__NOTOC__ Bodo Spranz (1 January 1920 – 1 September 2007) was a German researcher of preclassic

meso-American Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area that begins in the southern part of North America and extends to the Pacific coast of Central America, thus comprising the lands of central and southern Mexico, all of Belize, Guatemala, El S ...

history and director of the ethnological museum in

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he was a

hauptmann () is an officer rank in the armies of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It is usually translated as ''captain''. Background While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has, and originally had, the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literall ...

in the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

receiving the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. While it was lower in precedence than the Grand C ...

. From 1947 to 1950 Spranz attended the Art Academy in Bremen and in 1951 was hired as a technical assistant at the

Übersee-Museum Bremen The Overseas Museum in Bremen () is a Natural History and ethnographic museum in northern Germany. In an integrated exhibition of Nature, Culture and Trading, the museum presents aspects of overseas regions with permanent exhibitions relating to ...

(Ethnological Museum in Bremen). With the approval of the Bremen Senate he could study ethnology, folklore and history at the

University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg (, also referred to as UHH) is a public university, public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('':de:Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen, ...

, without neglecting his museum duties. Professor Franz Termer supervised him in

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...

America and presented him a dissertation topic in this direction. In 1958 he received his doctorate in Hamburg with the thesis "The Codex Borgia; studies the iconography of a Mexican picture manuscript in the

Vatican Library The Vatican Apostolic Library (, ), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City, and is the city-state's national library. It was formally established in 1475, alth ...

in Rome." After graduation, he remained at the Bremen Ethnological Museum. On 1 June 1962 he became the full-time director of the ethnological museum in

. He qualified in 1969 with a publication "The Pyramids of Totimehuacan/Puebla (Mexico) and their integration into the development of the Preclassic pyramid building in Mesoamerica" and received the Habilitation Ethnology. He held the position of director until 1984.

World War II awards

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

(1939) 2nd Class (23 June 1940) 1st Class (2 July 1941)Thomas & Wegmann 1985, p. 269.Thomas 1998, p. 337. *

General Assault Badge The General Assault Badge () was a military decoration awarded during World War II to personnel of the German Army (Wehrmacht), German Army, Waffen-SS and ''Ordnungspolizei'' (order police) who supported an infantry attack but were not part of sp ...

(6 February 1941) * 4 Tank Destruction Badges for Individual Combatants (27 August 1942) *

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repeated acts of bravery or military leade ...

in Gold on 6 May 1943 as ''

Leutnant () is the lowest junior officer rank in the armed forces of Germany ( Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the military of Switzerland. History The German noun (with the meaning "" (in English "deputy") from Middle High German «locum ...

'' in the 2./Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 185Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 452. *

** Knight's Cross on 3 October 1943 as ''

Oberleutnant (English: First Lieutenant) is a senior lieutenant Officer (armed forces), officer rank in the German (language), German-speaking armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Swiss Armed Forces. In Austria, ''Oberle ...

'' and chief of the 1./Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 237Scherzer 2007, p. 714. ** 308th Oak Leaves on 3 October 1943 as ''Oberleutnant'' and chief of the 1./Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 237

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spranz, Bodo 1920 births 2007 deaths Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States People from Nordhausen, Thuringia University of Hamburg alumni German ethnologists Military personnel from Thuringia German Army officers of World War II