Karl Dietrich Bracher

Karl Dietrich Bracher ( born March 13, 1922 in Stuttgart ) is a German political scientist and historian. He taught at the Free University of Berlin and was from 1959 to 1987 professor of the science of politics and contemporary history at the Rheinische Friedrich- Wilhelms-Universität Bonn. He joined scientifically produced mainly as totalitarianism and democracy researchers. In Bonn, he established the Department of Political Science. With him a doctorate and habilitation more than 120 students; many observers speak of a " Bonner School". Bracher was also from 1965 to 1967 chairman of the German Association of Political Science and co-editor of specialized scientific periodicals. He was awarded for his outstanding contribution to the German political science numerous national and international awards such as the Order of Merit and the Pour le Mérite and has been a visiting professor abroad.

Life

Origin, military service and captivity

Bracher came from an educated middle-class, Protestant family. The great-grandfather Wilhelm Pelargus, at the time Hoferzgießer in Stuttgart, was a member of the art foundry family Pelargus. Bracher's father, Theodor Bracher (1876-1955), worked as a school teacher, department director in the Württemberg Ministry of Culture. The father was a member of the left-liberal DDP. Bracher belonged to a Protestant scout group and enjoyed a humanist education at the Eberhard -Ludwigs -Gymnasium Stuttgart. After graduation in 1940, he was committed to the Reich Labour Service and later for military service in the Wehrmacht. He served as a soldier in the Afrika Korps and came in May 1943 in American captivity, he spent up to February 1946 in a warehouse of destination in the U.S. state of Kansas. In the camp he has been informed by the prisoners of war historian Adam Wandruszka.

Universities of Tübingen and Harvard

From 1946 to 1949 he completed a study of the Old and New history and philosophy, classical philology and literature at the University of Tübingen. In 1948 he was phil at Joseph Vogt with the dissertation decay and progress in the thinking of the early Roman Empire, summa cum laude, Dr.. doctorate. From 1949 to 1950 he was a post -doctoral fellowship at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts; his studies there were interdisciplinary and brought him into contact with renowned scientists such as Arthur M. Schlesinger.

High school teacher in Berlin and Bonn and seminar building

From 1950 to 1955 he was a research assistant in Otto Stammer and deputy director of the Institute for Political Science at the Free University of Berlin. He also was a lecturer at the German University of Politics in Berlin and operational democracy and totalitarianism research. His habilitation was in 1955 with Hans Herzfeld and Ernst Fraenkel at the Free University Berlin with a thesis Dissolution of the Weimar Republic. A study on the problem of power decay in the democracy that is still regarded as a masterpiece of contemporary historiography and, among other things included in the TIME library of 100 books ( nonfiction ) found. Bracher's habilitation was the first policy in Germany in the special sciences. From 1955 to 1958 he worked in Berlin as a lecturer of Political Science and Modern History. In 1958 he was appointed early as adjunct professor.

1959 Bracher was professor of the science of politics and contemporary history at the Rheinische Friedrich- Wilhelms-Universität Bonn. He built there with his first assistant, Hans - Helmuth Knütter, later to become the Professor Hans -Adolf Jacobsen and others in the Department of Political Science. From 1970 he published the book series Bonner writings on politics and contemporary history with Hans -Adolf Jacobsen. Bracher has emerged especially with works on the Weimar Republic and the period of National Socialism ( The German dictatorship ) and the history of 20th century Europe ( The European crisis ) and political ideas ( ideologies of the time ). This is an important area, the topics took a resistance to National Socialism and Political Education.

Bracher remained faithful until his retirement in 1987 and Bonn rejected several calls to Giessen, Hamburg, Cambridge (Harvard ) and Florence from; Visiting professorships and fellowships he took, inter alia true at Stanford, Princeton, Oxford, Washington DC, Canada, Florence, Tel Aviv, Japan, Paris and Sweden. He was among other things at this time represented by scholars such as Klemens von Klemperer, Hans -Adolf Jacobsen and Hans- Helmuth Knütter.

Chairman of scientific associations and publishers

Bracher was 1962-1968 Chairman of the Commission for the History of parliamentarism and political parties. From 1965 to 1967 he was chairman of the German Association of Political Science ( DVPW ). He was the founder and from 1960 to 1969 editor of the political science journal Political Quarterly. From 1980 to 1988 he was Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Institute for Contemporary History in Munich. In 1983 he co-founded the German Society for Political Science ( DGfP ). From 1992 he was part of the editorial board of the Quarterly Journal of Contemporary History. As editor, he participated inter alia to to further scientific journals: German Rundschau, New Political Literature, Journal of Politics and Journal of Contemporary History. He was from 1981 to 1987 Senator of the DFG and advised several research institutions such as the TU Dresden in establishing the Hannah Arendt Institute for Research on Totalitarianism.

Bracher - Conze Controversy

1957 sparked a critical review of the historian Werner Conze at Bracher habilitation dissertation called Bracher - Conze - controversy. Conze threw Bracher found in the Historical Magazine, the presidential cabinet of Heinrich Brüning misguided as the end of the Weimar Republic and to have thus interpreted as a path in the totalitarian Nazi state.

Relationship to politics

Bracher was no party, but maintained good contacts in all federal governments. He stated:

" So we are now sitting in the center of Bonn world politics, a few minutes only from the huge U.S. Embassy, and trying their best to escape the hustle and bustle of the political manager. Namely I do not remember not to confuse politics and political science, especially here. "

Memberships, honors and awards

He is a member of the historical commission to Berlin, the German Academy for Language and Literature, the Commission for the History of parliamentarism and political parties, the PEN center of Germany, the North Rhine- Westphalian Academy of Sciences and Arts, the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society and the British Academy.

Bracher is a member of the Order Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts since 1992. In 1973 he was awarded the Premio Acqui Storia, 1980 European Bentinck Prize, 1987, the Great Cross of Merit with Star of the Federal Republic of Germany, the 1994 Ernst Robert Curtius Prize for essay writing and the Medal of Merit of the State of Baden -Württemberg and 1997, the Great Cross of Merit with star and Sash. He was awarded several honorary doctorates, the Dr. hum. lett h c. ( Florida State ), Dr. iur. h c. (Graz ), Dr. rer. pol. h c. (FU Berlin ), Dr. H.C. ( Institute de Politique, Paris).

Student

Were Doctorate in his 115 students, including Dieter Aderhold, Ulrich von Alemann, Wilfried von Bredow, Ulrich Dübber, Peter Eickenboom, Stephan Eisel, Erhard Forndran, Markus Gestier, Michael T. Greven, Hans -Dieter Heumann, Hubertus Hoffmann, Rudolf van Cases Peter Hüttenberger, Michael J. Inacker, Kurt Klotzbach, Hans- Helmuth Knütter, Christoph Konrad, Ludger Kühnhardt, Margarita Mathiopoulos ( for misrepresentation deprived ), Friedhelm Mennekes, Susanne Miller, Thomas Mirow, Susanne Miller, Patrik of the mills, Karlheinz Niclauß, Fried Pflüger, Hans Karl Rupp, Schönbohm Wulf, Hans -Ulrich Seidt, Hildegard Stausberg and Hans forelands.

In addition, 14 students have with him habilitation among others Wolfgang mountain village, Erhard Forndran, Manfred Funke, Christian Hacke, Peter Hüttenberger, Hans -Adolf Jacobsen, Karl Kaiser, Paul Kevenhörster, Hans- Helmuth Knütter, Ludger Kühnhardt, Karlheinz Niclauß and Wolfgang pillar.

Observers speak of a "Bonn " or " Bracher School "; Bracher rejected this assignment from because of its pluralistic and inclusive approach. In addition, it was never his intention to build one.

Writings

• Decay and progress in the thinking of the early Roman Empire. Dissertation, Tübingen university publication in 1948. Reprint Böhlau, Vienna 1987
• Conscience is on. 64 images of life from the German resistance from 1933 to 1945. Edited: Annedore liver, collected by Annedore liver in cooperation with Willy Brandt, Karl Dietrich Bracher -. Mosaik Verlag, Frankfurt 1954, inter alia, further conditions Hase & Koehler, Mainz 1984 ( Neuaufl. ) ISBN 3-775-81064-1.
• National Socialist seizure of power and Reichskonkordat. An expert opinion on the question of the historical context and the political link of Reich Concordat and the National Socialist revolution. Hessian state government, Wiesbaden 1956.
• The Nazi seizure of power: studies for establishment d totalitarian system in Germany in 1933 / 34th Karl Dietrich Bracher; Wolfgang Sauer; Gerhard Schulz, Cologne 1960.
• The dissolution of the Weimar Republic. A study on the problem of the decay power in a democracy. With e introd by Hans Herzfeld. Ring -Verlag, Stuttgart, 1955. Many more editions. A licensed edition in paperback of the Droste publishing company of 1977, ISBN 3-7610-7216-3
• Germany between democracy and dictatorship: Articles for newer policies and history. Munich 1964
• Adolf Hitler, in the series Archives of world history, joke, Bern / Munich / Vienna 1964.
• The German dictatorship: the origins, structure, consequences of National Socialism. Cologne 1969. Numerous other editions. The Ullstein paperback edition Berlin 1997 ISBN 3-548-26501-4 the.
• The German dilemma: martyrdoms of political emancipation. Munich 1971, ISBN 3-492-01923-4
• The crisis in Europe from 1917 to 1975. Propyläen history of Europe. Bd 6, Karl Dietrich Bracher. with: Jürgen Brockstedt, Frankfurt 1976, ISBN 3-549-05796-2
• Zeitgeschichtliche controversies about fascism, totalitarianism, democracy. Piper, Munich 1976 ISBN 3-492-00442-3. Further conditions
• History and Violence: the politics in the 20th century. Severin and Siedler, Berlin 1981, ISBN 3-88680-024-5
• Time of ideologies. A history of political thought in the 20th century. DVA, Stuttgart 1982.
• National Socialist dictatorship 1933 - 1945: a balance sheet. Karl Dietrich Bracher ... (Eds.), Droste Dusseldorf 1983, ISBN 3-7700-0630-5
• The totalitarian experience. Piper, Munich, 1987. ISBN 3-492-03066-1
• Turning points of history. DVA, Stuttgart 1992. ISBN 3-421-06550-0
• History as an experience: Reflections on the 20th century. DVA, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-421-05444-4

• Other: history of the Federal Republic of Germany. 5 vols, Stuttgart 1981 ff
• German exceptionalism. Myth or reality? Munich 1982.
• With Manfred Funke, Hans -Adolf Jacobsen: National Socialist dictatorship from 1933 to 1945. A balance sheet. Dusseldorf 1983 ( Bonner Writings on Politics and History, Vol 21).
• With Manfred Funke, Hans -Adolf Jacobsen: The Weimar Republic 1918-1933. Politics, economy, society. Dusseldorf 1987 ( Bonner Writings on Politics and History, Vol 22).
• With Manfred Funke, Hans -Adolf Jacobsen: Germany 1933-1945. Recent studies of the Nazi regime. Dusseldorf 1992 ( Bonner Writings on Politics and History, Vol 23).
• With Hans -Adolf Jacobsen, Volker Kronenberg, Oliver Sparrow: politics, history and culture. Science in responsibility for the res publica. Festschrift for Manfred Funke 's 70th birthday. Bouvier, Bonn 2009.