Johannes Weigelt

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Johannes Weigelt in 1941

Theodor Otto Gustav Johannes Weigelt (24 July 1890 in Reppen, 22 April 1948 in Klein-Gerau) was a German paleontology, geologist who became a Nazi.[1]

Weigelt was the first proponent of taphonomy, the study of how organisms decay and eventually become fossilised[2] and is the founder of Biostratinomy.[3] In 1934, he was the founder of the Museum for Earth Science of Central Germany at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg.[4][3]

Life[edit]

After finishing high school, which he spent in Halle and Blankenburg in 1909,[5] Weigelt studied natural sciences and prehistory at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. Due to the death of his father and his mothers illness, Weigelt was forced to become financially independent.[3] In 1911 to 1912 he was assistant to Otto Schlüter at the geographical department.[5] In 1913, he became an assistant to Johannes Walther at the Institute of Geography.[6] Just one year later, in 1914, he wrote a geological-archaeological thesis on the stratigraphic work on the Upper Harz Kulm,[3] but was only awarded his doctorate in December 1917 due to the outbreak of the World War I and his voluntary participation in it.[6] In the thesis, Weigelt examined the variability of bivalve species Posidonomya becheri, in the process finding many special cases on the species, in the fossil sedimentation that resulted in insights into sediment petrography.[3] Through the research, he was able to identify an iron ore deposit in Salzgitter. He had through understanding of the structure of the deposit, that was confirmed by drilling.[3]

In 1915, Weigelt was severely wounded in the war by shrapnel in and spent the next two and half years in hospital.[6] Just one year after his doctorate, Weigelt habilitated in 1918, with a geological-palaeontological thesis.[5] In December 1918. he found work as collection assistant at the Geological Institute of the University of Halle.[6]

Career[edit]

In 1924, he was promoted to associate professor.[7] During the year, he was appointed to monitor seismic events on the Texas Gulf Coast.[3] An examination of subsoil bulges led to the discovery of salt domes that was confirmed by drilling and led to investigations into salt tectonics and their importance to oil drilling.[3] Through research in Texas, he was able to describe the importance of salt domes to the Northern Germany oil deposits.[3]

In 1926 he received a lectureship at the University of Greifswald. In 1927, he formalised his research taken during his time in Texas to publish "Recent Vertebrate Corpses and Their Palaeobiological Significance" that cemented his reputation as the founder of Biostratinomy.[3] The book examines the causes of mass extinctions, the way animals die and how it effects fossilisation with a particular examinaton of the fossil record at Smithers Lake.[3] In 1927, in the Gulf coastal plains, he was able to escavate and examine a large number of fossils which he collected.[3] In 1928, Weigelt completed his commission in Texas he returned to Germany and was promoted to full professor of geology and palaeontology,[7] succeeding Otto Jaekel.[3] A year later in 1929, Weigelt became full professor of geology and palaeontology at the University of Halle, succeeding his former scientific mentor Johannes Walther.[3] He conducted research into the tectonic and stratigraphic diversity of the mountain areas around Halle and in particular the Kupferschiefer, i.e. copper shale deposits that are common in Halle.[3]

In 1932 , Weigelt was appointed to the position of Vice President of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, a position he held until 1942.[1] In 1933, he joined the Nazis (membership number 2,255,659), became a member of the Sturmabteilung and also became a member of the National Socialist Teachers League in 1934.[1] In the same year, the Leopoldina honoured him with the Cothenius Medal for particularly important scientific work[5] in relation to his work in the Geisel Valley.[3] Weigelt was awarded several high medals of the National Socialist regime and was appointed Gaudozentenführer (local leader of a faculty) in 1945. He became vice president of the Leopoldina in 1932 and was regarded as the Nazi party's supervisor.[8]

From November 1936 to January 1945, he was rector of the University of Halle and promoted its reorganization in line with armaments policy and Nazi ideology. He also worked as an advisor to the four-year plan authority and developed ore deposits for the Reichswerke Hermann Göring in Salzgitter.[1] In 1937, he became chairman of the Palaeontological Society and in 1940, as successor to German mineralogist Gottlob Linck, chairman of the Thuringian Geological Society. From 1939, he was also one of the editors of the journal "Der Biologe" (The Biologist), which had been taken over by the SS Ahnenerbe.[1]

At the end of the World War II, he was denazified in Hesse with a fine, but was no longer employed.

Publications[edit]

  • Weigelt, Johannes; Schaefer, Judith (2009) [1927]. Recent Vertebrate Carcasses and Their Paleobiological Implications. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226881683.

References[edit]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Klee 2015, p. 661.
  2. ^ Gómez López 2019, pp. 195–214.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Hunger 1958.
  4. ^ Brain 1990.
  5. ^ a b c d Hoßfeld 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d Eberle 2024.
  7. ^ a b Hellmund.
  8. ^ Berg 2015, p. 108.

Bibliography[edit]

  • Berg, Wieland (2015). "Eine ehrenwerte Lüge: Abderhaldens Brief zur Streichung jüdischer Mitglieder der Leopoldina - vorauseilender Gehorsam oder Schutzbehauptung?". Sudhoffs Archiv. 99 (1): 105–115. ISSN 0039-4564. JSTOR 43694903.
  • Brain, C. K. (4 January 1990). "Book Reviews | Detecting Decay". Nature. 343 (32). Nature Publishing Group. doi:10.1038/343032b0.>
  • Eberle, Henrik (28 February 2024). "John Weigelt". Archive (in German). Halle (Salle): Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. Archived from the original on 5 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  • Gómez López, Ana María (2019). "On taphonomy: collages and collections at the Geiseltalmuseum". BJHS Themes. 4. Cambridge University Press: 195–214. doi:10.1017/bjt.2019.13.
  • Hellmund, M. "Prof. Dr. Johannes Weigelt (1890-1948)". Geiseltal Museum (in German). Halle (Saale): Martin Luther University. Archived from the original on 28 January 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  • Hoßfeld, Uwe (2020). "Weigelt, Theodor Otto Gustav Johannes". Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie. 598–600. pp. 598–600.
  • Hunger, Richard (1958). "Johannes Weigelt zum Gedenken" (PDF). Zobodat (Zooligical-Botanical Database) (in German). Frieberg: Archiv für Geschichte der Naturforschung und Medizin“ der Deutschen Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina zu Halle/S. pp. 217–233. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  • Klee, Ernst (2015). Das Personenlexikon zum Dritten Reich: wer war was vor und nach 1945. Fischer, 16048 (in German) (5th ed.). Frankfurt am Main: Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verl. p. 661. ISBN 978-3-596-16048-8.
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