Otto Vossler (14 February 1900 − 26 December 1987) was a German historian.

Life

Born in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

, Vossler was the younger son of the Romanist

Karl Vossler Karl Vossler (6 September 1872 – 19 September 1949) was a German linguist and scholar, and a leading romance philologist. Vossler was known for his interest in Italian thought, and as a follower of Benedetto Croce. He declared his support of th ...

and his wife Ester Countess Gnoli, daughter of the Italian poet and literary historian Count Domenico Gnoli. Growing up in the bilingual parental home, Vossler could translate and publish after the death of his father his correspondence with the Italian anti-fascist

Benedetto Croce Benedetto Croce, ( , ; 25 February 1866 – 20 November 1952) was an Italian idealist philosopher, historian, and politician who wrote on numerous topics, including philosophy, history, historiography, and aesthetics. A Cultural liberalism, poli ...

. After the move of the family, Vossler attended the in Munich. He completed his studies at the

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

in 1925 under Hermann Oncken with a doctorate on

Mazzini Giuseppe Mazzini (, ; ; 22 June 1805 – 10 March 1872) was an Italian politician, journalist, and activist for the unification of Italy (Risorgimento) and spearhead of the Italian revolutionary movement. His efforts helped bring about the ...

's political thinking in the intellectual currents of his time. In 1929 he

habilitated 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 excellen ...

, also under Oncken, at the

Humboldt University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

with a study on the American revolutionary ideals under

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

. In 1930 he was appointed associate professor at

Leipzig University 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 ...

, in 1938 he was appointed full professor (until 1945), and in 1946 he took over the chair of Medieval and Modern History, especially English and American History, at the

Goethe University Frankfurt Goethe University Frankfurt () is a public research university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealthy and active liberal citizenry of Frankfurt ...

. He retired in 1967. Among his academic students was Werner Gembruch. In addition to the revolutionary movements of the 18th and 19th centuries, his research on

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Republic of Geneva, Genevan philosopher (''philosophes, philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment through ...

Alexis de Tocqueville Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville (29 July 180516 April 1859), was a French Aristocracy (class), aristocrat, diplomat, political philosopher, and historian. He is best known for his works ''Democracy in America'' (appearing in t ...

and the development of national thought were also important. In 1942 he became a member of the

Saxon Academy of Sciences and Humanities The Saxon Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Leipzig () is an institute which was founded in 1846 under the name ''Royal Saxon Society for the Sciences'' (). Notable people * Kurt Aland * Annette Beck-Sickinger * Walther Bothe * Alexander Car ...

, and from 1945 until his death he was a corresponding member. From 1942 to 1944 he was Dean of the Philological-Historical Department of the Faculty of Philosophy at Leipzig University. Vossler died in Frankfurt at the age of 85.

Publications

* ''Mazzinis politisches Denken und Wollen in den geistigen Strömungen seiner Zeit''. Oldenbourg, Munich, Berlin 1927. * ''Die amerikanische Revolutionsideale in ihrem Verhältnis zu den europäischen. Untersucht an Thomas Jefferson''. Oldenbourg, Munich 1929. * ''Der Nationalgedanke von Rousseau bis Ranke''. Oldenbourg, Munich, Berlin 1937. * ''Geist und Geschichte. Von der Reformation bis zur Gegenwart. Gesammelte Aufsätze''. Piper, Munich 1964. * ''Die Revolution von 1848 in Deutschland''. Suhrkamp, Frankfurt a. M. 1967; 8th edition 1985. * ''Alexis de Tocqueville. Freiheit und Gleichheit''. Klostermann, Frankfurt, 1973. * ''Geschichte als Sinn''.''Geschichte als Sinn''
on WorldCat Suhrkamp, Frankfurt. 1979

Literature

Ulrich Muhlack Ulrich Muhlack (born 3 October 1940Paul Gerhard Schmidt (ed.): ''Humanismus im deutschen Südwesten. Biographische Profile.'' Thorbecke, Sigmaringen 1993, S. 290.) is a German historian. Life Born in Königsberg, From 1960 to 1965 Muhlack studie ...

: "Otto Vossler 14.2.1902 – 26.12.1987." In ''

Historische Zeitschrift ''Historische Zeitschrift'', is a German scholarly journal of history and historiography. Founded in 1859 it was the first and for a time the foremost historical journal in Europe. It is published by Akademie Verlag GmbH, a subsidiary of Oldenbou ...

'' 247 (1988), .
JSTOR Stable Link
* Ulrich Muhlack: "Geschichte als Sinn. Otto Vossler." In Evelyn Brockhoff, Bernd Heidenreich and Michael Maaser (ed.): ''Frankfurter Historiker'' (''Schriftenreihe des Frankfurter Universitätsarchivs.'' Vol. 6). Wallstein, Göttingen 2017, , .

References

External links

*
Professorenkatalog der Universität Leipzig

Otto Vossler
on Kalliope
Entry in the Estate Database of the Federal Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vossler, Otto 1900 births 1987 deaths Writers from Heidelberg 20th-century German historians Academic staff of Leipzig University Academic staff of Goethe University Frankfurt