Lothar Zotz

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Lothar Friedrich Zotz (born December 6, 1899 in Heitersheim , † February 12, 1967 in Erlangen ) was a German prehistoric scientist .

Live and act

Venus of Walls , excavated under the direction of Lothar Zotz

Lothar Zotz comes from the entrepreneurial and scholarly family Zotz . Until 1918 he took part in the First World War. He then studied at the University of Freiburg im Breisgau , where he received his doctorate in 1924. In 1926 he became an assistant at the Institute for Geology and Prehistory at Freiburg University. He completed his habilitation in 1937 at the University of Breslau , where he was curator at the museum from 1930 to 1937.

After Czechoslovakia was broken up, Zotz was appointed professor of prehistory at the German University in Prague in 1939 . During the Nazi era, he stood up for Czech scientists, which brought him into conflict with the SS. Because of criticism of its employees, he came into conflict with the Rosenberg Office and was finally reported to the Reich Security Main Office in 1943 for advocating for Czech scientists .

Lothar Zotz also produced documentaries on prehistoric and archaeological topics. These were cut and edited by the Nazi authorities so that they were suitable for propaganda. Zotz complained about this several times. In 1945 Zotz completely handed over the institute he headed to the Czech authorities.

From 1946 Zotz headed the Institute for Prehistory and Protohistory and the associated collection at the University of Erlangen . In 1951 he was instrumental in founding the Hugo Obermaier Society for research into the Ice Age and the Stone Age. In 1952 he founded the Quaternary Library series . From 1959 on, Zotz carried out excavations at various paleolithic sites in the lower Altmühltal : in Abri I of Neuessing, in the Unteren Klause , the Obernederhöhle, the Abri in Pfaffenholz and from 1964 in the Sesselfelsgrotte . The Humanist Union appointed him a member of their advisory board. His son is the historian Thomas Zotz .

Fonts

Monographs

  • Masterpieces from Silesian prehistory . [Breslau] 1938
  • The Paleolithic in Lower Silesia . Leipzig 1939
  • with Bolko von Richthofen : Is Bohemia-Moravia the original home of the Czechs? Barth, Leipzig 1940.
  • Paleolithic studies of the Southeast Alps . Weimar 1944
  • Pre-humans, primitive humans, humans . Stuttgart 1949
  • Paleolithic Studies of Central Europe . Stuttgart 1951
  • Eternal Europe, the original home of art . Bonn 1953
  • The Paleolithic in the vineyard caves near walls . Bonn 1955
  • Kösten, a work place of the Praesolutréen in Upper Franconia . Bonn 1959

Essays

  • The relationship between the Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Danube culture . In: Prähistorische Zeitschrift 26, 1941, pp. 52–57.
  • The evolution of the Paleolithic cultures in relation to the evolution of man. In: Zeitschrift für Rassenkunde 14, 1944, pp. 185–190.

literature

  • Gisela Freund (Ed.): Festschrift for Lothar Zotz . Röhrscheid, Bonn 1960.
  • Commemorative ribbon for Lothar Zotz . Röhrscheid, Bonn 1968 (p. 7-21 list of publications).
  • Hans Joachim Bodenbach: News about the discovery of the Venus of Moravany (Moravany nad Váhom, Slovakia) , [Detailed investigation to find until the final whereabouts and the role of Lothar Zotz in it], in: Werner Budesheim (Ed.): Festschrift 20 Jahre Freie Lauenburgische Akademie (contributions to science and culture, 10), self-published, 21465 Wentorf near Hamburg 2011, pp. 251–262, with 5 illustrations (including the Venus of Moravany in color and two black-and-white illustrations). In addition, further, very detailed references [1]
  • Achim Leube : Zotz, Lothar Eduard Julius Friedrich. Prehistorian and geologist. In: Baden-Württembergische Biographien 5, 2013, pp. 493–496.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Research and Advances. Volume 41 (1967), p. 316.
  2. ^ International Directory of Anthropologists. University of Chicago 1950, p. 202.
  3. ^ Karen Bayer: Universities and colleges during National Socialism and in the early post-war period. Stuttgart 2004, pp. 228-230.
  4. ^ Michael H. Kater: The "Ahnenerbe" of the SS 1935-1945. A contribution to the cultural policy of the Third Reich. 4th edition, Munich 2006, pp. 270-273.
  5. ↑ Reinhard Bollmus: The office of Rosenberg and its opponents. Studies on the power struggle in the National Socialist system of rule. Munich 2006, p. 220f.
  6. ^ Philp L. Kohl, Clare P. Fawcett: Nationalism, Politics and the Practice of Archeology . Cambridge University Press, 1995, p. 80.
  7. ^ Prehistory and Early History Collection Erlangen ( Memento from June 27, 2004 in the Internet Archive ).
  8. ^ Peter Zimmermann: History of Documentary Films in Germany. Stuttgart 2005, p. 359.
personal data
SURNAME Zotz, Lothar
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Zotz, Lothar Eduard Julius Friedrich (full name); Zotz, Lothar F.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German prehistorian
DATE OF BIRTH December 6, 1899
PLACE OF BIRTH Heitersheim
DATE OF DEATH February 12, 1967
Place of death gain