Theodor Kraus (geographer)

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Theodor Kraus (born August 15, 1894 in Neuwied ; † October 7, 1973 in Broichweiden near Aachen ) was a German economic and social geographer.

Career

Theodor Kraus studied law and political science in Bonn and Berlin . After participating as a soldier in the First World War , he continued his studies (now also in geography and geology) at the University of Cologne from the winter semester 1920/21 . In 1924 he received his doctorate there with a study in traffic geography and then worked as an assistant at the Geography Institute with Franz Thorbecke . In 1929 he completed his habilitation with an economics and regional studies thesis, then he taught at the University of Cologne, from 1935 as a non-official adjunct professor for general geography and geography of the Rhineland, from 1938 as an associate professor and dietician and from 1944 finally as a full professor for Economic geography and regional studies and director of the Geographic Institute.

Kraus, from 1937 a member of the NSDAP , took over a visiting professorship at the University of Liège in occupied Belgium from 1940–1942 . Like other similar guest lectureships, this one was under the cultural-political direction of the historian Franz Petri, who worked for the military administration in Brussels . With this, as well as with his own research contributions on the economic geography of the Netherlands , France and Belgium, Kraus took part in the National Socialist " West Research ".

After the Second World War , Kraus moved to the University of Würzburg in 1948 , but returned to Cologne as professor for economic geography in 1950 (from 1960: economic and social geography). There he was director of the Institute of Economic Geography until 1962, serving as dean of the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences in 1952/53 and as rector of the university from 1958 to 1960. After his retirement he taught as an honorary professor for several semesters at RWTH Aachen University .

Theodor Kraus's scientific work acquired particular importance for the disciplinary establishment of economic geography, the development and independence of which he promoted through fundamental theoretical and methodological contributions. In addition, he devoted himself to issues of urban, industrial and transport geography as well as the applied areas of spatial research and regional planning .

Functions and memberships

Honors

  • 1964 Grand Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
  • 1969 Robert Gradmann Medal from the Central Committee for German Regional Studies

Fonts (selection)

  • The winning country. An industrial area in the Rhenish Slate Mountains (= research on German regional and folklore; 28.1). Engelhorn, Stuttgart 1931 (2nd edition with a Nachw. Federal Research Institute for Regional Studies and Regional Planning, Bad Godesberg 1969).
  • The utility room. Thoughts on its geographic exploration . Gonski, Cologne 1933.
  • Eupen-Malmedy-St. Vith. Landscape, settlement, population . Zimmermann, Cologne 1934.
  • The Ardennes. A geographic introduction . In: German Archives for State and People's Research 4, 1940, Issue 1, pp. 77–92.
  • Individual geography and spatial order (= geographic knowledge; 7). Steiner, Wiesbaden 1960.
  • The municipality and its territory. Five municipalities in the Lower Rhine region from a geographical perspective (= Working Group for Research of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. Humanities; 171). West German Publishing House, Cologne 1971.

literature

  • Emil Meynen : Economic and socio-geographic topics for regional studies in Germany: Theodor Kraus on his 65th birthday. Federal agency for regional studies and Spatial research, Bad Godesberg 1959.
  • Erich Otremba : Theodor Kraus August 15, 1894 - October 7, 1973. Geographical Journal 62 (1), 1974, pp. 1-11. JSTOR 27817580
  • Götz Voppel: Theodor Kraus (1894 to 1973) . In: Friedrich-Wilhelm Henning (ed.): Cologne economists and social scientists (= studies on the history of the University of Cologne; 7). Böhlau, Cologne a. a. 1988, ISBN 3-412-00888-5 , pp. 139-166.
  • Marc Engels: The "Economic Community of the West Country". Bruno Kuske and Western economic research between the German Empire and the Federal Republic. Aachen: Shaker 2007, ISBN 978-3-8322-6642-4

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Theodor Kraus: The railways in the border areas of Central and Eastern Europe . Diss. Univ. Cologne 1924.
  2. ^ Theodor Kraus: The winning country. An industrial area in the Rhenish Slate Mountains (=  research on German regional and folklore; 28.1 ). Engelhorn, Stuttgart 1931.
  3. ^ Fahlbusch, Michael: Science in the Service of National Socialist Politics? The "Volksdeutsche Forschungsgemeinschaften" from 1931–1945 . Nomos, Baden-Baden 1999, ISBN 3-7890-5770-3 , p. 382, note 825 .
  4. ^ Fahlbusch, Michael: Science in the Service of National Socialist Politics? The "Volksdeutsche Forschungsgemeinschaften" from 1931–1945 . Nomos, Baden-Baden 1999, ISBN 3-7890-5770-3 , p. 692 (visiting professor) .
personal data
SURNAME Kraus, Theodor
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German economic and social geographer
DATE OF BIRTH August 15, 1894
PLACE OF BIRTH Neuwied
DATE OF DEATH 7th October 1973
Place of death Broichweiden near Aachen