Heinz Gollwitzer
Encyclopedia
Heinz Gollwitzer was a German
historian
. He held the chair of Modern Political and Social History at the University of Münster
.
and grew up in Munich
. After being severely wounded in World War II
he took up his studies (history and German literature) at the University of Munich, earning his Ph.D. in 1944. He earned his qualification to teach as a professor in 1950 with a thesis called “The Image of Europe and the European Thought – Contributions to the German History of Ideas”. He subsequently taught at universities in Munich and Münster until retiring in 1982. He died in Munich.
during the post war age, his impact on colleagues and students was rather small. This outsider position was to change from the beginning of the early Nineties, when historians became more and more sensible to universal history
as well as to the relevance of personality in history, such in the case of the German nobility
from the end of the ancien régime to the end of middle European monarchies in 1918, which was one of Gollwitzer's basic scientific aims.
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...
historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
. He held the chair of Modern Political and Social History at the University of Münster
University of Münster
The University of Münster is a public university located in the city of Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. The WWU is part of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, a society of Germany's leading research universities...
.
Life
Gollwitzer was born in NurembergNuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
and grew up in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
. After being severely wounded in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he took up his studies (history and German literature) at the University of Munich, earning his Ph.D. in 1944. He earned his qualification to teach as a professor in 1950 with a thesis called “The Image of Europe and the European Thought – Contributions to the German History of Ideas”. He subsequently taught at universities in Munich and Münster until retiring in 1982. He died in Munich.
Scientific Focus
Gollwitzer's books mostly deal with the history of mentalities and political ideas, as well as with German regional history and biography. Due to the preponderance of structural history in the German scientific communityScientific community
The scientific community consists of the total body of scientists, its relationships and interactions. It is normally divided into "sub-communities" each working on a particular field within science. Objectivity is expected to be achieved by the scientific method...
during the post war age, his impact on colleagues and students was rather small. This outsider position was to change from the beginning of the early Nineties, when historians became more and more sensible to universal history
Universal history
Universal history is basic to the Western tradition of historiography, especially the Abrahamic wellspring of that tradition. Simply stated, universal history is the presentation of the history of humankind as a whole, as a coherent unit.-Ancient authors:...
as well as to the relevance of personality in history, such in the case of the German nobility
German nobility
The German nobility was the elite hereditary ruling class or aristocratic class from ca. 500 B.C. to the Holy Roman Empire and what is now Germany.-Principles of German nobility:...
from the end of the ancien régime to the end of middle European monarchies in 1918, which was one of Gollwitzer's basic scientific aims.
German
- Europabild und Europagedanke. Beiträge zur deutschen Geistesgeschichte des 18. und 19. Jahrhunderts, Munich 1951 (zugl. Habil.).
- Die Standesherren. Die politische und gesellschaftliche Stellung der Mediatisierten 1815-1918, Stuttgart 1957 (Göttingen ²1964).
- Die gelbe Gefahr. Geschichte eines Schlagworts, Göttingen 1962.
- Geschichte des weltpolitischen Denkens, 2 Bde., Göttingen 1972-82.
- Ludwig I. von Bayern. Königtum im Vormärz, München 1986 (²1997).
- Ein Staatsmann des Vormärz: Karl von Abel, 1788-1859, Göttingen 1993.
- Weltpolitik und deutsche Geschichte (ed. Hans-Christof Kraus), Göttingen 2008. ISBN 978-3525360712.
Sources
- Heinz Dollinger et al. (ed.), Weltpolitik, Europagedanke, Regionalismus. Festschrift in the honour of Heinz Gollwitzer's 65th birthday, Münster 1982 (German).
- News release of the University of Münster to the death of Heinz Gollwitzer, December 28 1999 (German)