Wilhelm Kraiker (4 August 1899 – 24 April 1987) was a German

classical archaeologist Classical archaeology is the archaeological investigation of the Mediterranean civilizations of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Nineteenth-century archaeologists such as Heinrich Schliemann were drawn to study the societies they had read about i ...

Life

Born in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

, in 1927 Kraiker received his doctorate at

Heidelberg University } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

under

Ludwig Curtius Ludwig Curtius (December 13, 1874 – April 10, 1954) was a German archaeologist born in Augsburg. He is remembered for his investigations involving the development of ancient Greek and Roman art. He studied classical archaeology in Munich unde ...

. In 1928/29 he received a , afterwards he was assistant at the Heidelberg University as well as at the

German Archaeological Institute The German Archaeological Institute (german: Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, ''DAI'') is a research institute in the field of archaeology (and other related fields). The DAI is a "federal agency" under the Federal Foreign Office of Germany ...

in Athens and Rome; on 12 July 1937 he

habilitated Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...

in Heidelberg. From June 1941 to September 1944, Kraiker worked in Athens during the German occupation in World War II for the newly formed

Kunstschutz Kunstschutz (''art protection'') is the German term for the principle of preserving cultural heritage and artworks during armed conflict, especially during the First World War and Second World War, with the stated aim of protecting the enemy's ar ...

, which was subordinate to the Army High Command Quartermaster General

Eduard Wagner Eduard Wagner (1 April 1894 – 23 July 1944) was a general in the Army of Nazi Germany who served as quartermaster-general in World War II. He had the overall responsibility for security in the Army Group Rear Areas, and thus bore responsibili ...

, and was in charge from July 1942. Together with the German Archaeological Institute in Athens and the Foreign Office, this art protection department succeeded in driving the

Reichsleiter Rosenberg Taskforce The Reichsleiter Rosenberg Taskforce (german: Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg or ''ERR'') was a Nazi Party organization dedicated to appropriating cultural property during the Second World War. It was led by the chief ideologue of the Nazi Par ...

out of Greece. In 1943 Kraiker was appointed extraordinary professor at the

University of Innsbruck The University of Innsbruck (german: Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck; la, Universitas Leopoldino Franciscea) is a public research university in Innsbruck, the capital of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol, founded on October 15, 1669. ...

. Since May 1, 1948 Kraiker represented the professorship for classical archaeology at the

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...

. On 1 January 1949 he was appointed full professor and at the same time director of the

Antikensammlung Kiel The Antikensammlung Kiel is the collection of antiquities held by the Classical Archaeology Department of the University of Kiel, housed in nine basement rooms in the Kunsthalle Kiel. It is the only museum of its kind in the state of Schleswig-Hol ...

. In 1968 he became

emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

. Kraiker's best-known work is the ''Griechenlandkunde'' (1st edition 1955), which was written with

Ernst Kirsten Ernst is both a surname and a given name, the German, Dutch, and Scandinavian form of Ernest. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Adolf Ernst (1832–1899) German botanist known by the author abbreviation "Ernst" * Anton Ernst (1975-) ...

and which emerged from guide sheets of the German art protection for soldiers during the Second World War. The work was completely revised and reprinted in 1962. Kraiker died in Rome aged 87.

Publications

* ''Die Nekropolen des 12. bis 10. Jahrhunderts''. * ''Hellas Kunst der Griechen''. * ''Aigina, die Vasen des 10. bis 7. Jahrhunderts v. Chr.'' * ''Die rotfigurigen attischen Vasen''. * ''Griechenlandkunde : ein Führer zu klassischen Stätten''.

Literature

* Julia Freifrau Hiller von Gaertringen: ''Deutsche Archäologische Unternehmungen im besetzten Griechenland 1941–1944.''''Deutsche Archäologische Unternehmungen im besetzten Griechenland 1941–1944.''
on WorldCat in ''Athenische Mitteilungen.'' 110, 1995, .

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kraiker, Wilhelm Classical archaeologists 20th-century archaeologists Academic staff of the University of Innsbruck Academic staff of the University of Kiel 1899 births 1987 deaths Archaeologists from Frankfurt