Professor Kuuntzel was born in Breslan (now Wroclaw) Poland. After receiving his Ph.D., in 1923 he joined the staff of Prof. Edmund Stiasny at the Institute for Tanning Chemistry at the Technical University in Darmstadt. He also studied inorganic complexes for two semesters with Prof. Pfeifer in Bonn. After Stiasny emigrated in 1933, his chair was vacant until 1961 when it was given to Kuuntzel. Kuuntzel spent several months in the Tanners Council Laboratory in Cincinnati and visited several U. S. tanneries. When Collegium gave up the ghost in 1943 he worked to revive it, and in 1950 he published the first issue of Das Leder which he edited for 12 years.