68 active participants in WWII are recorded in the CAU’s personnel files, which corresponds to a 29% proportion of the professors at the time. Many of them never returned from the war alive. It is interesting to see how many professors in Kiel died of unnatural causes between 1919 and 1965. Many died in the war, as already mentioned. Seven professors died from accidents caused by traffic, ice, skiing, swimming, etc. Eight committed suicide, some in connection with the collapse in 1945. Two were murdered. The further death statistics also raise questions. Five heart attacks were reported in sources. Four of these happened in one year - 1944. Is this a coincidence? A professor from the Faculty of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences was luckier. His latest personnel file specifically states that he died peacefully while sitting down.

Author: Oliver Auge