Popular and loyal to the regime: The life and work of CVDZ President Wilhelm Herrenknecht

Introduction: In 1926 Wilhelm Herrenknecht succeeded Otto Walkhoff as president of the CVDZ (today: DGZMK). His fame, however, remained well below that of his predecessor. Accordingly, today's knowledge of Herren-knecht's professional work is limited. His relationship to National Socialism has also hardly been discussed. The present contribution takes these gaps in research as an opportunity to provide a synoptic reconstruction of Herren-knecht's life and work, with special emphasis on his role in the "Third Reich". Material and methods: The study is based on archival records from Berlin and Freiburg i. Br., Herrenknecht's published œ uvre and the memoirs of his assistant Erwin Neu. In addition, a comprehensive evaluation of secondary literature on the history of the Freiburg dental clinic and on Herrenknecht himself was carried out. Results: Herrenknecht was a practically versed university teacher and specialist politician who strove for balance but left hardly any traces in scientific terms. However, the permanent establishment of the Freiburg Dental Institute can be attributed to him. During the "Third Reich" Herren-knecht became a member of the NSDAP. According to sources, he was consistently loyal to the regime. Discussion and conclusion: Herrenknecht's CVDZ presidency (1926–1928) can be classified as a prototypical interim presidency between the "Walkhoff era" (1906–1926) and the "Euler era" (1928–1954). He did not reach the importance of the two colleagues, neither in terms of professional policy nor in scientific terms. During the Nazi era, Herrenknecht acted as a typical follower. Because of his loyalty to the line, he contributed to the acceptance of the Nazi regime – albeit without appearing as a fervent National Socialist. Keywords: chloroethyl narcosis, CVDZ, Freiburg im Breisgau, NSDAP, National Socialism