Hermann Poppelbaum (1891-1979) was born in Frankfurt am Main. His
interest in science awoke during his youth, and, with his brother,
he founded the "Linneo" zoological association, which became the
"Minerva" youth scientific association. He focused on questions of
evolution and heredity at a time when controversy surrounded
Haeckel's ideas. In 1913 he graduated in natural sciences with an
experimental thesis, "Studies in androgynomorphic butterflies."
During World War I, as an officer and prisoner of war in France, a
kind of university was organized in the officers' concentration
camp, where Poppelbaum lectured on heredity and evolution. In the
camp he met Otto Palmer, who invited him to join the study group
focused on Rudolf Steiner's writings.
In 1920, he met Rudolf Steiner and participated in the formation of
the Anthroposophical Society and, in 1930, became a member of the
Board of Directors. After the National Socialist authorities banned
the Anthroposophical Society in 1935, he was interrogated by the
Gestapo, prompting him to emigrate to England with his wife and two
children. In 1939, the outbreak of World War II surprised him in
New York, where he was giving a series of lectures, forcing him to
remain in the U.S., where he helped to establish North American
Waldorf schools.
In 1948 he rejoined his family in Switzerland and, in 1949 became
director of the Pedagogical Section at the Goetheanum, and in 1963
director of the Natural Sciences Section.
HERMANN POPPELBAUM, Dr Phil. (1891 - 1979) was an anthropologist, psychologist, philosopher, anthroposophist, teacher and author of numerous books. An expert on the works of the Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner (1861 - 1925), Poppelbaum was a visiting lecturer in anthropology and psychology at Alfred University, New York. In 1949 he became director of the Education Section at the Goetheanum, Switzerland, and in 1963 the Department of Natural Sciences.
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