Tite Margwelaschwili
Encyclopedia
Tite Margwelaschwili (1891-1946) was a Georgian
philosopher and writer. He studied at the University of Leipzig
and did a doctor's degree in history at the University Halle-Wittenberg in 1914. His career in Georgia was interrupted by the Soviet invasion of the Democratic Republic of Georgia
in 1921.
A member of the Georgian National Democratic Party
and a staunch opponent of the Bolshevik
regime, he emigrated to Germany
and quickly emerged as one of the leaders of Georgian political emigration, being elected a chairman of a sizeable Georgian émigré colony in Berlin
. He lectured philosophy and Oriental studies
at the Frederick William University Berlin
and worked for the Georgian émigré newspaper The Caucasus. He suffered a family tragedy in 1931, when his wife committed suicide because she was homesick.
After the end of World War II
he lived in Berlin-Wilmersdorf
in the British
sector of Berlin. In December 1945 he was decoyed to East Berlin
by Soviet
NKVD
agents who used the notable philosopher Shalva Nutsubidze
as an enticement. Arrested during his visit to Nutsubidze, Margwelaschwili was detained in a prison in the eastern part of the city, interrogated and tortured, deported to Tbilisi
and shot as a traitor in August 1946. His son, Giwi
, subsequently a conspicuous German-Georgian writer, was placed in a Soviet Special Camp at Sachsenhausen
for 18 months.
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
philosopher and writer. He studied at the University of Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
and did a doctor's degree in history at the University Halle-Wittenberg in 1914. His career in Georgia was interrupted by the Soviet invasion of the Democratic Republic of Georgia
Democratic Republic of Georgia
The Democratic Republic of Georgia , 1918–1921, was the first modern establishment of a Republic of Georgia.The DRG was created after the collapse of the Russian Empire that began with the Russian Revolution of 1917...
in 1921.
A member of the Georgian National Democratic Party
National Democratic Party (Georgia)
The National Democratic Party is a political party in Georgia.At the last legislative elections, 28 March 2004, the party was part of the National Democratic Alliance....
and a staunch opponent of the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
regime, he emigrated to Germany
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...
and quickly emerged as one of the leaders of Georgian political emigration, being elected a chairman of a sizeable Georgian émigré colony in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. He lectured philosophy and Oriental studies
Oriental studies
Oriental studies is the academic field of study that embraces Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology; in recent years the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Asian studies and Middle Eastern studies...
at the Frederick William University Berlin
Humboldt University of Berlin
The Humboldt University of Berlin is Berlin's oldest university, founded in 1810 as the University of Berlin by the liberal Prussian educational reformer and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt, whose university model has strongly influenced other European and Western universities...
and worked for the Georgian émigré newspaper The Caucasus. He suffered a family tragedy in 1931, when his wife committed suicide because she was homesick.
After the end of 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 lived in Berlin-Wilmersdorf
Wilmersdorf
Wilmersdorf is an inner city locality of Berlin, formerly a borough by itself but since Berlin's 2001 administrative reform a part of the new borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf.-History:...
in the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
sector of Berlin. In December 1945 he was decoyed to East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
by Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
agents who used the notable philosopher Shalva Nutsubidze
Shalva Nutsubidze
Shalva Nutsubidze was a Georgian philosopher, translator and public benefactor, one of founders of the Tbilisi State University , founder of Alethology, one of founders of the scientific school in the field of history of Georgian philosophy, Academician of the Georgian Academy of Sciences ,...
as an enticement. Arrested during his visit to Nutsubidze, Margwelaschwili was detained in a prison in the eastern part of the city, interrogated and tortured, deported to Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
and shot as a traitor in August 1946. His son, Giwi
Giwi Margwelaschwili
Giwi Margwelaschwili is a German-language Georgian writer and philosopher.He is the son of the notable Georgian intellectual Tite Margwelaschwili, who moved to Germany after the Red Army invasion of Georgia in 1921 and was chairman of the Georgian political emigre organization in Berlin...
, subsequently a conspicuous German-Georgian writer, was placed in a Soviet Special Camp at Sachsenhausen
Sachsenhausen concentration camp
Sachsenhausen or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used primarily for political prisoners from 1936 to the end of the Third Reich in May, 1945. After World War II, when Oranienburg was in the Soviet Occupation Zone, the structure was used as an NKVD...
for 18 months.
Works
- Titus von Margwelaschwili: Colchis, Iberien und Albanien um die Wende des 1. Jahrhunderts v. Chr. mit besonderer Berücksichtigung Strabo's. Phil. Diss., Halle 1914
- Tite Margvelashvili: Der Mann in Pantherfell. in: Georgica, London 1936