From 1914 to 1916 as a Lance Corporal serving with the Mecklenburg Regiment, he faced the French on the western front at the Battle of the Somme.

After serving for two years he contracted pneumonia and left the battle to recover at the military hospital at Geesthacht on the Elbe near Hamburg.

From 1918 onwards he continued his studies on a course shortened for war veterans (a `Kriegsnotsemester’) at Heidelberg University in Medieval History.

He received his doctorate in 1920 under Karl Hampe, the subject of his dissertation was titled "The Relations of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor to England after 1235".

After his dismissal from civil service in 1934 he had the good fortune to find employment at the rabbinical seminary for training Liberal Jewish rabbis, the Institut für die Wissenschaft des Judentums.

In 1957 he received the title of "unscheduled professor" from the University of Hamburg, whereupon he held regular guest lectures there from 1960 (the year of his retirement in Liverpool) until 1963.

Throughout his life he remained very close to the city of Hamburg, and was able in 1977 give a lecture on Alfred Lichtwark in the auditorium of the former Lichtwarkschule.

An extensive catalog of works can be found in Biographical Bibliographic Church Lexicon Biographisches bibliographisches Kirchen-Lexikon (BBKL), Vol.