Personnel File on Professor Rudolf Weigel

Born in Bretten, Rudolf Weigel (1899–1955) passed the examinations for a Diplom degree in electrical engineering from Karlsruhe Polytechnic in 1923, earned his doctorate in engineering in 1930, and submitted his habilitation thesis there in 1931. Initially, this thesis was rejected by the reviewers. One critic pointed to the lack of scientific explanations for the series of measurements Weigel presented on the transparency of glass. The habilitation proceedings dragged on into the period following the National Socialist takeover in spring 1933. In addition to presenting his scientific arguments in defense of his habilitation thesis, Weigel also highlighted his longstanding support for the National Socialist cause, suggesting it as an influencing factor on an outcome in his favor. His habilitation was ultimately approved — the special relationship he had established with the head of the university division at the Baden Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs, as a valuable informant about anti-Nazi sentiments among his colleagues in Karlsruhe, may have helped. In 1934, Weigel was appointed Associate Professor of Lighting Technology at Karlsruhe Polytechnic. By 1937, he had been promoted to rector and soon afterwards acquired full tenureship. This career illustrates how political attitudes significantly influenced the filling of top academic positions under National Socialism. kn