: Johannes Feichtinger, Herbert Matis, Stefan Sienell, Heidemarie Uhl
: The Academy of Sciences in Vienna 1938 to 1945
: Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften Verlag
: 9783700176091
: 1
: CHF 13.50
:
: 20. Jahrhundert (bis 1945)
: English
: 270
: DRM
: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet
: PDF
In 2013, the Academy is using the 75th anniversary of the 'Anschluss' in March 1938 as an occasion to present an exhibition and to publish a catalog investigating the reactions of the Academy to the Nazi power takeover, the Academy's involvement in the Nazi domination apparatus, and the impact this had on the postwar period. New research findings allow a profound insight into the personnel and institutional structure of the Academy as well as its scientific focus during the Nazi era. The 'Anschluss' of Austria by the National Socialist German Reich in March 1938 marked a profound turning point for the Academy of Sciences in Vienna. With the Nazis' seizure of power, Academy members and staff members were forced to leave for political and 'racial' reasons. They were persecuted and expelled; they died in Nazi concentration camps. Organizations like the Institute for Radium Research, the Vivarium, and the Phonogram Archive lost their key research personnel; worldwide pioneering research programs and international research collaborations were broken off. Under the Academy's new Nazi leadership, the learned society's autonomy was reduced and research projects in the support of Nazi ideology were carried out. The year 1945 was not a 'zero hour.' In addition to breaks, there were also continuities in the research institutes as well as the association of scholars. In dealing with Nazism, the Academy took an ambivalent stance: In the early postwar period, the membership of former Nazis was provisionally suspended. A few years later - pursuant to the Amnesty Law of 1948 - practically all former Nazi party members, even high-ranking officials, were re-admitted as members.
00_Titelei1
Sienell Kern englisch5
Preface to the English edition7
Preface9
I. The “Anschluss”and Nazi Rule11
The “Anschluss” and Nazi RuleAustria 1938–194513
The initial reactions to the “Anschluss”in the Academy of Sciences21
I. 1. The Protagonists27
The Presiding Committee of the Academyduring the Nazi Era27
Heinrich (von) Srbik (1878–1951)and the Academy of Sciences35
The two careers of Fritz Knoll45
I. 2. Consequences of the “Anschluss”53
Exclusion of members53
Filling of vacant positionsfollowing the exclusion of ordinary members61
Consequences for the academic staff –the case of Leo Hajek69
Administrative staff77
The revision of the Statutes87
I. 3. New programmatic and structural orientation93
Speeches by Academy President Heinrich (von) Srbik at the Ceremonial Sessions93
Expelled, burnt, sold, forgotten, and suppressed.101
Transformations in research policy113
Science “in the service of the German people”123
I. 4. National and International Interconnections133
The “national honor” of German Academies133
“Increase the achievements of German scienceby all available means”141
II. Dealing withNational Socialismafter 1945149
Tasks and areas of responsibilityof the new Presiding Committee151
Denazification at the Academy of Sciences163
1945 and after. One break and two continuities181
Centennial anniversary of theAcademy of Sciences 1947191
III. Short Biographies201
IV. Appendix251
Abbreviations253
Bibliography254
Table of figures263
Personenregister265
Notes on contributors270