Karl Astel (26 February 1898 – 4 April 1945) was an Alter Kämpfer, rector of the University of Jena, a racial scientist, and also involved in the German Nazi Eugenics program.[1][2][3]
Karl Astel
| |
|---|---|
| Born | (1898-02-26)26 February 1898 |
| Died | 4 April 1945(1945-04-04) (aged 47) |
| Cause of death | Suicide by gunshot |
| Nationality | German |
| Alma mater | University of Würzburg |
| Known for | Rector of the University of Jena, Anti-tobacco movement, Nazi eugenics |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Sports medicine, Racial science |
He was born on 26 February 1898 in Schweinfurt.[4] After finishing the Gymnasium he fought in World War I in 1917 and 1918.[5] Astel took part at the Kapp Putsch and also the Beer Hall Putsch, as a member of the Freikorps Oberland.
Astel studied medicine in Würzburg and earned his PhD around 1930.[5] He was educated and then approved as a sports teacher in March 1926. Astel was employed by the Technical University Munich as a sports advisor.[5]
He was also involved in the anti-tobacco movement. After Karl Astel became rector of the University of Jena in 1939 he tried to form the ideal SS-university ("SS-Muster-Universität"). Astel and his like-minded comrades like Heinz Brücher, Gerhard Heberer, Victor Julius Franz, Johann von Leers and Lothar Stengel-von Rutkowski considered Ernst Haeckel as their forerunner.[citation needed]
On 4 April 1945, Karl Astel shot himself in a hospital (that was headed by the rheumatologist Wolfgang Veil).
