Werner Kollath
Encyclopedia
Werner Georg Kollath was a German
bacteriologist
, hygienist
and food scientist
. He is considered a pioneer of whole foods
.
in autumn 1911, he studied medicine
in Leipzig
, Freiburg, Berlin
and Kiel
. During World War I
, for which he registered as a volunteer, he served as a field physician.
After the war he continued his studies in Marburg. He gained his doctorate there in 1920, and received his licence to work as a medical doctor. In 1923, he became assistant to Richard Pfeiffer at the Hygiene Institute of the University of Breslau. In 1926, he completed his habilitation
with a thesis on "Vitamin Substance or Vitamin Effect in Influenza Bacteria" . In 1932, he was appointed special professor of the University of Breslau, and in 1933-1934, was appointed department head for the subject Hygiene.
, the National Socialist German University Lecturers League , the National Socialist People's Welfare , and the State Air Protection Corps . This information appears on Kollath's Nazi Party membership card.
In 1935 he was appointed as Professor of Hygiene and Bacteriology at the University of Rostock
and was also Director of the Provincial Health Office . He held lectures, among other subjects, on racial hygiene, and advocated the establishment of a department for this subject.
In 1937, he was for one year Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, and published a textbook of Hygiene under the title Grundlagen, Methoden und Ziele der Hygiene (Principles, Methods and Goals of Health). Kollath's hygiene textbook was approved of by the authorities in Nazi Germany, probably because of the of the passages on eugenics. the state organisation for the promotion of German literature chose the book as one of the 100 best German books of the year 1936/37. The book includes the statement "The difficulties in the hygienic area so far are that adequate legislation, for instance the elimination of inferior (people) from reproduction, had failed in the past." His support for the Nazi laws is also confirmed by his statement "Eine höhere und edlere Form der Humanität ist erst durch die nationalsozialistische Gesetzgebung in Deutschland eingeführt durch die Sterilisationsgesetze“ (Translation: "A higher and nobler form of humanity is introduced by the Nazi legislation in Germany, the sterilization laws")
In 1942, Kollath published his most important book, Die Ordnung unserer Nahrung. The publication date indicates the importance of the book to the Nazi regime for the war. In the book, Kollath used the word Vollwertkost, which can be literally translated as full value food, but for which the phrase whole foods
is used. Vollwertkost meant a diet that contains everything an organism needs for its preservation and the conservation of the species. For the food concept itself, he resorted mainly to Maximilian Bircher-Benner
's publications. Kollath claasified all foods into six value levels. The lower the degree (of processing), the higher was the food's value. Plants were always rated higher than animals, and raw food higher than cooked food. Kollath also distinguished between unprocessed or slightly processed food, which he regarded as living food, and highly processed food, which he regarded as dead food .
Kollath's commitment to Nazism continued until the spring of 1945. Before the capitulation, he took part in exercises of the Volkssturm
.
that he was "only a nominal member of the Nazi Party", and that he had applied for admission to the KPD
in December 1945. He was also included as a party candidate in the SED, which is mistakenly referred to as denazification
. In 1947, he was dismissed as director of the provincial health office. In March 1947, Kollath secretly left the Soviet occupation zone in a pre-arranged flight, and moved to Hanover
, where he worked as a food chemist and consultant for the Keksfabrikanten Bahlsen
, for whom he had tested flyer drop food during World War II.
In 1948, he published the second edition of his hygiene textbook. In this edition, he changed 'racial hygiene' to 'social hygiene', 'Goebbels' to 'Goethe', and deleted passages dealing with Hitler, selection, inheritance and forced sterilisation. In 1948, he received his denazification certificate in category IV, which was changed to category V after his successful appeal, and researched from September 1948 to February 1949 at the Pathological Institute in Stockholm
.
In 1950, he published the book Der Vollwert der Nahrung und seine Bedeutung für Wachstum und Zellersatz (The full value of nutrition and its importance for growth and cell replacement), in which he wrote about a 'full value theory' . He continued after 1950 to work on the popularising of whole foods, and worked on the first Gesundheitsbrockhaus, a health encyclopaedia.
Since 1951, the so-called "Kollath-breakfast" (cereal mixture) has been sold in Reformhaus
shops.
During a private trip through Chile
, he was offered a research position at the Medical Faculty of Hygiene in Santiago de Chile which he turned down.
In April 1952, he was retired retroactively from April 1951, allegedly on the basis of an official medical report, and so had an income again. From 1952 to 1956, he carried out studies on animals at the University of Munich to prove his hypotheses on mesotrophy by inadequate diet. Kollath is credited with the introduction of the term 'probiotics'. In 1953, he wrote about probiotics as being in contrast to harmful antibiotics, and defined 'Probiotika' as being "active substances that are essential for a healthy development of life".
Kollath's work on nutrition was recognised in the 1950s and 1960s by the Internationale Gesellschaft für Nahrungs- und Vitalstoff-Forschung (IVG), the World Union for Protection of Life
, and the Arbeitskreis Gesundheitskunde, which was established in 1964, and also people practising alternative medicine. The 17th edition of his book "Die Ordnung unserer Nahrung" was published in 2005, and is regarded as a bsis for whole food nutrition.
Kollath invented a method for preserving grains and some legumes without chemicals or overheating. The method is named after him, the Kollath method .
Kollath wrote 326 scientific publications including 28 books. The Werner and Elisabeth Kollath Foundation, based in Bad Soden
, is dedicated to the promotion of holistic scientific nutritional and health research.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
bacteriologist
Bacteriology
Bacteriology is the study of bacteria. This subdivision of microbiology involves the identification, classification, and characterization of bacterial species...
, hygienist
Hygiene
Hygiene refers to the set of practices perceived by a community to be associated with the preservation of health and healthy living. While in modern medical sciences there is a set of standards of hygiene recommended for different situations, what is considered hygienic or not can vary between...
and food scientist
Food science
Food science is a study concerned with all technical aspects of foods, beginning with harvesting or slaughtering, and ending with its cooking and consumption, an ideology commonly referred to as "from field to fork"...
. He is considered a pioneer of whole foods
Whole foods
Whole foods are foods that are unprocessed and unrefined, or processed and refined as little as possible, before being consumed. Whole foods typically do not contain added ingredients, such as salt, carbohydrates, or fat. Examples of whole foods include unpolished grains, beans, fruits, vegetables...
.
Biography
Werner Kollath was born on 11 June 1892 in Gollnow, the son of the practical physician Dr. George Kollath. After attending school in Gollnow and Stettin, completing his abiturAbitur
Abitur is a designation used in Germany, Finland and Estonia for final exams that pupils take at the end of their secondary education, usually after 12 or 13 years of schooling, see also for Germany Abitur after twelve years.The Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife, often referred to as...
in autumn 1911, he studied medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
in Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
, Freiburg, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and Kiel
University of Kiel
The University of Kiel is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the Academia Holsatorum Chiloniensis by Christian Albert, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp and has approximately 23,000 students today...
. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, for which he registered as a volunteer, he served as a field physician.
After the war he continued his studies in Marburg. He gained his doctorate there in 1920, and received his licence to work as a medical doctor. In 1923, he became assistant to Richard Pfeiffer at the Hygiene Institute of the University of Breslau. In 1926, he completed his habilitation
Habilitation
Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis based on independent...
with a thesis on "Vitamin Substance or Vitamin Effect in Influenza Bacteria" . In 1932, he was appointed special professor of the University of Breslau, and in 1933-1934, was appointed department head for the subject Hygiene.
Nazi party
In 1933, he joined the Nazi Party. He was also a SS-Fördermitglied and from October 1933 was a member of the National Socialist Teachers LeagueNational Socialist Teachers League
The National Socialist Teachers League, Nationalsozialistische Lehrerbund , was established as a wing of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei in 1927. This organization lasted until 1943. Its seat was in Bayreuth. The founder and first "Reichswalter" of the organization was Hans Schemm...
, the National Socialist German University Lecturers League , the National Socialist People's Welfare , and the State Air Protection Corps . This information appears on Kollath's Nazi Party membership card.
In 1935 he was appointed as Professor of Hygiene and Bacteriology at the University of Rostock
University of Rostock
The University of Rostock is the university of the city Rostock, in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.Founded in 1419, it is the oldest and largest university in continental northern Europe and the Baltic Sea area...
and was also Director of the Provincial Health Office . He held lectures, among other subjects, on racial hygiene, and advocated the establishment of a department for this subject.
In 1937, he was for one year Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, and published a textbook of Hygiene under the title Grundlagen, Methoden und Ziele der Hygiene (Principles, Methods and Goals of Health). Kollath's hygiene textbook was approved of by the authorities in Nazi Germany, probably because of the of the passages on eugenics. the state organisation for the promotion of German literature chose the book as one of the 100 best German books of the year 1936/37. The book includes the statement "The difficulties in the hygienic area so far are that adequate legislation, for instance the elimination of inferior (people) from reproduction, had failed in the past." His support for the Nazi laws is also confirmed by his statement "Eine höhere und edlere Form der Humanität ist erst durch die nationalsozialistische Gesetzgebung in Deutschland eingeführt durch die Sterilisationsgesetze“ (Translation: "A higher and nobler form of humanity is introduced by the Nazi legislation in Germany, the sterilization laws")
In 1942, Kollath published his most important book, Die Ordnung unserer Nahrung. The publication date indicates the importance of the book to the Nazi regime for the war. In the book, Kollath used the word Vollwertkost, which can be literally translated as full value food, but for which the phrase whole foods
Whole foods
Whole foods are foods that are unprocessed and unrefined, or processed and refined as little as possible, before being consumed. Whole foods typically do not contain added ingredients, such as salt, carbohydrates, or fat. Examples of whole foods include unpolished grains, beans, fruits, vegetables...
is used. Vollwertkost meant a diet that contains everything an organism needs for its preservation and the conservation of the species. For the food concept itself, he resorted mainly to Maximilian Bircher-Benner
Maximilian Bircher-Benner
Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner was a Swiss physician and a pioneer in nutritional research....
's publications. Kollath claasified all foods into six value levels. The lower the degree (of processing), the higher was the food's value. Plants were always rated higher than animals, and raw food higher than cooked food. Kollath also distinguished between unprocessed or slightly processed food, which he regarded as living food, and highly processed food, which he regarded as dead food .
Kollath's commitment to Nazism continued until the spring of 1945. Before the capitulation, he took part in exercises of the Volkssturm
Volkssturm
The Volkssturm was a German national militia of the last months of World War II. It was founded on Adolf Hitler's orders on October 18, 1944 and conscripted males between the ages of 16 to 60 years who were not already serving in some military unit as part of a German Home Guard.-Origins and...
.
After World War II
Because of the order of the president of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern forcleaning the administration on 30 August 1945, Kollath was dismissed because of his party affiliation. Kollath appealed against his dismissal with the assertion that he was not an active fascist, but had represented contrary opinions. He kept a leading position in the commission until 1946. Rostock was part of the Soviet occupation zone. Kollath was certified by the SEDSocialist Unity Party of Germany
The Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990. The SED was a communist political party with a Marxist-Leninist ideology...
that he was "only a nominal member of the Nazi Party", and that he had applied for admission to the KPD
Communist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956...
in December 1945. He was also included as a party candidate in the SED, which is mistakenly referred to as denazification
Denazification
Denazification was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary, and politics of any remnants of the National Socialist ideology. It was carried out specifically by removing those involved from positions of influence and by disbanding or rendering...
. In 1947, he was dismissed as director of the provincial health office. In March 1947, Kollath secretly left the Soviet occupation zone in a pre-arranged flight, and moved to Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
, where he worked as a food chemist and consultant for the Keksfabrikanten Bahlsen
Bahlsen
Bahlsen is a German food company based in Hanover. It was founded in July 1889 by Hermann Bahlsen as the Hannoversche Keksfabrik H. Bahlsen. The family of founder Hermann Bahlsen, led by his grandson Werner Bahlsen, continues to control the company...
, for whom he had tested flyer drop food during World War II.
In 1948, he published the second edition of his hygiene textbook. In this edition, he changed 'racial hygiene' to 'social hygiene', 'Goebbels' to 'Goethe', and deleted passages dealing with Hitler, selection, inheritance and forced sterilisation. In 1948, he received his denazification certificate in category IV, which was changed to category V after his successful appeal, and researched from September 1948 to February 1949 at the Pathological Institute in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
.
In 1950, he published the book Der Vollwert der Nahrung und seine Bedeutung für Wachstum und Zellersatz (The full value of nutrition and its importance for growth and cell replacement), in which he wrote about a 'full value theory' . He continued after 1950 to work on the popularising of whole foods, and worked on the first Gesundheitsbrockhaus, a health encyclopaedia.
Since 1951, the so-called "Kollath-breakfast" (cereal mixture) has been sold in Reformhaus
Reformhaus
Reformhaus is a German/Austrian retailer that specializes in groceries and personal care products according to the principles of the 19th-century Lebensreform movement, for example the products are vegetarian, often organic, and free of synthetic preservatives...
shops.
During a private trip through Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, he was offered a research position at the Medical Faculty of Hygiene in Santiago de Chile which he turned down.
In April 1952, he was retired retroactively from April 1951, allegedly on the basis of an official medical report, and so had an income again. From 1952 to 1956, he carried out studies on animals at the University of Munich to prove his hypotheses on mesotrophy by inadequate diet. Kollath is credited with the introduction of the term 'probiotics'. In 1953, he wrote about probiotics as being in contrast to harmful antibiotics, and defined 'Probiotika' as being "active substances that are essential for a healthy development of life".
Kollath's work on nutrition was recognised in the 1950s and 1960s by the Internationale Gesellschaft für Nahrungs- und Vitalstoff-Forschung (IVG), the World Union for Protection of Life
World Union for Protection of Life
The World Union for Protection of Life is an international non-profit organization and non-governmental organization which was founded 1958 in Salzburg by the writer Günther Schwab...
, and the Arbeitskreis Gesundheitskunde, which was established in 1964, and also people practising alternative medicine. The 17th edition of his book "Die Ordnung unserer Nahrung" was published in 2005, and is regarded as a bsis for whole food nutrition.
Kollath invented a method for preserving grains and some legumes without chemicals or overheating. The method is named after him, the Kollath method .
Kollath wrote 326 scientific publications including 28 books. The Werner and Elisabeth Kollath Foundation, based in Bad Soden
Bad Soden
Bad Soden is a town and spa in the Main-Taunus-Kreis, Hesse, Germany. Population 21,412 .Bad Soden is a popular residential town for commuters working in Frankfurt am Main. It is known for its various springs, which contain carbonic acid gas and various iron oxides. The waters are used both...
, is dedicated to the promotion of holistic scientific nutritional and health research.
Publications
- Vitaminsubstanz oder Vitaminwirkung? Eine Studie über Zusammenhänge zwischen Mineral- und Sauerstoff-Stoffwechsel, Phosphatiden und ultraviolettem Licht, geprüft an den Wachstumsbedingungen des Influenzabazillus (Bazillus Pfeiffer), in: Zentralblatt für Bakteriologie, Parasitenkunde und Infektionskrankheiten 100, 1926, 97-145.
- Grundlagen, Methoden und Ziele der Hygiene. Eine Einführung für Mediziner und Naturwissenschaftler, Volkswirtschaftler und Techniker, Leipzig 1937.
- Zur Einheit der Heilkunde, Stuttgart 1942 (Autobiography).
- Die Ordnung unserer Nahrung. Grundlagen einer dauerhaften Ernährungslehre, Stuttgart 1942.
- Lehrbuch der Hygiene, 2 volumes, Stuttgart 1949.
- Der Vollwert der Nahrung und seine Bedeutung für Wachstum und Zellersatz. Experimentelle Grundlagen, Stuttgart 1950.
- Getreide und Mensch – eine Lebensgemeinschaft, Bad Homburg v. d. H. 1964
External links
- Werner Kollath in Catalogus Professorum Rostochiensium