Franz Altheim (6 October 1898 – 17 October 1976) was a German

classical philologist Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek and Roman literature and their original languages, ...

and historian who specialized in the history of

classical antiquity Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...

. During the 1930s and 1940s, Altheim served the

Nazi state Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictator ...

as a member of

Ahnenerbe The (, "Ancestral Heritage") was a pseudoscientific organization founded by the ''Schutzstaffel'' in Nazi Germany in 1935. Established by ''Reichsführer-SS'' Heinrich Himmler in July 1, 1935 as an SS appendage devoted to promoting racial the ...

, a think tank controlled by the Schutzstaffel (SS), the paramilitary wing of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

, and as a spy for the SS..

Early life and education

Franz Altheim was born in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, Germany on 6 October 1898. His father was the painter Wilhelm Altheim. Altheim's mother left his father due to his heavy drinking and unconventional lifestyle. Depressed as a result, Wilhelm Altheim died by suicide on Christmas 1914. Altheim studied

classical philology Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek and Roman literature and their original languages, ...

and history at the University of Frankfurt beginning in 1916. During

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 ...

in 1917, he joined the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

, first attending a school for translators and then serving as a translator in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. After the war, he tried and failed to become a sculptor before returning to school, supporting himself by working in a bank. Altheim majored in classical

philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

, and

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

. While in school, he traveled to Italy several times with the aid of government grants to study classical civilization. He earned his

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

at the University of Frankfurt in December 1921. His dissertation, ''Die Komposition der Politik des Aristoteles'', was supervised by

Hans von Arnim Hans von Arnim (14 September 1859, Groß Fredenwalde – 26 May 1931, Vienna) was a German-Austrian classical philologist, who specialized in studies of Plato and Aristotle. He studied classical philology at the University of Greifswald as ...

. Altheim received a scholarship from the

Notgemeinschaft der Deutschen Wissenschaft The ''Notgemeinschaft der Deutschen Wissenschaft'' (Emergency Association of German Science) or NG was founded on 30 October 1920 on the initiative of leading members of the ''Prussian Academy of Sciences, Preußische Akademie der Wissenschaften'' ( ...

in 1925, and gained his

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

in 1928 with the thesis ''Griechische Götter im alten Rom'', which was supervised by Walter F. Otto. During this time, Altheim became acquainted with

Károly Kerényi Károly Kerényi (, ; 19 January 1897 – 14 April 1973), also known as Karl Kerényi, Carl Kerényi, Charles Kerényi and Carlo Kerényi (aliases under which his works were sometimes published, respectively in German, English, French and Ita ...

and

Leo Frobenius Leo Viktor Frobenius (29 June 1873 – 9 August 1938) was a German self-taught ethnologist and archaeologist and a major figure in German ethnography. Life He was born in Berlin as the son of a Prussian officer and died in Biganzolo, Lago M ...

. Altheim was introduced to the deposed German emperor

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as th ...

, possibly by Frobenius. Wilhelm was then living at

Doorn Doorn is a town in the municipality of Utrechtse Heuvelrug in the central Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. The town is famous for being the final residence of Wilhelm II. History In a document from 885 to 896 the settlement is called ...

, Netherlands, where Altheim became a frequent visitor. Altheim was also a member of the

George-Kreis The George-Kreis (; George Circle) was an influential German literary group centred on the charismatic author Stefan George. Formed in the late 19th century, when George published a new literary magazine called ' ("Journal for the Arts"), the gr ...

Career

Altheim worked as a private lecturer at the University of Frankfurt from 1928 to 1935. He supplemented his income as a private art dealer. He initially appeared indifferent to the Nazis, who came to power in 1933. As the Nazis restricted academic freedom, Altheim was increasingly criticized by party officials and students and professors supportive of the party for failure to integrate Nazi ideology into his teaching. In 1935, a colleague wrote a letter to the Nazi Ministry of Education attacking Altheim for not incorporating Nazi doctrine into his work. This letter nearly prevented his appointment in 1936 as Associate Professor of Classical Philology at the University of Frankfurt. In the winter of 1936 he briefly served as Acting Chair of Classical Philology at the

University of Halle Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (), also referred to as MLU, is a public research university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg. It is the largest and oldest university in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. MLU offers German and i ...

. In 1937, Altheim was Associate Professor of Classical Philology at the University of Halle. A member of the

Sturmabteilung The (; SA; or 'Storm Troopers') was the original paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party of Germany. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power, Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and early 1930s. I ...

, Altheim conducted research projects with

financing in the 1930s. With his partner Erika Trautmann, Altheim went on research expeditions to Italy, Sweden, Romania and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, during which he prepared reports for the

Sicherheitsdienst ' (, "Security Service"), full title ' ("Security Service of the ''Reichsführer-SS''"), or SD, was the intelligence agency of the Schutzstaffel, SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Established in 1931, the SD was the first Nazi intelligence ...

. In 1943, Altheim was appointed Professor of Classical Philology at the University of Halle. His research centered on the history of

, and many of his monographs on this subject were translated into other languages. Altheim was dismissed from the University of Halle after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, but was soon reinstated. In 1948 he was appointed Professor of Ancient History at the University of Halle. In 1950, Altheim was appointed Chair of Ancient History at the newly created

Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public university, public research university in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War period a ...

. After retiring in 1964, Altheim moved to

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

, where he died on 17 October 1976. He was survived by Ruth Altheim-Stiehl, his student and adoptive daughter.

Selected works

* ''Griechische Götter im alten Rom'', 1930 * ''Terra Mater'', 1931 * ''Römische Religionsgeschichte'', 1931–1933 * ''Epochen der römischen Geschichte'', 1934–1935 * ''Lex sacrata'', 1939 * ''Die Soldatenkaiser'', 1939 * (with Erika Trautmann): ''Vom Ursprung der Runen'', 1939 * (with Erika Trautmann): ''Italien und die dorische Wanderung'', 1940 * ''Italien und Rom'', 1941 * ''Rom und der Hellenismus'', 1942 * ''Helios und Heliodor von Emesa'', 1942 * (with Erika Trautmann-Nehring): ''Kimbern und Runen. Untersuchungen zur Ursprungsfrage der Runen'', 1942 * ''Die Krise der alten Welt im 3. Jahrhundert n. Zw. und ihre Ursachen'', 1943 * ''Goten und Finnen im dritten und vierten Jahrhundert'', 1944 * ''Weltgeschichte Asiens im griechischen Zeitalter'', 1947–1948 * ''Römische Geschichte'', 1948–1958 * ''Literatur und Gesellschaft im ausgehenden Altertum'', 1948–1950 * ''Der Ursprung der Etrusker'', 1950 * ''Roman und Dekadenz'', 1951 * ''Geschichte der lateinischen Sprache'', 1951 * ''Aus Spätantike und Christentum'', 1951 * ''Attila und die Hunnen'', 1951 * ''Niedergang der alten Welt'', 1952 * (with Ruth Stiehl): ''Asien und Rom'', 1952 * ''Alexander und Asien'', 1953 * ''Gesicht vom Abend und Morgen'', 1954 * (with Ruth Stiehl): ''Ein asiatischer Staat'', 1954 * ''Reich gegen Mitternacht'', 1955 * ''Der unbesiegte Gott'', 1957 * ''Utopie und Wirtschaft'', 1957 * (with Ruth Stiehl): ''Finanzgeschichte der Spätantike'', 1957 * (with Ruth Stiehl): ''Philologia sacra'', 1958 * (with Ruth Stiehl): ''Die aramäische Sprache unter den Achaimeniden'', 1959–1963 * ''Geschichte der Hunnen'', 1959–1962 * ''Zarathustra und Alexander'', 1960 * ''Entwicklungshilfe im Altertum'', 1962 * ''Die Araber in der alten Welt'', 1964–1969 * (with Ruth Stiehl): ''Geschichte Mittelasiens im Altertum'', 1970 * (with Ruth Stiehl): ''Christentum am Roten Meer'', 1971–1973

References

Sources

* Ernst Baltrusch: Altheim, Franz. In: Peter Kuhlmann, Helmuth Schneider (Hrsg.): Geschichte der Altertumswissenschaften. Biographisches Lexikon (= Der Neue Pauly. Supplemente. Vol. 6). Metzler, Stuttgart/Weimar 2012, , Sp. 24 f. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Altheim, Franz 1898 births 1976 deaths 20th-century German historians Academic staff of the Free University of Berlin German classical philologists German male non-fiction writers Goethe University Frankfurt alumni Academic staff of Goethe University Frankfurt Academic staff of the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg Ahnenerbe members Sturmabteilung personnel

Early life and education

Career

Selected works

See also

References

Sources