Gerhard Anschütz

Gerhard Anschütz ( born January 10, 1867 in Halle ( Saale), † April 14, 1948 in Heidelberg ) was a German jurist and important constitutional lawyer.

Life and work

Gerhard Anschütz, son of the legal historian August Anschütz studied law at the University of Halle, Leipzig University, the University of Geneva and at the Friedrich- Wilhelms-Universität, Carl Friedrich von Gerber and Paul Laband. Anschütz was habilitated in 1896 in Berlin. He was already in the Empire a major constitutional law, Anschütz was Professor of Public Law since 1899 at the Eberhard -Karls- University Tübingen, 1900 at the Ruprecht -Karls- University of Heidelberg, in 1908 at the Friedrich- Wilhelms- University of Berlin and at his own request, since 1916 back in Heidelberg.

Anschütz became the leading commentator of the Weimar Constitution. His constitution Comment reached fourteen times in the fourteen years of the Weimar Republic. Together with Richard Thoma Anschütz published the important two -volume handbook of German constitutional law.

While Anschütz was still standing at the beginning of his scientific career in the shadows and spell of his teacher Carl Friedrich von Gerber and Paul Laband, he began to develop his law- positivist point of view, based on his pioneering dogmatic works of public law.

In the Weimar Republic Anschütz was involved as a leading constitutional authority in a number of legal issues. So, he took part at about the Provincial Conference of 1928, a summary of the Hessian territories and was the representative of the Prussian government in conflict Prussia contra Reich before the State Court. In April 1933, Anschütz occurred after early return of Venia Legendi due to its rejection of National Socialism in retirement.

The family tomb Anschütz is located at the Heidelberg hill cemetery in the Division G.

As an avowed anti-Nazi Anschütz worked since 1945 as a consultant to the U.S. military government in Frankfurt. In this capacity he was one of the fathers of the founding and the Constitution of United - Hesse.

Works (selection)

• George Meyer: Textbook of German constitutional law. Edited by Gerhard Anschütz, 6th edition, Leipzig, 1905.
• Gerhard Anschütz: Review by Hugo Preuss: The German people and politics, in: Prussian Yearbooks, p 164, 1916
• Gerhard Anschütz / Richard Thoma (Eds. ): Handbook of German constitutional law, 2 volumes, Tübingen 1932.
• Gerhard Anschütz: The Constitution of the German Empire August 11, 1919 One Comment on Science and Practice, 14th edition, Berlin 1933.
• Gerhard Anschütz, from my life. Memories of Gerhard Anschütz, edited and introduced by Walter Pauly, Frankfurt / Main ( 1993)

Secondary literature

• Ernst Forsthoff: Gerhard Anschütz, in: The State 6 (1967 ), p 139
• Horst Dreier: A professor of constitutional law in times of upheaval. Gerhard Anschütz (1867-1948), in: ZNR 20 (1998 ), pp. 28-48
• Hans Nawiasky: Anschütz Gerhard. In: New German Biography ( NDB ). Volume 1, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1953, ISBN 3-428-00182-6, p 307 ( digitized ).
• Walter Pauly, Gerhard Anschütz. An Introduction, in: Arthur Jacobson and Bernhard Schlink ( Ed. ): Weimar, A Jurisprudence of Crisis, 2001.
• Reich Manual of the German Society - The Handbook of personalities in word and picture, Volume One, German economy Verlag, Berlin, 1930, pp. 29, ISBN 3-598-30664-4