Otto Eduard Gotfried Ernst Höfler (10 May 1901 – 25 August 1987) was an Austrian philologist who specialized in

Germanic studies Germanic philology is the philological study of the Germanic languages, particularly from a comparative or historical perspective. The beginnings of research into the Germanic languages began in the 16th century, with the discovery of literary te ...

. A student of

Rudolf Much Rudolf Much (7 September 1862 – 8 March 1936) was an Austrian philologist and historian who specialized in Germanic studies. Much was Professor and Chair of Germanic Linguistic History and Germanic Antiquity at the University of Vienna, dur ...

, Höfler was Professor and Chair of

German Language German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is als ...

and Old German Literature at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hist ...

. Höfler was also a

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

from 1922 and a member of the SS Ahnenerbe before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. Höfler was a close friend of Georges Dumézil and Stig Wikander, with whom he worked closely on developing studies on Indo-European society. He tutored a significant number of future prominent scholars at Vienna, and was the author of works on

early Germanic culture Early Germanic culture refers to the culture of the early Germanic peoples. Largely derived from a synthesis of Proto-Indo-European and indigenous Northern European elements, the Germanic culture started to exist in the Jastorf culture that d ...

. refers to him as "perhaps most famous and probably most controversial representative" of the "Vienna School" of Germanic studies founded by Much.

Early life and education

Otto Höfler was born in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

on 10 May 1901 to a highly educated

upper middle class In sociology, the upper middle class is the social group constituted by higher status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term ''lower middle class'', which is used for the group at the opposite end of the middle-class strat ...

family. His father, Alois Höfler, was Professor of Philosophy and

Pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

at the

. Alois was a passionate admirer of Richard Wagner, and the author of a book on the Germanic god Odin. Otto's mother, Auguste Dornhöffer, was from Bayreuth and also a Wagner admirer. Höfler studied German and

Nordic philology Scandinavian studies is an interdisciplinary academic field of area studies, mainly in the United States and Germany, that primarily focuses on the Scandinavian languages (also known as North Germanic languages) and cultural studies pertaining to ...

at the University of Vienna from 1920 to 1921 under

. Höfler joined the ''Wiener Akademischer Verein der Germanisten'', a völkisch group of German academics in 1921. He joined the Austrian

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

in 1922 after hearing Hitler speak in Vienna. He subsequently continued his studies in Nordic philology at the universities of Lund,

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...

(under

Andreas Heusler Andreas Heusler (10 August 1865 – 28 February 1940) was a Swiss philologist who specialized in Germanic studies. He was a Professor of Germanic Philology at the University of Berlin and a renowned authority on early Germanic literature. Life ...

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 approxima ...

and

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

. He completed his PhD at the University of Vienna in 1926 with the dissertation ''Altnordische Lehnwortstudien'', which examined loanwords in

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...

Career

From 1928 to 1934, Höfler was a lecturer in German at

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance during ...

. At Uppsala, Höfler befriended the fellow philologists Stig Wikander and Georges Dumézil, who would remain lifelong friends and intellectual collaborators. He completed his habilitation at the University of Vienna in 1931 with the dissertation ''Kultische Geheimbünde der Germanen'', which examined

secret societies A secret society is a club or an organization whose activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence a ...

of the early

Germanic peoples The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and e ...

. It had a major influence on the future research of Wikander and Dumézil, who would later examine similar societies among

Indo-Iranians Indo-Iranian peoples, also known as Indo-Iranic peoples by scholars, and sometimes as Arya or Aryans from their self-designation, were a group of Indo-European peoples who brought the Indo-Iranian languages, a major branch of the Indo-European l ...

and Indo-Europeans. From 1935 he lectured at the University of Kiel. In that same year he became a member of the selection committee for the

Reichsberufswettkampf The Reichsberufswettkampf (translated as "Reich vocational contest" or "national trade competition") was an annual vocational competition held in Nazi Germany as part of the ''Gleichschaltung'' of German society. The competition was organised by ...

, an organization associated with the SS. From 1938, Höfler was Professor and Chair of Germanic Philology and Ethnology at the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous operatio ...

. Also in 1938, he became a leader of the SS Ahnenerbe, an organization he had joined in 1937, and which was partially responsible for him receiving his position in Munich. His research centered on

, particularly early Germanic religion and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

. Höflers ''Deutsche Heldensage'' (1941), which examined

Medieval German literature Medieval German literature refers to the literature of Medieval Germany. It can be subdivided into two main periods: *Old High German literature (750–1050) is the product of the monasteries and is almost exclusively religious in nature *Middle H ...

, was highly influential, and republished in 1961. Höfler argued in favor of cultural continuity between modern

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

and early

. Höfler was fired from the University of Munich in 1945, and was subsequently prohibited from teaching. In 1950, he received a license to teach Scandinavian studies. In 1954, Höfler was appointed Associate Professor of Nordic Philology and Germanic Antiquity at the University of Munich. Although nominally Associate Professor, Höfler was for all practical purposes a full Professor during this time. Among his notable students at Munich were Heinrich Beck and Otto Gschwantler. In 1957, Höfler was appointed Professor and Chair of

and Old German Literature at the University of Vienna. Gschwantler accompanied him as an assistant, and would eventually become a full professor. A talented and highly popular teacher, Höfler taught and supervised a generation of very influential scholars at Vienna, including Helmut Birkhan, Hermann Reichert,

Peter Wiesinger Peter Wiesinger (born 15 May 1938) is an Austrian philologist who specializes in Germanic studies. Biography Peter Wiesinger was born in Vienna, Austria on 15 May 1938. He received his PhD at the University of Vienna, was subsequently a researc ...

, Erika Kartschoke, Edith Marold,

Klaus Düwel Klaus Düwel (10 December 1935 – 31 December 2020) was a German philologist who specialized in Germanic studies. A professor at the University of Göttingen, he was recognized as one of the world's leading experts on Germanic Antiquity. Biogra ...

, Waltraud Hunke and Wolfgang Lange. A group of Höfler's most dedicated students, which included Gschwantler, Birkhan, Wiesinger and Kartschoke, were affectionately known as the ''Drachenrunde''. Highly sociable, Höfler played an important role at the university as a host of seminaries and parties at his

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineya ...

, and arranged memorable excursions to

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the ca ...

and other places, which were attended by his students and fellow professors and friends, such as Richard Wolfram and .

Retirement

Höfler retired from teaching 1971, but continued to teach and research. After his retirement, Höfler worked on refining his earlier theories, and authored extensive studies on

Dietrich von Bern Dietrich von Bern is the name of a character in Germanic heroic legend who originated as a legendary version of the Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great. The name "Dietrich", meaning "Ruler of the People", is a form of the Germanic name "Theodo ...

and Siegfried, the two most important characters in Medieval German literature. He argued that Siegfried was derived from the Germanic chieftain Arminius, who defeated the

Roman army The Roman army (Latin: ) was the armed forces deployed by the Romans throughout the duration of Ancient Rome, from the Roman Kingdom (c. 500 BC) to the Roman Republic (500–31 BC) and the Roman Empire (31 BC–395 AD), and its medieval contin ...

in the

Battle of the Teutoburg Forest The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, described as the Varian Disaster () by Roman historians, took place at modern Kalkriese in AD 9, when an alliance of Germanic peoples ambushed Roman legions and their auxiliaries, led by Publius Quinctilius ...

in 9 AD.

Death and legacy

Höfler died in Vienna on 25 August 1987. Höfler's scholarship and legacy are controversial. Höfler had a major influence on Georges Dumézil's

trifunctional hypothesis The trifunctional hypothesis of prehistoric Proto-Indo-European society postulates a tripartite ideology ("''idéologie tripartite''") reflected in the existence of three classes or castes— priests, warriors, and commoners (farmers or trades ...

of Indo-European society. He worked closely with Dumézil and scholars such as Stig Wikander,

Émile Benveniste Émile Benveniste (; 27 May 1902 – 3 October 1976) was a French structural linguist and semiotician. He is best known for his work on Indo-European languages and his critical reformulation of the linguistic paradigm established by Ferdinand ...

and Jan de Vries on developing study on

Indo-European mythology Proto-Indo-European mythology is the body of myths and deities associated with the Proto-Indo-Europeans, the hypothetical speakers of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language. Although the mythological motifs are not directly attested ...

, and has been credited with having significantly contributed to reviving the field of

comparative mythology Comparative mythology is the comparison of myths from different cultures in an attempt to identify shared themes and characteristics.Littleton, p. 32 Comparative mythology has served a variety of academic purposes. For example, scholars have used ...

. According to Price, though Höfler's early career was shaped by the political changes of the times, the actual content of his works were of high quality and not tainted by political bias.." öfler's''Kultische Geheimbunde der Germanen''... is in many ways a work of brilliance... The direction of Höfler’s research was deliberate in the political climate of the times, but its actual content is generally free from such bias and is indeed of serious quality. Höfler’s work is still very relevant today..." Rowe says that though criticized by some, Höfler's key theories has never been refuted.. "His argument for the existence of a cult group of warriors linked with Óðinn has found objections but no real refutation." Price argues Höfler's research has continued to be of great relevance up to the present day. On the other hand, argues that Höfler’s work is "an example of the self-subjugation of Germanic scholarship to völkisch-nationalistic and National Socialistic ideologies." Jan Hirschbiegel argues that Höfler's work served less to uncover new academic knowledge than to create an ideological foundation for the Nazi state, that Höfler's cultic group of Odin's warriors was meant as spiritual predecessor of the Nazi "death cult" and its "death symbolism", and that Höfler never distanced himself from the völkisch elements of his earlier work. Wolfgang Behringer and Klaus von See similarly point to his ''Kultische Geheimbünde der Germanen'' as, in Behringer's words, a "sensational apology for the SS".

Selected works

* ''Kultische Geheimbünde der Germanen'', 1934 * ''Das germanische Kontinuitätsproblem'', 1937 * ''Die politische Leistung der Völkerwanderungszeit'', 1937 * ''Friedrich Gundolf und das Judentum in der Literaturwissenschaft'', 1940 * ''Deutsche Heldensage'', 1941 * ''Germanisches Sakralkönigtum,'' 1952 * ''Balders Bestattung und die nordischen Felszeichnungen,'' 1952 * ''Zur Diskussion über den Rökstein,'' 1954 * ''Das Opfer im Semnonenhain und die Edda'', 1952 * ''Goethes Homunculus,'' 1963 * ''Verwandlungskulte, Volkssagen und Mythen,'' 1973 * ''Theoderich der Große und sein Bild in der Sage,'' 1975 * ''Siegfried, Arminius und der Nibelungenhort,'' 1978 * ''Kleine Schriften'', 1992

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * *

External links

Otto Höfler
at the website of the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hofler, Otto 1901 births 1987 deaths Austrian expatriates in Germany Austrian expatriates in Sweden Austrian expatriates in Switzerland Austrian non-fiction writers Austrian philologists Linguists from Austria Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich faculty Lund University alumni Germanists Germanic studies scholars Old Norse studies scholars Runologists Scandinavian studies scholars Scientists from Vienna University of Basel alumni University of Kiel alumni University of Marburg alumni University of Vienna alumni Academics of the University of Vienna Uppsala University faculty Writers on Germanic paganism 20th-century linguists 20th-century non-fiction writers 20th-century philologists