Klaeber, Fr. (Friedrich), 1863-1954

Frederick Klaeber taught Old and Middle English and English Philology at the University of Minnesota 1893-1931. He was considered the world's leading authority on Beowulf at that time. On retirement, he returned to Germany, took a non-paying teaching position at the University of Berlin, was forced by the Nazi Party to become a German citizen, and was never able to return to the U.S. In September, 1945, he and his wife were refugees in Bad Koesen, in the Russian zone and nearly destitute. They obtained help from their former colleagues at the University of Minnesota, but their U.S. property had been confiscated under the Alien Property Act.

Frederick Klaeber taught Old and Middle English and English Philology at the University of Minnesota from 1893-1931. He was born in Beetzendorff, Prussia in 1863. He received his Ph.D. in 1892 at the University of Berlin and was recognized as the world's leading authority on Beowulf. Dr. Klaeber spent his entire academic career at the University of Minnesota. He was appointed Assistant Professor of English Philology in 1896 and Professor of English and Comparative Philology. At the time of his retirement he was Professor Emeritus of English and Comparative Philology.

After retiring from the University, Dr. Klaeber and his wife Emma returned to Germany. He took a non-paying teaching position at the University of Berlin and kept in contact with his friends and colleagues in Minnesota. He hoped to be able to renew his passport and a letter, written in 1939 to University president Guy Stanton Ford, in which he expressed interest in doing so. Unfortunately, he was forced by the Nazi Party to become a German citizen. He never returned to the United States and his estate was later confiscated by the United States government under the Alien Property Act.

Dr. Klaeber was not heard from again until September 1945. By then his home in Berlin had been bombed and he and his wife were forced to take refuge in Bad Koesen, in the Russian zone, broke and nearly starving. Friends and colleagues, including presidents Guy Stanton Ford and James Morrill, and Joseph Warren Beach were able to get food and clothing to him. In 1951, Dr. Klaeber began the process of beginning a scholarship fund with $60,000 of his money held in Minnesota but unavailable to him because of legal and political obstacles. In 1954 the Frederick Klaeber Scholarship Fund became a reality. Professor Klaeber died October 4, 1954 in Bad Koesen (East Germany).