 He was trained in biology by herpetologist Oskar Boettger (1844–1910) and malacologist Wilhelm Kobelt (1840–1916).From 1911 to 1936 he was a curator of invertebrate zoology at the Senckenberg Museum in Frankfurt am Main.On June 30, 1936, he was removed from his position at the Senckenberg Museum by the Nazis.