Charles Crodel was born in Marseille in 1894.  He spent his childhood in France.  After the war, he studied archaeology in Jena from 1918 to 1923.  In 1927, he became professor for painting and graphic art at the Halle School of Arts and Crafts.  In 1933, he lost his job due to the Nazi dictatorship.

From 1945 to 1951, he worked as a professor at the Academy of Industrial Design Halle-Burg Giebichenstein.  In 1945, he became professor at the College of Applied Art in Dresden.  From 1951 to 1963, Crodel worked as a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich.

In 1956, he became a full member of the Academy of Arts in Berlin.  From 1958 to 1965, Crodel held the position of Guest Professor at the University of Louisville, K...