Education
Krause studied Classical Philology and Indo-Germanic Studies at the Universities of Berlin and Göttingen, from 1914 to 1920.
linguist university professor runologist
Krause studied Classical Philology and Indo-Germanic Studies at the Universities of Berlin and Göttingen, from 1914 to 1920.
He specialised initially in Celtic studies and the Tokharians, later in Old Norse and especially runology. In 1929 he took over the chair in Linguistics at the University of Königsberg, where his research focussed on mediaeval Scandinavian culture, particularly the runes. In 1937, he moved to the University of Göttingen and in 1938 set up an institute for runological research there.
In 1943, he was made Director of the Runic Division of the Ahnenerbe.
However, his institute was renamed the Lehrund Forschungsstätte für Runenund Sinnbildkunde (Teaching and Research Institute for Runic and Symbological Studies) and he was forced to accept as assistant director for Symbology Karl Theodor Weigel, whom he had long criticised as a dilettante, and who outranked him in the Ahnenerbe despite having never completed his doctorate. In 1950, the Norse Study Section which he headed was combined with his Institute for Runic Studies to form a Scandinavian Department and he was named its director
He simultaneously remained head of the Linguistics Department. In 1963 he became professor emeritus, after which the directorship of the two departments was again divided.
On his 70th birthday, students at the University of Göttingen honoured him with a torchlight procession.
Krause never became a member of the Nazi party, and remained in his position after the Second World War ended.