Alphons Silbermann
Encyclopedia
Alphons Silbermann was a German
Jewish sociologist
, musicologist
, entrepreneur
and publicist
.
Born in Cologne
, he studied musicology, sociology and law at the Universities of Cologne, Freiburg
i. Br. and Grenoble
. After he gained his doctorate (Dr. jur.), the rise of Nazism
led Silbermann to emigrate to Netherland
and 1938 from Amsterdam
via Paris
, where he worked as a waiter, to Sydney
. In Australia
he started as a dishwasher but went soon from rags to riches
with his own fast food restaurant Silver's Food Bars. He actually initiated the first fastfood chain of Australia and was a very successful entrepreneur.
His academic career startet 1944 in Sydney at the State Conservatory of Music. As an empirical culture-sociologist he went back to Europe (especially Paris) in 1951. In 1958 René König
brought him back to Cologne, where he taught at the University. 1964 he was called at the University of Lausanne as a successor of Vilfredo Pareto
and later at the University of Bordeaux
(1974–1979).
Alphons Silbermann was a member of the "Cologne School" (Kölner Schule) along with René König
and others. He was one of the editors of the Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie
(KZfSS) and foundet the Institut für Massenkommunikation (Institute of Mass Communication
). He was an important German pioneer of empirical methods, as against the ideological biases of many contemporal colleagues like his favorite opponent Theodor W. Adorno
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Jewish sociologist
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
, musicologist
Musicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
, entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
and publicist
Publicist
A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a public figure, especially a celebrity, a business, or for a work such as a book, film or album...
.
Born in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, he studied musicology, sociology and law at the Universities of Cologne, Freiburg
Freiburg
Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. In the extreme south-west of the country, it straddles the Dreisam river, at the foot of the Schlossberg. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest in the Upper Rhine Plain...
i. Br. and Grenoble
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
. After he gained his doctorate (Dr. jur.), the rise of Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
led Silbermann to emigrate to Netherland
Netherland
Netherland is a critically acclaimed novel by Joseph O'Neill. It concerns the life of a Dutchman living in New York in the wake of the September 11 attacks who takes up cricket and starts playing at the Staten Island Cricket Club.-Plot summary:...
and 1938 from Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
via Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where he worked as a waiter, to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. In Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
he started as a dishwasher but went soon from rags to riches
Rags to riches
Rags to Riches refers to any situation in which a person rises from poverty to wealth, or sometimes from obscurity to fame. This is a common archetype in literature and popular culture ....
with his own fast food restaurant Silver's Food Bars. He actually initiated the first fastfood chain of Australia and was a very successful entrepreneur.
His academic career startet 1944 in Sydney at the State Conservatory of Music. As an empirical culture-sociologist he went back to Europe (especially Paris) in 1951. In 1958 René König
René König
René König was a German sociologist. He was very influential on West German sociology after 1949.Born in Magdeburg, he 1925 took up Philosophy, Psychology, Ethnology, and Islamic Studies at the Universities of Vienna and Berlin. He gained his doctorate 1930 at the Berlin University...
brought him back to Cologne, where he taught at the University. 1964 he was called at the University of Lausanne as a successor of Vilfredo Pareto
Vilfredo Pareto
Vilfredo Federico Damaso Pareto , born Wilfried Fritz Pareto, was an Italian engineer, sociologist, economist, political scientist and philosopher. He made several important contributions to economics, particularly in the study of income distribution and in the analysis of individuals' choices....
and later at the University of Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
(1974–1979).
Alphons Silbermann was a member of the "Cologne School" (Kölner Schule) along with René König
René König
René König was a German sociologist. He was very influential on West German sociology after 1949.Born in Magdeburg, he 1925 took up Philosophy, Psychology, Ethnology, and Islamic Studies at the Universities of Vienna and Berlin. He gained his doctorate 1930 at the Berlin University...
and others. He was one of the editors of the Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie
Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie
The Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie is the most important scientific journal for sociology in German language.- History :...
(KZfSS) and foundet the Institut für Massenkommunikation (Institute of Mass Communication
Mass communication
Mass communication is the term used to describe the academic study of the various means by which individuals and entities relay information through mass media to large segments of the population at the same time...
). He was an important German pioneer of empirical methods, as against the ideological biases of many contemporal colleagues like his favorite opponent Theodor W. Adorno
Theodor W. Adorno
Theodor W. Adorno was a German sociologist, philosopher, and musicologist known for his critical theory of society....
.