Werner Conze
Encyclopedia
Werner Conze was a German historian in Nazi Germany
and in post-World War II Germany. He was one of the notable members of the Schieder commission
. He came from a family of academics and lawyers. His grandfather was Alexander Conze, the archeologist who excavated the Pergamon Altar.
Werner Conze was a doctoral student of Hans Rothfels
in Königsberg
under the Nazis, where he claimed in his research that Germans had a positive role in development of eastern Europe. With the Nazis taking power, Conze, together with Schieder and Rothfels, helped to institutionalize racial ethnic research in the Third Reich. According to German historian Ingo Haar
, "the Nazis made use of (this) racist scholarship, which lent itself gladly". He was awarded his Ph.D.
in 1934. While working for German espionage, in 1936, Conze prepared a document which portrayed Poland as backward and in need of German order and which recommended the exclusion of Jews from the legal system as Conze considered them outside the law. In further work issued in 1938 Conze continued in similar vein, blaming lack of industry in Belarus
on "Jewish domination" Between 1937 and 1940 in a series of articles Conze proposed "dejewification" of Eastern Europe, particularly Lithuania and Belarus.
He joined the NSDAP in the late 1930s. Conze's Nazi Party membership number was 5,089,796.
Conze volunteered for army service in 1938, aged 27. After the beginning of World War II
, he first fought in France where he was wounded. During his recovery at a military hospital, he completed a book on agrarian structures and population in Lithuania
and Belarus
. The study led to his habilitation
at the University of Vienna. Conze then fought at the eastern front
. In the meantime his family fled west. At the end of the war Conze ended up in a Soviet POW camp.
After the war, Conze taught at the universities of Goettingen, Muenster, and - from 1957 to his retirement in 1979 - Heidelberg.
During his late years he published an eight volume encyclopedia on basic concepts of history, "Geschichtliche Grundbegriffe" which he co-authored and edited together with Otto Brunner and Reinhard Koselleck.
Conze's final book was written in 1986 in which he portrayed Germans as "cultivators" of "Slavonic East" which he described as "threatening German soil".
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
and in post-World War II Germany. He was one of the notable members of the Schieder commission
Schieder commission
Documents on the Expulsion of the Germans from Eastern-Central Europe is the abridged English translation of a multi-volume publication that was created by a commission of West German historians between 1951 and 1961...
. He came from a family of academics and lawyers. His grandfather was Alexander Conze, the archeologist who excavated the Pergamon Altar.
Werner Conze was a doctoral student of Hans Rothfels
Hans Rothfels
Hans Rothfels was a nationalist conservative German historian. He supported an idea of authoritarian German state, dominance of Germany over Europe and was hostile to Germany's eastern neighbours...
in Königsberg
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
under the Nazis, where he claimed in his research that Germans had a positive role in development of eastern Europe. With the Nazis taking power, Conze, together with Schieder and Rothfels, helped to institutionalize racial ethnic research in the Third Reich. According to German historian Ingo Haar
Ingo Haar
Ingo Haar is a German historian. He received his Master of Arts from the University of Hamburg in 1993 and his PhD in History in 1998 at the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg...
, "the Nazis made use of (this) racist scholarship, which lent itself gladly". He was awarded his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in 1934. While working for German espionage, in 1936, Conze prepared a document which portrayed Poland as backward and in need of German order and which recommended the exclusion of Jews from the legal system as Conze considered them outside the law. In further work issued in 1938 Conze continued in similar vein, blaming lack of industry in Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
on "Jewish domination" Between 1937 and 1940 in a series of articles Conze proposed "dejewification" of Eastern Europe, particularly Lithuania and Belarus.
He joined the NSDAP in the late 1930s. Conze's Nazi Party membership number was 5,089,796.
Conze volunteered for army service in 1938, aged 27. After the beginning 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 first fought in France where he was wounded. During his recovery at a military hospital, he completed a book on agrarian structures and population in Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
and Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
. The study led to his habilitation
Habilitation
Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis based on independent...
at the University of Vienna. Conze then fought at the eastern front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
. In the meantime his family fled west. At the end of the war Conze ended up in a Soviet POW camp.
After the war, Conze taught at the universities of Goettingen, Muenster, and - from 1957 to his retirement in 1979 - Heidelberg.
During his late years he published an eight volume encyclopedia on basic concepts of history, "Geschichtliche Grundbegriffe" which he co-authored and edited together with Otto Brunner and Reinhard Koselleck.
Conze's final book was written in 1986 in which he portrayed Germans as "cultivators" of "Slavonic East" which he described as "threatening German soil".