Education
Spahn studied History of theatre, German language and literature, Philosophy, and History of art at the University of Cologne.
director fiction writer journalist film producer
Spahn studied History of theatre, German language and literature, Philosophy, and History of art at the University of Cologne.
He received his doctorate ("Doctor Philosophy") in 1969 for his dissertation The history of the theatre of the Ruhr region up to 1933. He worked as a television journalist for the WDR from 1969 to 2005. He produced numerous series, portraits and documentaries in the field of cultural and educational policy.
He became known both nationally and internationally through chess programmes.
Between 1983 and 2005, he presented the annual live broadcast Chess of the Grandmasters (Schach der Großmeister), where players including Garry Kasparov, Anatoly Karpov, Viswanathan Anand and Vladimir Kramnik competed for the television Cup. lieutenant was on his initiative and under his direction that the WDR regularly reported on the Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting.
The series written and produced by Spahn included Keine Angst vorm Fliegen (Don"t be afraid to fly) and Der Elternführerschein (The driving licence for parents). Together with Lida Winiewicz, Spahn wrote the 12-part television serial Wenn die Liebe hinfällt (When love ends).
He was awarded the Medal of German Cancer Aid for Niemand soll der Nächste sein! (Nobody should be the next).
(Computers can"t forget) in connection with the Federal Data Protection Acting. Under the title and with the television production Don"t be afraid to fly, Spahn and Rainer Pieritz founded seminars to allay the fear of flying in Germany.