Retirement

Upon his release from prison in May of 1945, Krause was actively involved in reorganizing political affairs in Zingst. He was a co-founder of the local chapter of the CDU but soon came into conflict with the Soviet authorities. When he was threatened with arrest anew, his mental health declined rapidly from 1948 onward. Severely ailing, he requested retirement in mid-1949, which he was granted on January 1, 1950.

Karl von Scheven, bishop of the Pomeranian church as of 1947, thanked Krause in a letter of January 17, 1950 for his faithful service and especially emphasized Krause’s steadfastness in the Nazi era when he courageously and fearlessly defended the Gospel against attack and accepted persecution and adversity. The bishop’s wish that Krause might yet be granted some peaceful years in the circle of his family went unfulfilled: Seriously ill, Krause died on November 30, 1950.