Hans Rosenberg
Encyclopedia
Hans Rosenberg, born February 26, 1904 in Hanover
and died on June 26, 1988 in Freiburg, was a German refugee historian whose works influenced a whole generation of post-war German scholars.
. He took his Phd
there in 1927 under Friedrich Meinecke
, and received his Habilitation
in 1932, despite strong conservative opposition. As the Great Depression unfolded, his attention shifted from the history of ideas and nationalism
, which he studied under Meinecke, to economic cycles. The result of this was a 'stunningly original work' on the world economic crisis of 1857-1859, published in Stuttgart in 1934.
Faculty politics at Cologne, the rise of Nazism and his Jewish ancestry, made the prospect of any career in Germany improbable both for him and his wife Helen (Leni), a promising concert pianist. They were forced into exile and he became one of many refugee historians. He endeavoured to obtain employment, without success, in England, before finally emigrating to for the United States in 1935. He taught briefly at Carlton College before takinfg a position at Brooklyn College
, where he was to teach undergraduates for 23 years. Among his most distinguished pupils there was Raul Hilberg
. His work identified in the power structures and social relations of agrarian society
in Prussia
the roots of the authoritarian and undemocratic character of what he, with others, took to be the Sonderweg, or special path of modern German history.
He taught briefly, for a year (1949–1950) at the Free University of Berlin
, and then at Marburg
in 1955. His influence on the young generation of German historians has led to the claim he was the father of modern social history (Gesellschaftsgeschichte’ in post-war Germany. From 1959 to 1972 he taught at Berkeley and crowned his career as Shepard Professor Emeritus. To this period is dated his classic work, which he reworked for his classic The Great Depression of 1873-1896 in Central Europe (Grosse Depression und Bismarckzeit, 1967). He retired in 1972, and returned for personal reasons to Germany in 1977, settling in Kirchzarten
near the University of Freiburg
, where he had been appointed Honorary Professor the year before. He was awarded the Bundesverdienstkreuz, Ist class by the Federal Republic
in 1979.
He died in 1988, aged 84.
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
and died on June 26, 1988 in Freiburg, was a German refugee historian whose works influenced a whole generation of post-war German scholars.
Life
Though of Jewish ancestry, Rosenberg was raised as a Protestant, in CologneCologne
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 took his Phd
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
there in 1927 under Friedrich Meinecke
Friedrich Meinecke
Friedrich Meinecke was a liberal German historian, probably the most famous German historian of his generation. As a representative of an older tradition still writing after World War II, he was an important figure to the end of his life.-Life:Meinecke was born in Salzwedel in the Province of Saxony...
, and received his Habilitation
Habilitation
Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis based on independent...
in 1932, despite strong conservative opposition. As the Great Depression unfolded, his attention shifted from the history of ideas and nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
, which he studied under Meinecke, to economic cycles. The result of this was a 'stunningly original work' on the world economic crisis of 1857-1859, published in Stuttgart in 1934.
Faculty politics at Cologne, the rise of Nazism and his Jewish ancestry, made the prospect of any career in Germany improbable both for him and his wife Helen (Leni), a promising concert pianist. They were forced into exile and he became one of many refugee historians. He endeavoured to obtain employment, without success, in England, before finally emigrating to for the United States in 1935. He taught briefly at Carlton College before takinfg a position at Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
, where he was to teach undergraduates for 23 years. Among his most distinguished pupils there was Raul Hilberg
Raul Hilberg
Raul Hilberg was an Austrian-born American political scientist and historian. He was widely considered to be the world's preeminent scholar of the Holocaust, and his three-volume, 1,273-page magnum opus, The Destruction of the European Jews, is regarded as a seminal study of the Nazi Final...
. His work identified in the power structures and social relations of agrarian society
Agrarian society
An agrarian society is a society that depends on agriculture as its primary means for support and sustenance. The society acknowledges other means of livelihood and work habits but stresses the importance of agriculture and farming, and was the most common form of socio-economic oganization for...
in Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
the roots of the authoritarian and undemocratic character of what he, with others, took to be the Sonderweg, or special path of modern German history.
He taught briefly, for a year (1949–1950) at the Free University of Berlin
Free University of Berlin
Freie Universität Berlin is one of the leading and most prestigious research universities in Germany and continental Europe. It distinguishes itself through its modern and international character. It is the largest of the four universities in Berlin. Research at the university is focused on the...
, and then at Marburg
Marburg
Marburg is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany, on the River Lahn. It is the main town of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district and its population, as of March 2010, was 79,911.- Founding and early history :...
in 1955. His influence on the young generation of German historians has led to the claim he was the father of modern social history (Gesellschaftsgeschichte’ in post-war Germany. From 1959 to 1972 he taught at Berkeley and crowned his career as Shepard Professor Emeritus. To this period is dated his classic work, which he reworked for his classic The Great Depression of 1873-1896 in Central Europe (Grosse Depression und Bismarckzeit, 1967). He retired in 1972, and returned for personal reasons to Germany in 1977, settling in Kirchzarten
Kirchzarten
Kirchzarten is a town in the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald in the federal-state of Baden-Württemberg in southwestern Germany.A Zionist agricultural training farm was founded in Kirchzarten in 1919 to prepare young people to become farmers in Eretz Israel.The Kirchzarten synagogue had a set...
near the University of Freiburg
University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg , sometimes referred to in English as the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.The university was founded in 1457 by the Habsburg dynasty as the...
, where he had been appointed Honorary Professor the year before. He was awarded the Bundesverdienstkreuz, Ist class by the Federal Republic
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...
in 1979.
He died in 1988, aged 84.
Works
- Die Weltwirtschaftskreise von 1857-1859, Stuttgart 1934
- Grosse Depression und Bismarckzeit. Wirtschaftsablauf, Gesellschaft und Politik in Mitteleuropa, Berlin 1967
- Bureaucracy, aristocracy, and autocracy: the Prussian experience, 1660-1815, Cambridge Massachusetts, (1958) Beacon Press 2nd.ed.,1966
Secondary Literature
- Morton Rothstein, “Drunk on Ideas”: Hans Rosenberg as a Teacher at Brooklyn College,' Central European History (1991), 24 pp 64–68 Cambridge University Press
- Hanna Schissler, ‘Explaining History: Hans Rosenberg’ in Lehmann Hartmut and James J. Sheehan (eds.) An Interrupted Past: German-Speaking Refugee Historians in the United States After 1933, Cambridge University Press,2002 ch.13 pp. 180–187.
- Shulamit Volkov, 'Hans Rosenberg as a teacher: A Few Personal Notes,’ 1991 Conference Group for Central European History of the American Historical Association. Pp. 58ff.