Krammer was educated at the University of Wisconsin in the capital city ofMadison, Wisconsin, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science in history and chemistry in 1963, a Master of Arts in German history and Russian studies in 1965, and a Ph.D., also in German history, in 1970. He also received a history diploma obtained in 1963 from the University of Vienna in Austria. From 1970 to 1974, Krammer was an assistant professor at Rockford College, since a university, in Rockford, Illinois. He came to TAMU in 1974 as an associate professor and was elevated to full professor in 1979. He is the sole author of seven books, the most recent of which is War Crimes, Genocide, and the Law: Historical Perspective, published in 2009. He is a co-author of five other books and has penned scores of historical articles and book reviews in various learned journals, such as The Journal of Contemporary History, Slavic Review, The Russian Review, German Studies Review and Journal of Military History. On his last day of teaching at TAMU on April 30, 2015, the end of a 45-year academic career, dozens of Krammer's colleagues and family members barged into his class through the back doors to celebrate the beginning of his retirement. "All I've done all my life is learn. It's been wonderful," Krammer told the Bryan-College Station Eagle. Krammer's influence reached far from his role as a professor at TAMU. In the early 1990s after being contacted by Vincent Spione regarding Camp Ruston, a WWII POW camp located in Louisiana, Krammer guided and mentored Spione and supported the extensive historical research of Camp Ruston. Krammer was instrumental in sharing his knowledge and participation in support of the CAMP RUSTON FOUNDATION and symposium where numerous former POWs participated. Krammer's influence lead to one of the most comprehensive research of any POW camp of the era. In addition to his Fulbright awards, Krammer was among a handful of TAMU professors to win two Distinguished Achievement Awards. He lists his inspirations as his wife, Jan Smith Krammer, and colleagues R. J. Q. Adams and Chester Dunning, specialists in British and Russian studies, respectively. Krammer said that in retirement he intended to work on more books, including one on racial and ethnic intolerance in the United States during World War II. "It's interesting as a history professor to see how people often make the wrong choice without seeing how it turned out two generations before them. People often fail to learn from the past,.... Before you make a choice, look back at what other people did before you. That is the value of history," Krammer said.
Principal works
In addition to War Crimes, Genocide, and the Law: Historical Perspective, Krammer has written:
Prisoners of War: A Reference Handbook, also part of the Contemporary Military, Strategic, and Security Issues Series. ;.
Die internierten Deutschen: Feindliche Ausländer in den USA, 1941-1947.
Undue Process: The Untold Story of America’s German Enemy Aliens ;.
PW-Gefangen in Amerika: Die umfassende Darstellung über die US-Kriegsgefangenschaft von 400000 deutschen Soldaten.
The Forgotten Friendship: Israel and the Soviet Bloc, 1947-1953
Awards
1975: National Jewish Book Award in the Israel category for The Forgotten Friendship: Israel and the Soviet Bloc, 1947-1953
Death
Krammer died a month after his 77th birthday in Bryan, adjacent to College Station. In addition to his wife of twenty-seven years, the former Jan Smith, he was survived by two sons, Adam Krammer of San Francisco, California and Douglas Glen Krammer and wife, the former Erin Lowery of College Station, three grandchildren, and a brother, Steven Krammer and wife Marlene of Los Angeles, California.
