Georg Gerson Iggers (December 7, 1926 – November 26, 2017) was an American historian of modern Europe,
historiography
Historiography is the study of the methods used by historians in developing history as an academic discipline. By extension, the term ":wikt:historiography, historiography" is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiog ...
, and European intellectual history.
Life and career
Iggers was born in
Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, in 1926. Being a
German Jew he fled Germany with his family to the US in 1938, only few weeks before the
Kristallnacht. Iggers belonged to the young émigrés from the Third Reich who later in life, as academic scholars in the United States, had a decisive impact on reviewing critically the history of Germany.
In 1957, Iggers became the first White brother initiated into
Phi Beta Sigma, a historically Black fraternity.
He was visiting professor at the
Technische Universität Darmstadt in 1991. He was Distinguished Professor Emeritus at
University of Buffalo and 2007 recipient of the First Class Cross of the
Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...
. Iggers received the
Humboldt Prize, honorary doctorate degrees from the
University of Richmond
The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia, United States. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approxim ...
,
Technische Universität Darmstadt, and
Philander Smith College, and fellowships from the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
,
Fulbright Foundation,
Guggenheim Foundation,
National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...
, and
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...
.
He was especially noted for his writings on historiography.
He died on November 26, 2017, of complications from a
cerebral hemorrhage.
Writings
Autobiography
* Georg G. Iggers, Wilma A. Iggers: ''Zwei Seiten der Geschichte. Lebensbericht aus unruhigen Zeiten.'' Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2002, .
** ''Two Lives in Uncertain Times. Facing the Challenges of the 20th Century as Scholars and Citizens.'' Berghahn, New York/ Oxford 2006, .
* Georg G. Iggers: "History and Social Action beyond National and Continental Borders." In:
Andreas W. Daum,
Hartmut Lehmann,
James J. Sheehan: ''The Second Generation. Émigrés from Nazi Germany as Historians. With a biobibliographical guide.'' Berghahn, New York 2016, , 82–96.
Monographies
* ''The Cult of Authority. The Political Philosophy of the Saint-Simonians. A Chapter in the Intellectual History of Totalitarianism''. Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague 1958.
* ''The German Conception of History. The National Tradition of Historical Thought from Herder to the Present''. Wesleyan University Press, Middletown, Connecticut 1968.
** (German translation: ''Deutsche Geschichtswissenschaft. Eine Kritik der traditionellen Geschichtsauffassung von Herder bis zur Gegenwart''. dtv 1971)
* ''New Directions in European Historiography''. With a contribution by Norman Baker. Wesleyan University Press, Middletown, Connecticut 1975.
** German: ''Neue Geschichtswissenschaft. Vom Historismus zur historischen Sozialwissenschaft. Ein internationaler Vergleich''. dtv 1978.
* ''Marxismus und Geschichtswissenschaft heute''. Becker, Velten 1996, .
* ''Geschichtswissenschaft im 20. Jahrhundert. Ein kritischer Überblick im internationalen Zusammenhang. Mit einem Nachwort''. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 1993, ; 2nd ed. 1996.
** ''Historiography in the twentieth century. From scientific objectivity to the postmodern challenge''. Wesleyan University Press, Hanover, NH 1997, .
* ''Geschichtswissenschaft im 20. Jahrhundert. Ein kritischer Überblick im internationalen Zusammenhang''. Neuausgabe, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 2007, .
*with Q. Edward Wang and Supriya Mukherjee: ''A Global History of Modern Historiography.'' Routledge 2008 (2nd ed. 2017), .
See also
*
Authoritarianism
Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...
References
External links
*
Andreas W. Daum, "Iggers, Georg Gerson." Deutsche Biographi
*
* Oral History projec
Zwei Seiten der Geschichtedocumenting the life work of Georg and Wilma Iggers
1926 births
2017 deaths
Writers from Hamburg
The New School alumni
University at Buffalo faculty
University of Chicago alumni
University of Richmond alumni
20th-century American historians
Historians of Germany
Historiographers
Humboldt Research Award recipients
Intellectual historians
Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States
Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Academic staff of Technische Universität Darmstadt
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