Hans Sarrasani

Vocation

A clown with the stage name Giovanni Sarrasani, who founded the German circus Sarrasani that reached world fame before World War II and was resident in Dresden, but became also known as national circus of Argentina during the years of German separation. Hans Stosch came to Radebeul near Dresden and the circus had its official premiere 1902 in Meißen. In the year 1912 a stationary circus building opened, which was designed by Max Littmann for Sarrasani. The circus often performed abroad and reached world fame. Its well known labels were the elephants, but the circus was also known for the Sioux, who were employed from the early years. From 1923 to 1925 Sarrasani went on its first tour through South America. In these years, Stosch-Sarrasani also introduced innovative marketing concepts and wrote fictive adventure stories Fahrten und Abenteuer, Mit Sarrasani in Südamerika. Totally, about 10 million copies of these booklets were distributed. He was a dreamer, a visionary in show-biz obsessed with the idea of greatness, a megalomaniac who only conceived pharaonic projects that, incredibly, worked. His circus turned out to be a crossroad of cultures from all around the five continents and also the state-of-the-art in technology. He toured not only around Europe, but also around South America, where he also moved the zoo and all that megalopolis on three enormous ships. Due to his stubborn and independent character, he had several problems with bureaucrats in power and especially with the ascendant Nazi regime that pushed him to emigrate. He died 29 September 1934, Sao Pailo. Link to Wikipedia biography