Eckart Kehr

Eckart Kehr ( born June 21, 1902 in Brandenburg an der Havel, † May 29 1933 in Washington, DC ) was a German historian and political scientist who worked on the foreign and economic policy of the German Empire in the late 19th century.

Life

Sweeping grew up as the son of classical scholar and director of the Brandenburg Knight Academy on the dome, Privy Councillor Dr. JW Huldreich Kehr, on and on coveted early against the discipline of the Squire school. This reflects a considerable dislike of the Prussian ruling class began to emerge.

The nephew of Paul Fridolin Kehr medievalists studied in Berlin history, sociology, economics and politics. His main academic teacher and doctor father was Friedrich Meinecke, but in addition he also studied with Hans Roth Rock and others. Return in 1927 received his doctorate with a thesis on Schlachtflottenbau and party politics from 1894 to 1901, which is considered his major work.

" My studies began under the sign of the political history and philosophy. In its course, however, urged particularly intense in the advance work for the fleet book, more and more the problem of the influence of pure politics by the economic and social structure in the foreground, and to study the relationship between the two became the focus of my scientific interests. "

In his dissertation sweeping set apart the relationship between foreign and domestic policy of the German Empire. Sweeping denied the then prevailing view that the German foreign policy had responded mainly to influences from abroad. Rather, it was mainly influenced by contrasts between Junkers and the bourgeoisie in Germany. Thus, the naval construction had been pursued in order to strengthen the political in the Reichstag strongly represented capitalism. These domestic developments have greatly influenced the foreign policy. His teacher Meinecke expressed because of the then radical thesis concerns Kehr's career prospects:

" [ S] ore good, very interesting [ ... ] but terribly radical. How should the young man only thrive if it does not moderates? "

In numerous essays in the following years, sweeping dealt with the Prussian and German social and constitutional history since the early 19th century. After the appearance in 1930 his thesis was internationally very well received (especially by Charles A. Beard, Vladimir Khvostov and Wilhelm Mommsen ), in Germany, however, there was rejection before. An attempt to habilitation with a thesis on economics and politics in the Prussian reform era, which is considered lost, in 1931 Hans Roth Rock in Königsberg, failed because of the left- sweeping was seen as politically exposed. With the same work, sweeping applied to the Freiherr- vom-Stein- Price: The Historical Commission at the National Archives introduced over the objections Gerhard Ritter, the "superior quality" of the work firmly and said, sweeping the prize money, but refused to give him the actual award of the Price referring to the " unorthodox conclusions ."

Kehr, who was influenced by the ideas of Max Weber and Karl Marx ', exerted strong influence on almost the same historian Wolfgang Hall garden, with whom he up to his early death led a lively correspondence since their first meeting in the fall of 1930, in which the both Marxist-oriented outsider of the former German historiography mutually encouraged and supported.

Since 1929, sweeping taught at the German University of policies. The topics of his lectures and seminars ranging from the 19th century to the Weimar Republic. To continue its international comparative studies on the connection between business and politics, he applied for a research grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, which was granted to him by the end of 1932 the use of Friedrich Meinecke, his uncle Paul F. Kehr and Friedrich Schmidt -Ott. So that he could travel to the U.S., where he first began a brief lecture tour in January 1933. On May 29, he died in a Washington hospital of heart failure related to his congenital heart defect and exhaustion of the trip to the USA. His ashes were interred in Gluckstadt on the Elbe.

Effect

Hermann Oncken designated return as the "enfant terrible " among German historians of the Weimar Republic. Gerhard Ritter 1931 went even further:

" This gentleman should be, it seems to me, dear habilitate the same in Russia as in Königsberg. For since he is obviously way: one of our history quite dangerous, Edelbolschewisten. '"

Plans a publication of Kehr's estate that had Charles Beard, Walter Dorn and Alfred Vagts forced, had to be adjusted according to the resistance of the family. During the period of National Socialism and the post-war return came almost entirely in Germany in oblivion, while in America - was further rezipiert - mainly by emigrants as Alfred Vagts and George WF Hall garden. His works were of German historians since the mid-1960s - revived - under the influence of Hans -Ulrich Wehler.

Kehr's historical work on the genesis of the royal Prussian reserve officer, about the " social system of reaction in Prussia under the Ministry Puttkamer " as well as the coalition of big landowners and heavy industry to Schlachtflottenbau were, however, already from the political scientist Franz Neumann in the chapter The collapse of the Weimar Republic from Behemoth used.

Writings

• Schlachtflottenbau and party politics, 1894-1901. Berlin 1930, reprint Vaduz, 1966 ( dissertation Berlin 1927).
• The primacy of domestic policy - Collected Essays on the Prussian- German social history in the 19th and 20th centuries .. Edited by Hans -Ulrich Wehler, with a foreword by Hans Herzfeld, De Gruyter, Berlin, 1965, paperback edition Ullsteinhaus, Berlin 1976, ISBN 3 -548-03269-9.