Klaus Mehnert
Encyclopedia
Klaus Mehnert was a globetrotting German
political scientist and a journalist
. As a scholar, he was a prolific author; as a journalist, he practiced in the USSR as a correspondent, in China as a publisher, and in Germany. He was a professor at two American universities before World War II
. In the late 1970s he authored several books on recent youth led political movements (youth movements) in various Western countries.
At the outbreak of World War I
, Mehnert's family had to abandon Moscow for Stuttgart
, Germany. His father died in Flanders
in 1917 as a German soldier. Mehnert attended the University of Tübingen, the University of Munich
, the University of California, Berkeley
(Berkeley), and finally Berlin University, where he received his PhD under Professor Otto Hoetzsch
in 1928. Hoetzsch and Mehnert later took part in the short-lived society to study the soviet command economy, ARPLAN.
Over the next ten years, he traveled frequently, to America, the Soviet Union, Japan, and China. He married Enid Keyes († 1955) in California in 1933. From 1934 to 1936 he served as a Soviet correspondent for a German newspaper.
Subsequently, Mehnert taught politics at Berkeley and then at the University of Hawaii at Manoa
until 1941, where he started intensively studying Russian and Pacific history. Six months prior to America's entry to World War II
, he decided to go to Shanghai
, where, with funding from the German foreign ministry, he published a journal named XXth Century. The journal was discontinued in 1945, when he was briefly imprisoned.
Returning to Germany after the war, he held various positions as journalist, editor, and professor, as well as government advisor on Sino-Russian matters, and published several books in the field of political science.
Since 2005, the "Europainstitut Klaus Mehnert" has offered a student exchange program between his former university RWTH Aachen
and the University of Kaliningrad
.
in English:
in German:
in French:
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...
political scientist and a journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
. As a scholar, he was a prolific author; as a journalist, he practiced in the USSR as a correspondent, in China as a publisher, and in Germany. He was a professor at two American universities before 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...
. In the late 1970s he authored several books on recent youth led political movements (youth movements) in various Western countries.
At the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Mehnert's family had to abandon Moscow for Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, Germany. His father died in Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
in 1917 as a German soldier. Mehnert attended the University of Tübingen, the University of 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...
, the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
(Berkeley), and finally Berlin University, where he received his PhD under Professor Otto Hoetzsch
Otto Hoetzsch
Otto Hoetzsch , was a German academic and politician. Son of a plumber, he studied history, economics and history of art in Leipzig, starting in 1895. In 1899 he obtained a PhD, worked for several newspapers and was active in the Alldeutscher Verband and favoured the creation of a German Navy...
in 1928. Hoetzsch and Mehnert later took part in the short-lived society to study the soviet command economy, ARPLAN.
Over the next ten years, he traveled frequently, to America, the Soviet Union, Japan, and China. He married Enid Keyes († 1955) in California in 1933. From 1934 to 1936 he served as a Soviet correspondent for a German newspaper.
Subsequently, Mehnert taught politics at Berkeley and then at the University of Hawaii at Manoa
University of Hawaii at Manoa
The University of Hawaii at Mānoa is a public, co-educational university and is the flagship campus of the greater University of Hawaii system...
until 1941, where he started intensively studying Russian and Pacific history. Six months prior to America's entry to 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 decided to go to Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, where, with funding from the German foreign ministry, he published a journal named XXth Century. The journal was discontinued in 1945, when he was briefly imprisoned.
Returning to Germany after the war, he held various positions as journalist, editor, and professor, as well as government advisor on Sino-Russian matters, and published several books in the field of political science.
Since 2005, the "Europainstitut Klaus Mehnert" has offered a student exchange program between his former university RWTH Aachen
RWTH Aachen
RWTH Aachen University is a research university located in Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany with roughly 33,000 students enrolled in 101 study programs....
and the University of Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad is a seaport and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea...
.
Selected writings by Klaus Mehnert
in German (some translated)- Ein deutscher Austauschstudent in Kalifornien ("A German exchange student in California"). Stuttgart, 1930
- Die Jugend in Sowjet-Russland. Berlin, 1932; Youth in Soviet Russia. Transl. by Michael Davidson, Westport, Conn., 1981
- The Russians in Hawaii, 1804-19. Hawaii, 1939
- Der Sowjetmensch. Stuttgart, 1958; The Anatomy of Soviet man. Transl. by Maurice Rosenbaum, London, 1961
- Peking und Moskau. Stuttgart, 1962; Peking and Moscow. Transl. by Leila Vennewitz, London, 1963
- China nach dem Sturm. Munich, 1971; China today. Transl. by Cornelia Schaeffer, London, 1972
in English:
- 1952. Stalin Versus Marx: the Stalinist historical doctrine. London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd, 130pp.
- _____ and Maurice Rosenbaum. 1962. Soviet man and his world. New York: Praeger, 310pp.
- Peking and Moscow. 1963. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 522pp
- China Today. 1972. London: Thames and Hudson, 322pp, ISBN 0 500 05032 4
- China Returns. 1972. New York: Dutton, 322pp, ISBN 978 0 525 08000 8
- Moscow and the New Left. 1975. Berkeley & Los Angeles: Univ. of California Press, 275pp, ISBN 978 0 520 02652 0
- Twilight of the Young: the radical movements of the 1960s and their legacy. 1977. New York. 428pp, ISBN 978 0 030 19476 4
- Youth in Soviet Russia. 1981. Hyperion Pr, ISBN 978 0 830 50083 3
- The Russians & Their Favorite Books. 1983. Hoover Inst Pr, ISBN 978 0 817 97821 1
in German:
- Peking und Moskau. 1964. DTV, 508pp
- Der deutsche Standort. 1967. Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, 415pp
- China nach dem Sturm. 1971. Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, 340pp, ISBN 978 3 421 01593 8
- Amerikanische und russische Jugend um 1930. 1973. Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, 297pp, ISBN 978 3 421 01629 4
- Moskau und die neue Linke. 1973. 219pp, ISBN 978 3 421 01661 4
- Jugend im Zeitbruch: Woher-Wohin. 1976. Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, 511pp, ISBN 978 3 421 01753 6
- Kampf um Maos Erbe: Geschichten machen Geschichte. 1977. Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, 319pp, ISBN 978 3 421 01825 0
- Maos Erben machen's anders. 1979. Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, 171pp
- Ein Deutscher in der Welt: Erinnerungen 1906-1981. 1983. Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, 447pp, ISBN 978 3 421 06055 6
- Uber die Russen heute: Was sie lesen, wie sie sind. 1983. Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, 352pp, ISBN 978 3 421 06163 8
in French:
- La Rebelión De La Juventud. 1978.
External links
- The Russian Collections of the UHUniversity of HawaiiThe University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
, initiated by Mehnert. - Europainstitut Klaus Mehnert (GERMAN), named in his remembrance.
- German Wikipedia site on Mehnert translated by Babelfish into English.