 Plagge akaberekerwa mumhuri yePrussian muDarmstadt, Germany, musi wa10 Chikunguru 1897; vazhinji vemadzitateguru ake vaive vanachiremba vemauto. Baba vaPlagge vakafa muna 1904, vachisiya Plagge, amai vake, uye hanzvadzi yake yakura. Pashure pokupedza kudzidza paLudwig-Georgs-Gymnasium, chikoro chesekondari chainyanya kutaura nezvezvinyorwa zvekare, Plagge akanyoresa muuto reGermany. Akarwa somutevedzeri muHondo Yenyika I paWestern Front, achibatanidzwa muhondo dzeSommeVerdun, uye Flanders. Akaiswa mutorongo mumusasa wevasungwa vehondo vokuBritain kubva muna 1917 kusvika muna 1920, akabatwa neporiyo uye akaremara gumbo rake rokuruboshwe. Paakasunungurwa, Plagge akadzidza unyanzvi hwemakemikari paTechnische Universität Darmstadt, akapedza kudzidza muna 1924. Akanga ada kufunda mushonga asi akadziviswa papurogiramu yokudzidza yakareba inodikanwa nemhaka yezvinetso zvemari zvemhuri yake. Apedza kudzidza, akaroora Anke Madsen, asi vaviri vacho vaifanira kugara naamai vake nekuda kwemari yavo. Asingashandi, aishandisa imba yokudzidzira mishonga. 