Hans F. Sennholz (; ; 3 February 1922 – 23 June 2007) was a German-born American

Austrian School The Austrian School is a heterodox school of economic thought that advocates strict adherence to methodological individualism, the concept that social phenomena result exclusively from the motivations and actions of individuals. Austrian scho ...

economist and prolific author who studied under

Ludwig von Mises Ludwig Heinrich Edler von Mises (; 29 September 1881 – 10 October 1973) was an Austrian School economist, historian, logician, and sociologist. Mises wrote and lectured extensively on the societal contributions of classical liberalism. He is ...

. A

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...

pilot during World War II, he was shot down over North Africa on 31 August 1942, and spent the remainder of the war in a POW camp in the United States. After returning to Germany, Sennholz took degrees at the universities of

Marburg Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approximat ...

in 1948 and

Köln Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 million ...

in 1949. He then moved to the United States to study for a Ph.D. at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

where he became Mises' first PhD student in the United States. He taught

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics anal ...

Grove City College Grove City College (GCC) is a private, conservative Christian liberal arts college in Grove City, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1876 as a normal school, the college emphasizes a humanities core curriculum and offers 60 majors and 6 pre-profession ...

, 1956–1992. After he retired, he became president of the

Foundation for Economic Education The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) is an American conservative, libertarian economic think tank. Founded in 1948 in New York City, FEE is now headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. It is a member of the State Policy Network. FEE offers ...

, 1992–1997.

Early life

World War II

He was drafted into the

during World War II and became the pilot of a

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...

, earning the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...

for valor from his engagements in Norway, France, and Russia. He was shot down over North Africa on August 31, 1942, at a time when the battle for north Africa was intensifying, and spent the remainder of the war in a POW camp in the United States, ultimately located to a

POW camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. ...

in Wilson, Arkansas, where he worked from 1945 to 1946 at the Wilson dairy farm "milking 20 cows twice a day".Arkansas Times, April 1989, p. 52

Wartime diary

During his stay in Arkansas, he maintained a journal of his time as a POW prisoner.Arkansas Times, April 1989, p.53 When he was transferred back to Germany in 1946, he gave the journal to a trusted guard. "Please send this to my home when the time comes." But the journal never arrived. In 1964, William Harrison, a factory worker in Jonesboro, Arkansas, found the journal along the banks of Bay Ditch, a drainage artery bordering 'old' Highway 63, and kept it. In November, 1985, Harrison took the journal to Scott Darwin, a professor of German at Arkansas State University. Darwin informed Harrison that no one on staff could read it because it had been hand written in a script of German that was no longer used. The journal was eventually translated by Erika Cohen, the German-born wife of Robert S. Cohen, M.D., whom she married while he was serving in the U.S. Army Medical Corps. Having attended school in the 1930s, she was able to read the script. The journal told the story of its author's life as a

pilot, being shot down in north Africa and his subsequent time as a German POW in Arkansas. There was no indication as to the identity of the author. This, perhaps, was intentional, as POWs were not supposed to have personal possessions. In 1988, Harrison published the story, "Who Wrote the Diary", in ''

Die Welt ''Die Welt'' ("The World") is a German national daily newspaper, published as a broadsheet by Axel Springer SE. ''Die Welt'' is the flagship newspaper of the Axel Springer publishing group. Its leading competitors are the '' Frankfurter ...

'', a large-circulation German newspaper. Willie Weischhoff read the story, which mentioned him by name, and wrote to his friend and fellow German POW, Hans Sennholz, a professor of economics at

. On October 20, 1988, Harrison received a letter from Sennholz stating: "I am the POW author you have been looking for."

Post-war education and career

After returning to Germany, Sennholz took degrees at the universities of

in 1948 and

in 1949. He then moved to the United States to study for a Ph.D. at

. He was Ludwig von Mises' first PhD student in the United States. He taught

, 1956–1992, having been hired as department chair upon arrival. After he retired, he became president of the

, 1992–1997.

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John C ...

Political Philosopher, John W. Robbins, pointed out in a book printed in honor of Sennholz shortly after his death that "Sennholz, ... rests his defense of a free society on revelation." Fellow Austrian School economist, Joseph Salerno, praised Sennholz as an under-appreciated member of the Austrian School who "writes so clearly on such a broad range of topics that he is in danger of suffering the same fate as

Say Say may refer to: Music *''Say'' (album), 2008 album by J-pop singer Misono * "Say" (John Mayer song), 2007 *"Say (All I Need)", 2007 song by American pop rock band OneRepublic * "Say" (Method Man song), 2006 single by rapper Method Man * "Say" ( ...

and Bastiat. As

Joseph Schumpeter Joseph Alois Schumpeter (; February 8, 1883 – January 8, 1950) was an Austrian-born political economist. He served briefly as Finance Minister of German-Austria in 1919. In 1932, he emigrated to the United States to become a professor at H ...

pointed out, these two brilliant nineteenth-century French economists, who were also masters of economic rhetoric, wrote with such clarity and style that their work was misjudged by their British inferiors as 'shallow' and 'superficial'."

Sennholz's influence

2008 U.S. presidential candidate,

Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, physician and retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977 and again from 1979 to 1985, as we ...

, credits his interest in economics to meeting Sennholz and getting to know him well.

Peter Boettke Peter Joseph Boettke (; born January 3, 1960) is an American economist of the Austrian School. He is currently a professor of economics and philosophy at George Mason University; the BB&T Professor for the Study of Capitalism, vice president for ...

, Director of the F. A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the

Mercatus Center The Mercatus Center is an American libertarian, free-market-oriented non-profit think tank. Located at George Mason University and directed by the American economist Tyler Cowen, the Mercatus Center works with policy experts, lobbyists, and gov ...

George Mason University George Mason University (George Mason, Mason, or GMU) is a public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia with an independent City of Fairfax, Virginia postal address in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. The university was origin ...

, first learned economics from Sennholz as a student at Grove City College.

Bibliography

Articles

"Forecasting."
''

Freeman Freeman, free men, or variant, may refer to: * a member of the Third Estate in medieval society (commoners), see estates of the realm * Freeman, an apprentice who has been granted freedom of the company, was a rank within Livery companies * Free ...

'', vol. 20, no. 1 (January 1970): 11-15.
"What We Can Know About the World."
''

'', vol. 20 (1970): 443.
"Omnipotent Government."
''

'', vol. 20 (1970): 440–442.
"The Great Depression"
''

'' (October 1969)
"The Crisis in International Economic Relations."
'' imprimis'', vol. 2, no. 3 (March 1973): 1-6.

Book reviews

Review of ''Omnipotent Government: The Rise of the Total State and Total War''
by

. ''

'', vol. 20 (1970): 440–442
Full audio.

Books

Authored

* ''Divided Europe''. New York (1955) *
How Can Europe Survive?
' New York: D. Van Nostrand Company (1955) * ''Moneda y libertad''.

Buenos Aires, Argentina Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South A ...

(1961) * ''The Great Depression''. Lansing, MI (1969) * ''Inflation or Gold Standard''. Lansing, MI (1973) * ''Death and Taxes''. Washington, D.C. (1976) nd ed. 1982* ''Problemas económicas de actualidad''.

(1977) * ''Age of Inflation''. Belmont, MA (1977)
''The Underground Economy''.
Auburn, AL:

Ludwig von Mises Institute Ludwig von Mises Institute for Austrian Economics, or Mises Institute, is a libertarian nonprofit think tank headquartered in Auburn, Alabama, United States. It is named after the Austrian School economist Ludwig von Mises (1881–1973). It ...

(1984)
''Money and Freedom''.
Grove City, PA: Libertarian Press (1985) * ''The Politics of Unemployment''. Spring Mills, PA (1987) * ''Debts and Deficits''. Spring Mills, PA (1987) * ''The Great Depression: Will We Repeat It?''. Spring Mills, PA (1988) * ''The Savings and Loan Bailout''. Spring Mills, PA (1989) * ''Three Economic Commandments''. Spring Mills, PA (1990) * ''The First Eighty Years of Grove City College''. Grove City, PA (1993) * ''Reflection and Remembrance''. Irvington, NY (1997) * ''Sowing the Wind''. Grove City, PA (2004) * ''Age of Inflation Continued''. Grove City, PA (2006)

Edited

''Gold is Money''.
Westport, Conn:

Greenwood Press Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (GPG), also known as ABC-Clio/Greenwood (stylized ABC-CLIO/Greenwood), is an educational and academic publisher (middle school through university level) which is today part of ABC-Clio. Established in 1967 as Gr ...

(1975)
''Free to Try''.
Irvington-on-Hudson, New York:

(1995)

References

External links

Sennholz's Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sennholz, Hans 1922 births 2007 deaths American libertarians Austrian School economists German emigrants to the United States German libertarians Grove City College Libertarian economists New York University alumni Foundation for Economic Education Member of the Mont Pelerin Society