Otto Klemm

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Otto Klemm (born March 8, 1884 in Leipzig ; † January 5, 1939 there ) was a German psychologist and philosopher and the first holder of a professorship for applied psychology at a university.

Life

Gustav Otto Klemm was born on March 8, 1884, the second son of the accountant Rudolf Klemm and his wife Helene. From 1890 to 1894, Klemm attended the 2nd Higher Citizens' School and from 1894 to 1903 the Thomas Gymnasium in Leipzig. As early as 1899, while still a student, he published popular science articles in the magazines Sirius and Gaea . In 1903 he completed his Abitur at the Thomas School in Leipzig . From 1903 to 1906 he studied psychology , philosophy , physics and mathematics at the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich and the University of Leipzig . In 1906 he received his doctorate under Wilhelm Wundt and Max Heinze to Dr. phil. The habilitation followed in 1909. From 1906 to 1923 he was an assistant at the Institute for Experimental Psychology in Leipzig. In 1914 he became an associate professor of philosophy. From 1914 to 1918, Klemm served in the military and primarily carried out work and research on the sound measurement service at the Wahn Artillery Measurement School near Cologne.

In 1923 he was the first scientist in the world to be appointed to a professorship for applied psychology at a university in Leipzig . From 1933 to 1939, Klemm was a board member of the German Society for Psychology . Since 1933, Klemm was a member of the NSDAP and the National Socialist teachers' association . In November of the same year he signed the German professors' confession of Adolf Hitler . From 1934 he was co-editor of the journal for applied psychology. From 1937 to 1939 he was acting head of the Psychological Institute at the University of Leipzig.

Klemm's attitude towards National Socialism was rather one of distance. At least in the available documents and his behavior, as far as can be reconstructed, no clear partisanship can be recorded, which stands out in view of the other National Socialist sentiments at the Psychological Institute. In addition, a scientific ethos becomes visible in all of his work, which is obviously not subordinate to the ideological and political availability of knowledge.

Otto Klemm's siblings were Annemarie Jacob (née Klemm, 1891–1990) and Wilhelm Klemm (1881–1968). Wilhelm Klemm worked in the publishing and book trade and from 1922 to 1950 headed the Alfred Kröner Verlag, and from 1927 also the Dieterich'sche Verlagbuchhandlung . He published his own poetry, for example in Simplicissimus and Die Aktion . After decades of being forgotten, he is now being reluctantly rediscovered as a poet ( Jan Volker Röhnert , 2006). Karl Marx's early writings were published by Alfred Kröner Verlag a year before Hitler came to power under his publisher 's position. From Otto Klemm's first marriage with Eva, b. Thieme, who died in 1920, was the result of their daughter Renate (1919–2001). She married Peter-Kristian Ledig in 1939 and had 4 children with him. Otto Klemms second wife was Therese Annemarie, b. Frege. The second marriage resulted in the son Otto (1923–1977), who married Benigna Goerdeler, one of the daughters of Carl Friedrich Goerdeler . Klemm's son returned from Soviet captivity in 1948 and settled in Heidelberg.

Otto Klemm committed suicide on January 5, 1939. The causes are not fully understood. It is believed that he could not withstand the psychological pressure related to the political upheavals at the Psychological Institute. In addition, his close colleague and superior Felix Krueger was subjected to repression. In 1936, Krueger was banned from holding lectures and exercises. His final release took place in 1938. The subsequent conflicts and power struggles in the college put a considerable strain on the institute's climate. It is further suspected that personal problems in the family environment contributed to Klemm's suicide.

Work and meaning

Otto Klemm is one of the best-known representatives of the Leipzig School of Gestalt Psychology (holistic psychology). The studies on human motor skills that were carried out under his guidance are still scientifically valid today, both in terms of their findings and the careful methodology. Along with Nikolai Alexandrowitsch Bernstein, he is one of the first researchers to systematically and extensively investigate the phenomenon of the variability of partial movements in relation to the stability of goals or final parameters. His article Twelve Guidelines for a Psychology of Physical Exercise (1938) summarizes the knowledge gained and presents them in a language that is more belletristic and easy to understand.

His psychological work is largely meaningless these days. His historical work still has a certain relevance, particularly the monograph on the history of psychology (Leipzig: BG Teubner. 1911; English, Japanese, Spanish translation 1914, Italian 1922). A total of 101 publications from Klemms pen can be identified, which document a wide range of topics covered in applied psychology .

Motor studies

In 1933, 1936 and 1938, under the editorship of Felix Krueger and Otto Klemm, four issues appeared in irregular succession in the ninth volume of the specialist body New Psychological Studies , in which a selection of nine scientific works by Klemm's students were published. The writings of Drill, Haferkorn, Kern, Pankauskas, Stimpel and Voigt had accepted the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Leipzig as dissertations. Fukutomi was a professor at the Imperial University of Keijo in Japan and was a guest at the facility. The works are listed chronologically and in their order in the respective booklet:

First issue (1933)
Erich Voigt: About the structure of movement forms
Walter Haferkorn: About the temporal integration of voluntary movements
Second issue (1933)
Gerhard Kern: Motorized outline of optical shapes
Edmund Stimpel: The litter
Rudolf Drill: The hammer blow
Third issue (1936)
Max Oeser: About the javelin throw
Jonas Pankauskas: Comparison of isolated and rhythmically bound time segments
Ichiro Fukutomi: About the δ-phenomenon and the subjective conditioning of the apparent movements
Fourth and final volume (1938)
Gerhard Steger: About the discus throw
Otto Klemm: Twelve guiding principles for a psychology of physical exercises

With this, the Institute of Psychology presented the results of many years of study of human movement to the academic public with impressive unity. The works exemplify the extraordinarily rich knowledge of motor research in Leipzig's holistic psychology. In addition, the presentations contain ideological polemics and concentrate on the scientific aspects of the objects examined. As far as can be deduced from the documents, the investigations took place at the following times:

  • Gerhard Kern: Attempts in 1926 and 1927
  • Edmund Stimpel: 1929/30 under the direction of F. Krueger and O. Klemm
  • Erich Voigt: Experiments in the training room of the Leipzig Psychological Institute 1928–1931
  • Walter Haferkorn: from 1929
  • Jonas Pankauskas: since 1930 while studying at the University of Leipzig
  • Rudolf Drill: around 1930
  • Ichiro Fukutomi: three semesters from spring 1934
  • Gerhard Steger: July 1935, slow motion recordings of a discus throw

In addition, there were a few publications outside of the New Psychological Studies . However, not all of the research conducted appeared to have been published. In the documents there are various references to papers for which no publication could be verified. In an overview of the independent work of the institute from 1930, a study by Erika Einenkel on the overall posture in fencing is listed. There is also an undated entry about a work by Schönherr with the title physical exercises and intellectual work . Krueger (1939) also names the ball game (rugby), figure skating and swimming as objects of investigation by Klemm's employees.

In the extensive context of motor studies, one can also count the work of Doleźal On the Optimal Conditions for Working on Rotary Cranks (1930), which records the parameters of this activity in great detail without, however, consistently orienting itself towards the part-whole problem. Among other things, Doleźal comes to the conclusion: "The movement process at work is regulated in such a way that the work experience is as balanced and harmonious as possible." In this context, he formulated "The principle of the harmonious work experience", which is based on Meinel's "principle of movement harmony" (1960) makes you think.

Concept of movement shape

The shape of movement was a central concept in motor research. In the Twelve Guiding Principles for a Psychology of Physical Exercise , Klemm defined in 1938: "A form of movement is a physical activity, the impulses of which form a structured whole with overarching properties". In terms of content, it stands out against the concept of wholeness used in the Leipzig School . The shape of movement is at least more specific and related to the subject than the concept of wholeness, which has been watered down by inflationary use, and which from 1933 onwards fed its right to exist not insignificantly from socio-political interests.

In the few years of its use, the term movement shape has had a very vivid history. In 1933, the term "motor gestalt" appeared for the first time in Klemms' educational psychology . Until then, Klemm remained in the language of his science school and used the word wholeness. A year later, in the anthology contribution achievement , Klemm expresses himself for the first time on the term movement shape, which was used in the works of Erich Voigt and Rudolf Drill as early as 1933. At this point in time, Klemm was still using the term “motor form” as a synonym: “The real inner content of such motor forms lies in the impulses and their structure. They are an occurrence directed from within and thus held together. ”In 1936, Klemm published an article in the magazine Die Arbeitsschule with the title The Discovery of Movement Form , which finally established itself as a technical term. At first, Klemm generally criticized the narrowness of the concept of gestalt as it was present in gestalt psychology and which only referred to perception. He explains the form of movement :

"The impulse belongs to the real form of movement. The active person expresses himself in the form of movement. The flow of impulses goes through them. In the form of movement of the impulses, the distinguishable parts form a structured whole with overarching properties."

For the first time, Klemm explicitly formulated three so-called guiding principles of movement design:

  • 1. ... the certainty of action can exceed the sharpness of the perception.
  • 2. ... the sensitivity to change increases with the degree of design.
  • 3. ... a dominance of the whole also applies to a large extent to the form of movement.

Overall, the conceptual content is defined more from the “ergonomic perspective” of the handicraft class, but with reference to the results of some motor studies. In the Twelve Guiding Principles for a Psychology of Physical Exercise from 1938, Klemm then consistently speaks of movement shape.

As Klemm noted, the concept of gestalt came from the perceptual theory of gestalt psychology . At least in the early days of its use, there seemed to have been uncertainties and criticism. Krueger noted in 1934: "The concept of gestalt, developed from isolated perceptions of the face and hearing, is too narrow, among other things, for everything emotional, but also for most of the motor skills, which finally come into their own in our laboratories." Krueger's interpretation in the direction of the Leipzig views partially collides with the use in the publications on motor skills. Overall, it remains a not unproblematic term, the content of which seems to obey more pragmatic points of view than strictly systematic ones. Political aspects obviously played no role in Klemm's creation of the word movement shape, which gives the term a neutral, ideologically independent and clearly more scientifically oriented habitus.

Selected publications by Klemms

  • About the origin of sunspots and light flares. In: Sirius. Journal of Popular Astronomy . Volume 27, Issue 12, 1899, pp. 265-268.
  • Theory of motion of sunspots. In: Gaea. Nature and life. Central organ for the dissemination of scientific and geographical knowledge . 36th vol, 1900, pp. 487-500.
  • Preparation of the subject and name registers for Wilhelm Wundt: Basic features of physiological psychology (6th, revised edition). Volume 1: pp. 685-725; Volume 2: pp. 742-782; Volume 3: pp. 773-810, 1908-1911.
  • History of psychology. Teubner, Leipzig 1911. (English, Japanese, Spanish translation 1914, Italian 1922), (Reprint of the English edition 2007, Whitefish, MT: Kessinger).
  • Wilhelm Wirth , Otto Klemm: About the increase in the inner tactile sensation. Edited after attempts by J. Hermann. In: Psychological Studies . Volume 8, 6th issue, 1913, pp. 485-496.
  • Hallucinations. Dürr, Leipzig 1919.
  • On the history of the Leipzig Psychological Institute. In: Wilhelm Wundt. An appreciation . Keysersche Buchhandlung, Erfurt 1922, pp. 105-108.
  • The radio as a new tool for mass psychological experiments. In: Radio-Umschau. Weekly on advances in broadcasting . Issue 33, 1924, pp. 991-993.
  • Applied psychology in agriculture. In: Lecture series of the Leipzig Economic Society. Seyfert, Leipzig 1927, pp. 109–119.
  • Experience with an aptitude test on a detective officer. In: New Psychological Studies . Volume 5, 1st issue, 1929, pp. 1-22.
  • Darkness in clairvoyance. In: New Psychological Studies . Volume 5, 1st issue, 1929, pp. 133-142.
  • Thoughts about physical exercise. In: New Psychological Studies . Volume 5, 2nd Issue, 1930, pp. 145-168.
  • Educational Psychology. F. Hirt, Breslau 1933.
  • Power. In: Otto Klemm, Hans Volkelt, Karlfried Graf v. Dürckheim-Montmartin (Ed.): Wholeness and Structure. Festschrift for Felix Krueger's 60th birthday. In: New Psychological Studies . Volume 12, 1st issue, 1934, pp. 65-81.
  • The discovery of the form of movement. In: The work school. Journal of Labor Education and Work . Vol. 50, Issue 1, 1936, pp. 8-16.
  • Responsibility. In: The American Journal of Psychology . Vol. 50, No. 1/4, Golden Jubilee Volume 1887–1937, Nov. 1937, pp. 157–165.
  • Twelve Principles for a Psychology of Physical Exercise. In: New Psychological Studies . Volume 9, 4th issue, 1938, pp. 383-398.

literature

  • Illustrated newspaper. Leipzig, December 5, 1925, no.4212, volume 165, JJ Weber, Leipzig 1925 (2 photos by Klemm).
  • Carl Murchison (Ed.): A History of Psychology in Autobiography. Volume III (reprint of the original from 1936). Russel & Russel, New York 1961, ISBN 0-8462-0097-X (electronic bk.).
  • Felix Krueger : Otto Klemm and the Psychological Institute of the University of Leipzig. In: Journal for Applied Psychology and Character Studies. Volume 56, Issue 5 and 6, 1939, pp. 253-346.
  • Georg W. Hartmann: Otto Klemm (1884–1939). In: The American journal of psychology. Volume 2, Issue 2, 1939, pp. 308-309.
  • S. Siedner: On the history of the Institute for Psychology Leipzig - About Otto Klemm -. Unpublished preliminary diploma thesis, Leipzig 1975.
  • Werner Thiermann: On the history of the Leipzig psychological institute 1875-1945. Unpublished dissertation, Leipzig 1981.
  • Eberhard Loosch: The whole thing is more precise than its parts. On the history of motor skills research from 1925 to 1939 at the Psychological Institute in Leipzig. In: Sports Psychology. 7 (1), 1993, pp. 26-30.
  • Wolfgang G. Bringmann , Charles E. Early: Klemm, Otto August [sic!] (1884-1939). In: Alan E. Kazdin (Ed.): Encyclopedia of Psychology. Vol. 4. University Press, Oxford 2000, ISBN 1-557-98653-3 , pp. 447-448.
  • Eberhard Loosch: Otto Klemm (1884–1939) and the Psychological Institute in Leipzig. LIT, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-8258-0981-2 , pp. 24-26.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Loosch: Otto Klemm (1884–1939) and the Psychological Institute in Leipzig. Pp. 32-34.
  2. ^ Klaus-Peter Horn : Educational Science in Germany in the 20th Century. Verlag Julius Klinkhardt, Bad Heilbrunn 2003, ISBN 978-3781512719 , p. 268.
  3. ↑ Loosch: Otto Klemm (1884–1939) and the Psychological Institute in Leipzig. Pp. 43-60.
  4. ↑ Rosmarie Pierer (ed.), Renate Hartleb (author): Annemarie Jacob . 1891-1990. Life and work. Druckerei zu Altenburg GmbH, Altenburg 2002, ISBN 3-936300-02-X .
  5. ↑ Jan Volker Röhnert : Magical Escape on the Edge of Expressionism. On Wilhelm Klemm's oeuvre without a trace. In: Accents. Journal of Literature. Issue 2, April 2006, pp. 157-172.
  6. ↑ Loosch: Otto Klemm (1884–1939) and the Psychological Institute in Leipzig. Pp. 8-11.
  7. ↑ Loosch: Otto Klemm (1884–1939) and the Psychological Institute in Leipzig. Pp. 61-64.
  8. ↑ Loosch: Otto Klemm (1884–1939) and the Psychological Institute in Leipzig. Pp. 121-128.
  9. ↑ (HStADD, Psychological Institute Leipzig, 10229/4, 1927-1941, p. 96).
  10. ↑ (HStADD, Psychological Institute Leipzig, 10229/4, 1927-1941, p. 43).
  11. ^ Felix Krueger: Otto Klemm and the Psychological Institute of the University of Leipzig. In: Journal for Applied Psychology and Character Studies. Volume 56, Issue 5 and 6, 1939, p. 279.
  12. ↑ Jan Doleźal: About the forms of movement when working on cranks. In: New Psychological Studies. Volume 5, 2nd issue, 1930, p. 287.
  13. ^ Kurt Meinel: Movement theory. People and Knowledge, Berlin 1960, p. 231.
  14. ↑ Otto Klemm: Twelve guidelines for a psychology of physical exercises. In: New Psychological Studies. Volume 9, 4th issue, 1938, p. 398.
  15. ↑ Otto Klemm: Educational Psychology. F. Hirt, Breslau 1933, p. 71.
  16. ↑ Otto Klemm: Achievement. In: Otto Klemm, Hans Volkelt, Karlfried Graf v. Dürckheim-Montmartin (Ed.): Wholeness and Structure. Festschrift for Felix Krueger's 60th birthday. In: New Psychological Studies. Volume 12, 1st issue, 1934, pp. 70-77.
  17. ↑ Klemm: Performance. P. 72.
  18. ↑ Otto Klemm: The discovery of the movement shape. In: The work school. Journal of Labor Education and Work. Vol. 50, Issue 1, 1936, p. 9.
  19. ↑ Klemm: The Discovery of the Form of Movement. Pp. 10-11.
  20. ↑ Felix Krueger: The situation of the science of the soul in the German present. In: Otto Klemm (Ed.): Report on the XIII. Congress of the German Society for Psychology in Leipzig from 16. – 19. October 1933. Gustav Fischer, Jena 1934, p. 24.
personal data
SURNAME Klemm, Otto
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German philosopher, psychologist and university professor
DATE OF BIRTH March 8, 1884
PLACE OF BIRTH Leipzig
DATE OF DEATH January 5, 1939
Place of death Leipzig