Paul Metzner (botanist)

Paul Metzner (born January 18, 1893 in Bad Warmbrunn , Hirschberg district , province of Silesia , † May 5, 1968 in Gatersleben ) was a German botanist.

General and scientific training

After attending the 8-class school, Metzner entered the elementary school teacher seminar in Bautzen. After passing the final exam, he passed the final exam shortly thereafter. At the outbreak of the First World War he volunteered for front service, but was released for health reasons and worked for the Red Cross. In the summer semester of 1915 he enrolled at the University of Leipzig for the subjects of biology, physics and chemistry. In July 1916, Metzner was drafted as a paramedic. In this role he was deployed both at the front and in various hospitals. After the war he continued his studies in Leipzig and received his doctorate in 1920 with a dissertation on the reaction of bacteria (spirils) to certain stimuli.

Scientific way

In 1922 Metzner received an assistant position at the Plant Physiological Institute of the University of Berlin . Here he completed his habilitation in 1923 with a thesis on the mechanics of movement of the spermatozoids of ferns and mosses. In this work he clarified aspects of flagellar movement in spermatozoids. Due to the absence of the chair holder, Metzner acted several times as a chair representative. Although Metzner had previously mainly published on microscopic examination methods, he was appointed to a full professorship for pharmacognosy at the University of Tübingen in 1929 .

In 1930 he was appointed to a full professorship for botany at the University of Greifswald . Here Metzner continued his studies on stimulus physiology. He stimulated numerous experiments on light, gravity or other physical stimuli induced metabolic processes in plants. Following the general research trend, his research focus shifted to metabolic processes under the influence of chemical compounds such as hormones. This research program was interrupted by a trip to East Asia. Here Metzner investigated cultivated plants in Java and the cultivation of pineapples in Hawaii . 1932/33 Metzner taught at the University of Honolulu as a visiting professor.

Metzner in the era of National Socialism

After returning from this research trip, Metzner placed botany in the service of the self-sufficiency efforts of the Hitler regime . By networking central authorities with the rural farmers, he succeeded in founding an agricultural laboratory in 1942. On Metzner's initiative, the University of Greifswald took over the Koitenhagen estate in 1938 and converted it into a university teaching and experimental estate . This turned out to be a godsend in terms of supplying the patients in the clinics with milk and other agricultural products. However, large-scale cultivation trials were carried out on the estate with the help of Russian prisoners of war. Metzner also used Russian prisoners of war for the construction of the botanical garden and especially the arboretum. From 1938 to 1945 Metzner served as dean of the philosophical faculty and supported the appointment of people with an affinity for National Socialism to key positions at the university. From 1939 to January 1940 Metzner served as a medical soldier in Lubmin , but was then indispensable for the University of Greifswald.

Post war era

After the end of the war, he promoted the establishment of an agricultural faculty. Classified as polluted under National Socialism, he could not have any influence on the staffing. In 1946 he was dismissed by the state government, but continued to work through project research assignments. In this context he carried out studies on nitrogen accumulation in the soil and on the cultivation of oil seeds. In 1949 Metzler took a position as head of the physical-physiological department at the Institute for Crop Plant Research in Gatersleben (Saxony-Anhalt). In addition to his management activities, his research interests focused primarily on the effects of radiation on plant substrates.

literature

• Paul Metzner . On: www.ns-zeit.uni-greifswald.de (project "University of Greifswald under National Socialism")