Hermann Georg Fiedler (28 April 1862 – 10 April 1945) was a German scholar, who became Taylor Professor of the German Language and Literature at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

(1907–37). He was previously lecturer in German at Mason College (which later became

Birmingham University The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

Biography

H.G. Fiedler was born in 1862 in

Zittau Zittau (; ; ; ; ; Lusatian dialects, Upper Lusatian dialect: ''Sitte''; ) is the southeasternmost city in the Germany, German state of Saxony, and belongs to the Görlitz (district), district of Görlitz, Germany's easternmost Districts of Germ ...

Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony () was a German monarchy in Central Europe between 1806 and 1918, the successor of the Electorate of Saxony. It joined the Confederation of the Rhine after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, later joining the German ...

. In July 1888, he received a doctorate from the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

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

and

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

under Friedrich Zarncke. In October 1888, Zarncke helped in Fiedler becoming a lecturer in German at Queen Margaret College and the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

until 1890. Mason Science College

In October 1890, Fiedler was then appointed Professor of German at Mason College. Fiedler was instrumental in the setting up of

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

. He was a member of the initial committee of nine set up in 1894 by

Robert Heath Sir Robert Heath (20 May 1575 – 30 August 1649) was an English judge and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1621 to 1625. Early life Heath was the son of Robert Heath, attorney, and Anne Posyer. He was educated at Tunbridge gra ...

. In July 1907, Fiedler was appointed the first Taylor Professor of the German Language and Literature at the

and a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of The Queen's College. In 1911, he became a British citizen and he was a tutor to the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

(later

King Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...

) between 1912 and 1914. However, in 1915, 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 ...

, he felt obliged to offer his resignation, but this was not accepted. He continued to run the German department at Oxford University during World War I. In 1926, Fiedler was appointed secretary to the curators of the

Taylor Institution The Taylor Institution (commonly known as the Taylorian) is the Oxford University library dedicated to the study of the languages of Europe. Its building also includes lecture rooms used by the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, Unive ...

in central

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. He improved the Taylor Institution Library and was in charge of the extension of the Taylor Institution, which was opened in 1932 by the Edward, Prince of Wales. In May 1931, he met the physicist

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...

, a fellow German speaker, during a visit by Einstein to

. He retired in 1937. He was an important figure in the English Goethe Society. During the first years of

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

rule in Germany, Fiedler continued to work for understanding between Germany and the United Kingdom. In August 1935, two months after

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

had concluded the

Anglo-German Naval Agreement The Anglo-German Naval Agreement (AGNA) of 18 June 1935 was a naval agreement between the United Kingdom and Germany regulating the size of the ''Kriegsmarine'' in relation to the Royal Navy. The Anglo-German Naval Agreement fixed a ratio where ...

with the United Kingdom and thus given rise to hopes for peace, Fiedler represented the United Kingdom at the 50th-anniversary celebrations of the Goethe-Gesellschaft (Goethe Society) in

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

. In his short speech on this occasion, he stressed ties between his native and adopted countries, to enthusiastic applause. As late as 1938, he had "a warm heart for Germany". H.G. Fiedler edited a number of books related to

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 ...

during his career, particularly an anthology of German verse (''Das Oxforder Buch Deutscher Dichtung'' ''vom 12ten bis zum 20sten Jahrhundert,'' with a foreword by

Gerhart Hauptmann Gerhart Johann Robert Hauptmann (; 15 November 1862 – 6 June 1946) was a German dramatist and novelist. He is counted among the most important promoters of Naturalism (literature), literary naturalism, though he integrated other styles into h ...

, Oxford 1911, 2nd edn. 1927, reprinted many times). The selection of poets was conservative, with few of the truly innovative poets of the twentieth century, especially those from

Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

or with

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

leanings. Fiedler never published a full-length scholarly monograph, but focused on pedagogy and collecting manuscripts of German authors. These formed the core of an important collection at the

of Oxford University.

Family

In 1899, Hermann Fiedler married his former pupil Ethel Mary (1870/71–1933, a daughter of Charles Harding), who wrote a diary covering their marriage between 1899 and 1922. They had two daughters, Herma (born 1902) and Beryl (born 1913). Beryl died on 2 May 1920, which caused serious depression in Ethel for the rest of her life.

Works

* Das Oxforder Buch Deutscher Dichtung vom 12ten bis zum 20sten Jahrhundert - (1911) * Beneath the Wheel 1906 by Hermann Hesse (1915, as translator) * Buch deutscher Dichtung, von Luther bis Liliencron - (1916) * A First German Course for Science Students - (1921) * Knulp 1915 by Hermann Hesse (1923, as translator) * German Short Stories (1928) * Klingsor's Last Summer 1920 by Hermann Hesse (1930, as translator)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fiedler, Hermann Georg 1862 births 1945 deaths People from Zittau Leipzig University alumni Emigrants from the German Empire to the United States Academics of the University of Glasgow Academics of the University of Birmingham Fellows of the Queen's College, Oxford Taylor Professors of the German Language and Literature Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom German philologists British philologists British Germanists German Germanists