Biography
Richard Groschopp (19 February 1906 – 8 July 1996) was a German film director, screenwriter and cinematographer. Born in Kölleda, Thüringen, he began as an amateur filmmaker in the late 1920s while working as a confectioner. From 1936 he was employed at a Dresden advertising film company, directing and photographing numerous short industrial, documentary and advertising films.
In 1936–1938 he contributed as a cameraman to Leni Riefenstahl’s Olympia (two parts, 1938), filming fencing and scenes at the Olympic Village. After the war he joined DEFA in 1946, working on newsreels and directing over a hundred short documentaries and propaganda films. From the early 1950s he directed feature films at the DEFA studio in Babelsberg, including 52 Wochen sind ein Jahr (1955), Die Glatzkopfbande (1963) and Chingachgook, die große Schlange (1967). He was also known for his work on the satirical short series Das Stacheltier.
