But in general, I'd say that an album like Ummagumma was hugely influential to the early scene. I've also read a lot of Krautrock gurus mentioning that exact album as the one that 'opened their eyes' to something new in music.

Then there's Stockhausen. A man like Holger Czukay studied under him and brought forth to his upcoming band, CAN, a certain frivolous attitude to alien sounds and in essence: how to make music. 

........and of course the whole 60s mantra of music that sets you free. Much of the Krautrock I love the most sounds like the 60s - only much more crooked, strange and experimental. 

On top of that, you've got all these theatres, communities, artists, painters, actors, directors, authors, political folks and so on - all of these people living together and sharing their thoughts on....well basically everything - that emulsified into a new direction - and especially in music. 

Often you come across places on the internet, where Krautrock is mentioned as one of the few musical directions that started with a clean slate. The music was a strong reaction to the nazi rule of yesteryear - more specifically to the nazi teachers who were still doing their jobs after the war, because the country had been bombed to smithereens and nobody could afford to hire new ones. 

Now as much as I'd like to support this romantic notion of music that springs out the forehead of musicians like an ancient Greek birth, I hear far too many similarities with the psychedelic 60s, the Eastern flirtations of the times - as well as the highly progressive ideas surrounding how to live together, live with the rest of the world, how to eat and love.

So yeah......no vote from me, but this could turn into a nice discussion

I totally agree with this. It depends on the band.

As far as jazz laden Krautrock groups go, it's obvious that they picked up a thing or two from Wolfgang. 

Terry Riley was also a key figure. His beautiful experimentations with minimalist music and electronics inspired many a Krautrock musicians -hell even folks from outside of Germany. Folks who were in bands, that I myself proudly call Krautrock. Swedish International Harvester, for instance, saw Riley live back in the 60s and got so wired about the possibilities of this new tonal music that develops as it goes along, and then proceeded to record their now classic 'Sov gott Rose Marie'. Had it been released with German lyrics, it would be looked upon today as a cornerstone of the genre. Same goes for the two Älgarnas Trädgård records, that sound strangely close to a Swedish folk influenced Amon Düül ll. 

The Kosmische vibe is to be found all across the globe - music that sounds oh so familiar if you're attuned into the German way of space trucking. One of the reasons why I've never felt the word Krautrock was derogatory...hell by now, it's almost a compliment. Especially coming from yours truly.