Karl Maria Kaufmann

Karl Maria Kaufmann (March 2, 1872, in Frankfurt am Main – February 6, 1951, in Ranstadt) was a German biblical archaeologist who later embraced National Socialism.

Kaufmann was the son of a merchant of devotional articles who converted from Protestantism to Catholicism and co-founded the Frankfurt Centre Party.

After finishing school, Kaufmann initially studied Catholic theology and Classical archaeology in Berlin, later switching to Fribourg.

During stays at the Campo Santo Teutonico in Rome between 1894 and 1902, Anton de Waal and Orazio Marucchi sparked his interest in biblical archaeology.

[citation needed] After completing his studies and various archaeological investigations in Rome, Kaufmann conducted several independent research trips from 1905 onwards.

Kaufmann, who led the excavations there until 1908[citation needed], undertook another research trip to Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, and Sudan from 1911 to 1912.

[6] Kaufmann, who already held the honorary title of Monsignor within the Catholic Church,[7] married "in advanced years" and had a daughter named Annegret among others in this vita nova.

Ultimately, the project was rejected by the city's cultural office "on moral grounds": "... in Heddernheim stood the Roman stronghold of our homeland, directed against the Germanic people.

", an autobiographical review in which he mainly focused on the time before World War I and his experiences with locals, guests, and traders during his research trips and excavation campaigns.