Trautmann and Altheim published a number of books on history,
runes and petroglyphs, and the migration of Indo-Germanic peoples.
They joined the
Ahnenerbe and received funding for more research at Val Camonica and in the
Middle East where they also acted as agents for the
Nazi intelligence service. In 1940 Trautmann tried to get Ahnenerbe funding for an expedition to
Brittany to study the
megalithic monuments there, but was turned down in favor of a male researcher,
Herbert Jankuhn.
After
World War II Trautmann's work for the Ahnenerbe prevented her from continuing her academic career.[2]
She co-authored, illustrated, or provided photos for a number of books, with Altheim and others, in the years surrounding World War II.
Altheim, Franz; Haussig, Hans Wilhelm; Altheim-Stiehl, Ruth; Göbl, Robert; Trautmann-Nehring, Erika (1957).
Finanzgeschichte der Spätantike. Frankfurt/Main: Klostermann.
OCLC600746273.
Bibliography
Reena Perschke: Die Felsbildforscherin Erika Trautmann-Nehring (1897-1968), in: Sonja Häder/Ulrich Wiegmann (Ed.): An der Seite gelehrter Männer. Frauen zwischen Emanzipation und Tradition, Klinkhardt 2017, pp. 225–269,
ISBN978-3-7815-2205-3.
Reena Perschke: National-Socialist Researchers in Val Camonica - A short biography of the petroglyph draughtswoman Erika Trautmann-Nehring (1897-1968), Bollettino del Centro Camuno di Studi Preistorici (BCSP), vol. 43, 2019, pp. 5-31.