Hermann Aubin (23 September 1885 – 11 March 1969) was an Austrian-German historian.

Biography

Hermann Aubin was born in Reichenberg,

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

on 23 December 1885. His father was a wealthy factory owner. The Aubin family were descended from French

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

who had settled 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 ...

in the 16th century AD. Aubin graduated at the top of his class from the gymnasium at Reichenberg in July 1904, and subsequently volunteered for a year as a soldier in the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...

. Since 1905, Aubin studied history and economics at the universities of

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 ...

and

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

. He gained a

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 Freiburg in 1910 under the supervision of

Georg von Below Georg may refer to: * ''Georg'' (film), 1997 *Georg (musical), Estonian musical * Georg (given name) * Georg (surname) * , a Kriegsmarine coastal tanker * Spiders Georg, an Internet meme See also * George (disambiguation) George may refer to: ...

. After gaining his PhD, Aubin lectured on history in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

. 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 ...

, Aubin served as an officer in the Austro-Hungarian Army on a variety of fronts. He 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 1916 under the supervision of Aloys Schulte. With the dismemberment of Austria-Hungary, Aubin became a German citizen. From 1920 onwards, Aubin taught history 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 ...

. Aubin was hit hard economically by the

hyperinflation In economics, hyperinflation is a very high and typically accelerating inflation. It quickly erodes the real versus nominal value (economics), real value of the local currency, as the prices of all goods increase. This causes people to minimiz ...

of the 1920s, and the poor economic situation in Germany prevented him from gaining a full professorship. During this time, Aubin contemplated leaving the history profession. In 1925, he was appointed a lecturer at the

University of Giessen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in the German-speaking world. It is named afte ...

. In 1929 he was appointed a professor of history at the

University of Breslau A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

. During the Third Reich era, Aubin was a supporter of German efforts for eastward expansion, particularly the invasion of Poland in 1939. Aubin was a leader in the German academic tradition of '' Ostforschung'' an area of research meant to provide intellectual justification for German expansion into its Eastern frontier. Aubin worked alongside historians such as

Albert Brackmann Albert Brackmann (24 June 1871, Hanover – 17 March 1952, Berlin-Dahlem)Goetting, Hans (1955).Brackmann, Albert Theodor Johann Karl Ferdinand" in: ''Neue Deutsche Biographie'', vol. 2, p. 504-505. Online version retrieved 2015-11-03. was a leadi ...

in order to promote German resettlement in Poland. Aubin also worked in collaboration with the '' Generalgouvernment'' of

Hans Frank Hans Michael Frank (23 May 1900 – 16 October 1946) was a German Nazi politician, lawyer and convicted war criminal who served as head of the General Government in German-occupied Poland during the Second World War. Frank was an early member ...

in promoting German colonization. At the end of

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 ...

, Aubin was drafted into the

Volksturm The (, ) was a ''levée en masse'' national militia established by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II. It was set up by the Nazi Party on the orders of Adolf Hitler and established on 25 September 1944. It was staffed by conscri ...

and fought in the

Siege of Breslau The siege of Breslau, also known as the battle of Breslau, was a three-month-long siege of the city of Wrocław, Breslau in Lower Silesia, Nazi Germany, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland), lasting to the end of World War II in Europe. From 13 Fe ...

. In 1946, Aubin was appointed Professor of Medieval and Modern History 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, ...

. From 1955, he was honorary professor of history at the University of Freiburg. After the war, Aubin founded and led a number of scholarly organizations. He was the editor of ''

Zeitschrift für Ostmitteleuropa-Forschung The ''Zeitschrift für Ostmitteleuropa-Forschung'' (''Journal of East Central European Studies'') is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering the history and culture of Eastern Europe. It is published by the Herder-Institut für histori ...

'' from 1952 to 1966. Aubin played a leading role in shaping the field of history in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. On his 70th birthday in December 1955, Aubin received the Grand 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 ...

. He died in Freiburg 11 March 1969.

Sources

* Eduard Mühle: ''Für Volk und deutschen Osten. Der Historiker Hermann Aubin und die deutsche Ostforschung'' (= ''Schriften des Bundesarchivs.'' Bd. 65). Droste, Düsseldorf 2005, . * Axel Schildt: Aubin, Hermann. In: Franklin Kopitzsch, Dirk Brietzke (Hrsg.): Hamburgische Biografie. Band 6. Wallstein, Göttingen 2012, , S. 20–22. *

Hans-Erich Volkmann Hans-Erich Volkmann (born 15 March 1938) is a German historian, whose works primarily deal with the history of Germany from the 19th–20th century, and particularly how it relates to the East European states. He is one of the authors of the fir ...

: ''Hermann Aubin.'' In:

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Ingo Haar Ingo Haar (born 3 February 1965) is a German historian. He received his Master of Arts from the University of Hamburg in 1993 and his PhD in History in 1998 at the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg. His doctoral dissertation was on "Hist ...

, Alexander Pinwinkler (Hrsg.): ''Handbuch der völkischen Wissenschaften. Akteure, Netzwerke, Forschungsprogramme.'' Unter Mitarbeit von David Hamann. 2. vollständig überarbeitete und erweiterte Auflage. Bd. 1, De Gruyter Oldenbourg, Berlin 2017, , S. 55–59. 1885 births 1969 deaths Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I German nationalists German people of French descent Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni Writers from Liberec Sudeten German people Academic staff of the University of Breslau University of Freiburg alumni Academic staff of the University of Freiburg Academic staff of the University of Giessen Academic staff of the University of Hamburg 20th-century German historians Austro-Hungarian Army officers Volkssturm personnel Members of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities Ostforschungers {{Germany-historian-stub