Franz Lidecke

Franz Lidecke was born in 1937 in Hanover. In 1942 his mother moved with him and his three siblings to Wehdel, a small village near Bremerhaven; in 1949 the whole family followed her to the city itself. There he passed his Abitur in 1958, was subsequently called up for military service, and was discharged as a reserve lieutenant at the end of 1959. He bridged the time before university as a casual steward on the passenger ship "Berlin" — on voyages to Canada, the United States, and the West Indies.

From 1960 to 1963 he studied at the Pädagogische Hochschule Bremen and then entered service in Bremerhaven's school system, where until his retirement in 2000 he taught primary, secondary, and grammar school pupils in German, English, geography, history, physical education, and music.

From 1952 onwards Franz was active as a gymnastics instructor in Bremerhaven sports clubs — for more than six decades at GTV Bremerhaven and SFL Bremerhaven — leading groups in boys', girls', and adult gymnastics. For twelve years during school holidays he led cycling tours through northern Germany for the German Youth Hostel Association, with young people from all over the country. In 1962 and 1964 he each spent eight weeks as a helper at an international summer camp in the USA (Camp Timanous, Maine). Drawing on his years of practical experience, in 2005 he wrote three textbooks for physical education teachers in schools and clubs.

As a passionate world traveller, Franz planned and led more than 60 study tours to many countries around the globe. In 1996 he began training as a storyteller with the European Fairy Tale Society. From then on he told fairy tales from around the world to audiences aged 4 to 90 — in Germany and on study tours across the globe. In 2009 he released four fairy tale CDs for children from age 5, 7, and 9, as well as for adults. His repertoire grew to more than 200 fairy tales, anecdotes, and folk legends from around the world; he performed across Germany from Flensburg to Bavaria, and for several years appeared regularly on regional television for Bremerhaven and Bremen. His storytelling practice gave rise to two further books: "Märchen hören und spielen", in which children and seniors accompany the tales with pantomime, and the autobiographical "… und warum bist du nicht mein Opa? – Ein kleiner Junge sucht sich einen Großvater" ("And Why Aren't You My Grandfather? – A Small Boy Looks for a Grandfather").

On 3 April 2026 Franz Lidecke passed away at the age of 88. We miss him dearly. On this page, family, friends, and all who knew Franz Lidecke are welcome to leave farewell words and memories.

Watch Lidecke's Story Hour →