Walter Raechl

Walter Raechl (born February 27, 1902 in Ansbach ; † December 30, 1934 in Berchtesgaden ) was a German geographer and alpinist .

Life

Raechl was a son of Lieutenant Colonel Anton Raechl and his wife Frieda, geb. Gscheidlen. After graduating from the Wilhelmsgymnasium in Munich (1920), he studied law and political science at the University of Munich , where he became a member of the Corps Franconia . During his studies he took part in the fighting in the Ruhr area and in Upper Silesia as a member of the free corps. In the winter semester of 1924/25 he moved to the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen . There he was promoted to Dr. rer. pole. PhD. In the winter semester of 1929/30 he followed his inclination to study geography at the Technical University of Munich . In 1931 he passed the teaching examination for economics and geography. His first job was as a trainee lawyer for economics and geography at the municipal business school in Munich. At the same time he took on a teaching position for the state police. In 1934 he became a teacher at the Munich commercial school.

Raechl had been a member of the Academic Alpine Club since 1921. Since then, mountaineering has been his great passion. In summer he took part in an expedition to the Caucasus with alpinists Willy Merkl and Fritz Bechtold , during which the group achieved eight first ascents. He published articles on glaciological, photogrammetric and geographic-morphological questions in the high Alps. In 1934 he took part in the German Nanga Parbat expedition as a geographer . Soon after returning from the expedition, he fell on a comparatively easy mountain tour on the Watzmann and died of serious injuries the following day in Berchtesgaden. He found his final resting place in Haslach near Traunstein.

literature

• The Munich Francs as at the end of the winter semester 1971/72 . [Munich 1972], pp. 399f. (No. 886)