his siblings Juliana and James again in the 1960s.

Later he lived in Cologne and was an active member of the black German community.

2013

In 2013, Michael published his autobiography, ''Deutsch sein und schwarz dazu.

Erinnerungen eines Afro-Deutschen, which has been translated into English as Black German: An Afro-German Life in the Twentieth Century'', and subsequently appeared in many television programs.

Michael spoke out against contemporary racial discrimination in Germany and argued for legal protections against race-based discrimination.

2018

In 2018, he was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for his work as a contemporary witness to history.