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Norbert Jokl (February 25, 1877 – probably May 1942) was an
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 ...
n Albanologist of
Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...
ish descent who has been called the father of Albanology.


Early life

Jokl was born in Bzenec (then Bisenz), Southern
Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...
(now the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
), to Heinrich, a merchant, and Emilie née Haas. His older brother, Willhlem, died in 1895 at the age of 21. He graduated from high school
cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...
and entered the
University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...
to study law. He graduated
summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...
on June 23, 1901.


Further education

Eventually Jokl abandoned his pursuit of legal training, and he decided to devote himself to
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 ...
. He studied Indo-European linguistics,
Slavistics Slavic (American English) or Slavonic (British English) studies, also known as Slavistics, is the academic field of area studies concerned with Slavic peoples, languages, literature, history, and culture. Originally, a Slavist or Slavicist was ...
, and Romanistics, eventually receiving a ''
cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...
'' degree. In the late autumn of 1903, he started training in the library of the University of Vienna, where he would work until 1938. At the age of 30, he began to actively study the
Albanian language Albanian (Endonym and exonym, endonym: , , or ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language and the only surviving representative of the Albanoid, Albanoid branch, which belongs to the Paleo-Balkan languages, Paleo-Balkan group. It ...
, a linguistic field that had not been widely studied at the time.


Career

From 1913, he was a
Privatdozent ''Privatdozent'' (for men) or ''Privatdozentin'' (for women), abbreviated PD, P.D. or Priv.-Doz., is an academic title conferred at some European universities, especially in German-speaking countries, to someone who holds certain formal qualifi ...
whose field was "Indo-European linguistics with special consideration to Albanian,
Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...
and
Slavic languages The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavs, Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic language, Proto- ...
“. In 1923, he became a '' Professor extraordinarius'', and in 1937 a Hofrat. He wrote numerous works on Albanology and became a renowned specialist. In April 1933, the
paleontologist Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...
and Albanologist Franz Nopcsa (Ferenc Nopcsa) shot his secretary and himself, leaving his Albanological papers to Jokl. After
Adolf 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 ...
came to power in
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 ...
, Jokl's manuscripts started being rejected and he was no longer invited to conferences. On May 20, 1938, he was discharged as a result of the
Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...
of Austria and was prohibited from entering his former place of work. The Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy, Viktor Christian, tried to save Jokl's job, but this was in vain. Later that year, Jokl submitted an application (supported by the Dean) to be equalized with "persons of mixed blood of 1st degree“ in order to have admittance to libraries. The application was rejected. Georg Solta, who went on to become a professor of Indo-European linguistics, would often visit him during the following four years, in order to further his studies and to maintain personal interaction with his mentor. Solta says that Jokl lived alone ascetically, though a maid would prepare food for him. Two rooms were filled with books and all of his free time was dedicated to research. Jokl tried to find a job abroad, but this was also in vain. His last chance was a librarian position that was created for him in Albania with a monthly salary of 600 Albanian franks. Franciscan priest and Albanian national writer, Gjergj Fishta, intervened through a letter, dated 23 September 1939 to Francesco Jacomoni, vice-regent in Albania to make Italy intervene with the Third Reich in order to allow Jokl transfer to Albania. Jokl himself wanted to emigrate to
Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
. However, neither the efforts of Gjergj Fishta, nor those of Carlo Tagliavini, a professor of the
University of Padua The University of Padua (, UNIPD) is an Italian public research university in Padua, Italy. It was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from the University of Bologna, who previously settled in Vicenza; thus, it is the second-oldest ...
, nor the appeal of
Galeazzo Ciano Gian Galeazzo Ciano, 2nd Count of Cortellazzo and Buccari ( , ; 18 March 1903 – 11 January 1944), was an Italian diplomat and politician who served as Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Minister in the government of his father-in-law ...
, Minister of Foreign Affairs of
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany, yielded the necessary permission for him to emigrate to Albania. In one of his applications, he also asked for permission to take along his library, but was opposed by Dean Christian, who was very interested in keeping Jokl's extensive collection at the University. Jokl's library also contained his life work and the handwritten supplements to the Albanian vocabulary by Gustav Meyer.


Arrest and death

On March 4, 1942, Jokl was arrested by the
Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...
and transferred to the collection camp (''Sammellager''). Georg Solta, trying to save his teacher, appealed for Jokl's freedom to
Ernst Kaltenbrunner Ernst Kaltenbrunner (4 October 1903 – 16 October 1946) was an Austrian high-ranking SS official during the Nazi era, major perpetrator of the Holocaust and convicted war criminal. After the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in 1942, and a ...
, the ''SS
Gruppenführer __NOTOC__ ''Gruppenführer'' (, ) was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP), first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA. Since then, the term ''Gruppenführer'' is also used for leaders of groups/teams of the police, fire d ...
'' in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
who had also been Solta's schoolmate. However, Kaltenbrunner argued he had no power to save Jokl from deportation. There is contradictory information as to Jokl's death. It was reported that on May 6, 1942, he was taken to Maly Trostenets near
Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...
, where he was murdered. However, according to another version, he died from mistreatment in a barracks in Roßau, Vienna. After Jokl's arrest, his former employer tried to ensure that Jokl's library would be given to the University in case Jokl was not allowed to go to Albania. However, the Dean preferred that Jokl be sent to a concentration camp, as that would make acquisition of his works much easier. Paul Heigl, the director general of the National Library of Austria, also applied for custodianship of the collection. Despite Jokl's bequeathing the library to Albania, it was confiscated on April 27, 1942 and sent to the National Library. In 1946, the Austrian National Library retained the holdings on the grounds that Jokl had not left any eligible relatives. Of the original more than 3,000 books, only about 200 can now be identified. Jokl's life's work, an edition of the ''Etymological Dictionary of Albanian'' by Gustav Meyer, with handwritten addendas, is untraceable.


Posthumous honors

On April 29, 1982, the Senate of the University of Vienna decided to inscribe Norbert Jokl's name to the board of honour of the University. In 2012,
Posta Shqiptare Posta Shqiptare is the national postal service of Albania. ''Posta Shqiptare sh.a.'' is a public limited company owned by the Albanian Government. As of 2017 its CEO was Laert Duraj. History Beginnings in the Ottoman Empire Albania's postal ser ...
, the national postal service of Albania, honored Jokl with a postage stamp in a series commemorating foreign Albanologists, linguists who have studied the
Albanian language Albanian (Endonym and exonym, endonym: , , or ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language and the only surviving representative of the Albanoid, Albanoid branch, which belongs to the Paleo-Balkan languages, Paleo-Balkan group. It ...
. Also honored in the series were
Eric Hamp Eric Pratt Hamp (November 16, 1920 – February 17, 2019) was an American linguist widely respected as a leading authority on Indo-European linguistics, with particular interests in Celtic languages and Albanian. Unlike many Indo-Europeanists, ...
and Holger Pedersen.


Bibliography

* 1923 ''Linguistisch-kulturhistorische Untersuchungen aus dem Bereiche des Albanischen'',
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 ...
Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
.


References


External links


Photo and autograph
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jokl, Norbert 1877 births 1942 deaths People from Bzenec People from the Margraviate of Moravia Austrian people of Jewish descent Austrian albanologists People who died in Maly Trostenets extermination camp Austrian civilians killed in World War II Austrian Jews who died in the Holocaust