2018/01/10 by Hans Dietrich Schultz · 2 citations
Environmental Science · Social Sciences · #Ecology, Conservation, and Geographical Studies #European history and politics #German Social Sciences and History
paper · pdf · doi:10.5194/egqsj-66-115-2018
openalex publication_date 2018/01/10 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Abstract. Albrecht Penck was one of the eminent representatives of Quaternary research in the first half of the twentieth century. But apart from this, there was a political-geographical side to Penck, which, since 1945, has long been ignored or downplayed by geographers. Today, given his concept of Volks- und Kulturboden, he is considered as having ushered in German geography the völkisch (ethno-nationalistic) turn. Thus, critics say, he paved the way for Nazi Lebensraum policies and became an accomplice in the resulting crimes. The present contribution examines Penck's political-geographical worldview and reaches an ambivalent conclusion regarding the accusations.