Alfred Herrmann (26 December 1879 – 19 November 1960) was a German historian, journalist and politician.

Biography

Hermann was born in Inowrazlaw (Inowrocław) to Otto Herrmann, a post officer, and Helene née Gartner. He studied history,

German studies German studies is an academic field that researches, documents and disseminates German language, literature, and culture in its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies therefore often focus on German culture, German h ...

and

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

at the Universities of Breslau (Wrocław) and

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. During his studies he became a member of the KDStV Winfridia Breslau in the CV in 1899. After graduating in Breslau in 1903, Herrmann then started to work for Hermann Hüffer in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

and became the editor of "''Annalen des Historischen Vereins für den Niederrhein''" in 1905. He habilitated in 1906 and worked at the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

until 1913, focusing on

Napoleonic Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led a series of mi ...

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n and

Rhenish The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy Roman Empir ...

history. In autumn 1913 Herrmann became a professor for history at the Royal Academy Posen (Poznań), where he also worked as the head of the press department of the Fifth Army Corps from October 1914 to December 1918. After the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he became the chairman of the German people's council Posen (Deutscher Volksrat Posen) and lost his position at the Royal Academy after its dissolution.deutsche-biographie.de
In 1919 Herrmann was elected as a member of the

Weimar National Assembly The Weimar National Assembly (German: ), officially the German National Constitutional Assembly (), was the popularly elected constitutional convention and de facto parliament of Germany from 6 February 1919 to 21 May 1920. As part of it ...

representing the

German Democratic Party The German Democratic Party (, DDP) was a liberal political party in the Weimar Republic, considered centrist or centre-left. Along with the right-liberal German People's Party (, DVP), it represented political liberalism in Germany between 19 ...

. From 1920 to 1924 Herrmann was the editor of the ''Oldenburger Landeszeitung'' and ''Kieler Zeitung'' and from 1926 to 1932 deputy editor of the ''Hamburger Fremdenblatt''. In 1924/25 he lectured on journalism and history of warfare at the

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian Albrecht University of Kiel, (, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a public research university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the ''Academia Holsator ...

and from 1926 to 1932 and again from 1947 to 1949 as honorary professor at the

University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg (, also referred to as UHH) is a public university, public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('':de:Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen, ...

on modern German history, journalism and politics. From 1933 to 1935 he worked as executive director of the German press association (''Reichsverband der deutschen Presse'') and from 1935 to 1944 as managing director of publishing houses in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. In 1949 he became tenured professor for modern history and politics at

Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin; also known as Berlin Institute of Technology and Technical University of Berlin, although officially the name should not be translated) is a public university, public research university located in Berlin, Germany. It was the first ...

, he retired in 1954. Herrmann was a founding member and (from 1951 to 1956) chairman of the commission for the history of parliamentarism and the political parties (''Kommission für Geschichte des Parlamentarismus und der politischen Parteien'') in Bonn. In 1955, he was awarded the Grand Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. Herrmann was married to Anna Dorothea Fernis, they had one daughter and one son. He died in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herrmann, Alfred 1879 births 1960 deaths People from Inowrocław People from the Province of Posen German Catholics Members of the Weimar National Assembly German Democratic Party politicians Academic staff of Royal Academy Posen University of Breslau alumni Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni Academic staff of the University of Kiel Academic staff of the University of Bonn Academic staff of the University of Hamburg Academic staff of Technische Universität Berlin