Edlef Köppen

(1893-1939) was born in Genthin. He studied Germanic studies, philosophy and art history at the Universities of Kiel and München. In 1914 he volunteered for the Prussian army (Preussische Heer) and fought at the western front from 1914 to 1918. At the end of the war he was reserve officer. Traumatized by the war experience, and suffering from lung contusion, he spent several months in a sanatorium and never fully recovered his health.