Karl Hans Janke
Germany, 1909 - 1988
By the time Karl Hans Janke died in 1988, he had produced hundreds of drawings and models of countless technical inventions, including highly detailed sketches of his visions of intergalactic travel and fantastic flying machines. In his own words, his inventions and ideas, which he had worked on continuously since 1948, were created ultimately “for the benefit of humanity and aimed toward propagating peace.” With his invention of the “German atom” and “space electricity” he was convinced that all of mankind’s energy problems could be solved. In addition, Janke developed his own cosmology of the genesis of the earth, of life and of space, illustrated by his many drawings and described in-depth at lectures. Karl Hans Janke made his designs in the seclusion of the Hubertusburg Psychiatric Hospital near Leipzig in the former German Democratic Republic, where he remained 39 years until his death. The hospital staff recognised the passion of the technically talented Janke for drawing and provided him with an office of his own. From here he drew and tinkered, gave lectures and corresponded with companies and public institutions. Janke saw himself as an inventor, an engineer, an artist and an original genius.
