Hermann Korn
Hermann Korn (born October 24, 1907 in Seggerde , Gardelegen district , † August 9, 1946 in Windhoek , Namibia ) was a German geologist .
Live and act
Korn studied mineralogy and geology first in Rostock with Carl Wilhelm Correns , then with Johannes Weigelt in Greifswald and Halle. In 1935 he did his doctorate with Hans Cloos in Bonn.
Hermann Korn left Germany on August 7, 1935 with his friend and colleague Henno Martin . They traveled to the area of the former German colony of German South West Africa , at that time the mandate area South West Africa under the administration of the South African Union (now Namibia ). In Walvis Bay landed, they began mapping the Naukluftgebirges and explored water resources for the resident farmer. After the outbreak of the Second World War , the two feared, like many Germans in South West Africa (for the camp in World War II, see Jan Kempdorp ), of being interned . To avoid this, Hermann Korn fled in May 1940 together with Henno Martin in a car and a small truck into the desert around the Kuiseb canyon west of Windhoek. There they led a primitive hunter-gatherer existence for two and a half years in the constant fear of being discovered. In addition to the vital search for food and water, the two researchers continued to deal with their cartographic and geological work as well as with philosophical questions and various theories of evolution . Due to a vitamin deficiency Korns had to return to civilization, where they were immediately arrested. However, they were not detained and were able to go back to work after paying a small fine.
As an enthusiastic painter, Hermann Korn made numerous watercolors of the desert landscape, which were later published posthumously. After the war, Henno Martin published the book If There Is War, Let's Go to the Desert about their time together in the desert. After the war, Hermann Korn worked again in the field of water exploration . Hermann Korn died on August 9, 1946 when his car crashed from a bridge at night. His final resting place is in the Windhoek main cemetery.
Fonts
- Hermann Korn, Peter von Egan-Krieger (ed.): Dialogue in the desert: letters and watercolors from exile 1935–1946. Klaus Hess Verlag, Göttingen 1996, ISBN 3-9804518-9-5 .
literature
- Henno Martin: When there is war, we go to the desert. Two Books, Hamburg 2002, ISBN 3-935453-00-0 .
- Nordmedia Mediengesellschaft Niedersachsen / Bremen: When there is war we go into the desert. Documentation, Germany 2002.
Web links
- Literature by and about Hermann Korn in the catalog of the German National Library
- Chronology of Martin and Korn's stay in Namibia
- Hermann Korn's estate in the German Exile Archive of the German National Library
Individual evidence
- ↑ Korn: Dialogue in the desert. 2nd ed. 2001 pp. 14-29.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Korn, Hermann |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German geologist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 24, 1907 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Seggerde |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 9, 1946 |
| Place of death | Windhoek |