Short Portrait: Werner Müller

Werner Müller
Werner Müller

Werner Müller was born on 22. Mai 1907 in Emmerich. His father was an evangelic pastor.

After finishing school Müller studied Geography, Anthropology, History and Religious Studies not only in Göttingen and Bonn but also in Berlin. He completed his Ph D thesis on ancient american narratives in 1930.

In 1933 Müller finished an additional teacher training and began to work as a librarian in Berlin. Moreover, he did ancestral and historical research for a foundation established by the SS and published some of his work. He also became member of the SS.

In 1942 Müller completed his habilitation thesis and eventually began lecturing on Anthropology at the university in Strasbourg. In 1945, shortly before the end of World War II, he became a prisoner of war in the american sector.

Due to his SS-membership Müller could not return to the university after World War II but was financed by fellowships and worked as a private teacher throughout the following decade. In 1955 he took up a position as a librarian in Berlin again. Ten years later he moved to Tübingen, where he also worked at the university library until his retirement in 1972.

Between 1954 and 1956 Müller published three books which established his reputation as an expert for the religious beliefs of Northern American Natives. He also did research on ethnic groups in the northwest of the american continent. Müllers work was based on a historical perspective, on source analysis and an empathic approach. Moreover, Müller had an interest in religious symbols and traditions of ancient Europe.

Werner Müller died in Bad Urach, March 7th, 1990.




(Text based on an article at www.deutsche-biographie.de; photo source: http://homepages.uni-tuebingen.de/gerd.simon/ChrMuellerWerner.pdf)
 

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