Walter Steinhauser (1885–1980) was an Austrian philologist who specialized in

Germanic studies Germanic philology is the philological study of the Germanic languages, particularly from a comparative or historical perspective. The beginnings of research into the Germanic languages began in the 16th century, with the discovery of literary te ...

Biography

Walter Steinhauser was born 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. ...

on 7 February 1885. His father was a landowner and lawyer. After graduating from the

Schottengymnasium Schottengymnasium (officially the Öffentliches Schottengymnasium der Benediktiner in Wien) is an independent Catholic gymnasium with public status in the First District of Vienna. The school was founded in 1807 by imperial decree, and is co ...

, Steinhauser served a year 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, Steinhauer studied

Germanistics The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as sta ...

at 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 ...

under Joseph Seemüller and

Rudolf Much Rudolf Much (7 September 1862 – 8 March 1936) was an Austrian philologist and historian who specialized in Germanic studies. Much was Professor and Chair of Germanic Linguistic History and Germanic Antiquity at the University of Vienna, d ...

, and

Indo-European linguistics Indo-European studies () is a field of linguistics and an interdisciplinary field of study dealing with Indo-European languages, both current and extinct. The goal of those engaged in these studies is to amass information about the hypothetical p ...

under

Paul Kretschmer Paul Kretschmer (2 May 1866 – 9 March 1956) was a German linguist who studied the earliest history and interrelations of the Indo-European languages and showed how they were influenced by non-Indo-European languages, such as Etruscan. Biogr ...

, in addition to philosophy. He served as an officer of the Austro-Hungarian Army in 1906, and received a PhD in 1911 under the supervision of Seemüller. From 1912 to 1935, Steinhauser worked at the

Austrian Academy of Sciences The Austrian Academy of Sciences (; ÖAW) is a legal entity under the special protection of the Republic of Austria. According to the statutes of the Academy its mission is to promote the sciences and humanities in every respect and in every fi ...

. He served as an officer in the Austro-Hungarian Army 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 ...

, retiring at the rank of captain. He completed 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 1927 under the supervision of Much at the University of Vienna, where he subsequently became a lecturer. In 1935, Steinhauser succeeded Much as Chair of Germanic Linguistics,

Germanic Studies Germanic philology is the philological study of the Germanic languages, particularly from a comparative or historical perspective. The beginnings of research into the Germanic languages began in the 16th century, with the discovery of literary te ...

and Scandinavian Studies at the University of Vienna. He became a Member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in 1940. During the

Vienna Offensive The Vienna offensive was an offensive launched by the Soviet 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts in order to capture Vienna, Austria, during World War II. The offensive lasted from 16 March to 15 April 1945. After several days of street-to-street figh ...

in April 1945, Steinhauser served in 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 ...

. A member of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

, Steinhauser was fired from the University of Vienna after

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 ...

and forbidden from entering the university premises. He continued with independent research, and died in Vienna on 3 August 1980.

Sources

* Rudolf Vierhaus (ed.): ''Deutsche Biographische Enzyklopädie'' 2., überarbeitete und erweiterte Auflage. Vol. 9, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 2008, p. 659 * Christoph König: ''Steinhauser, Walter.'' In: Derselbe (ed.): '' Internationales Germanistenlexikon 1800–1950.'' Vol. 3: ''R–Z.'' de Gruyter, Berlin/New York 2003, , pp. 1804–1805. 1885 births 1980 deaths Austro-Hungarian Army officers Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Volkssturm personnel Austrian non-fiction writers Austrian Germanists Germanic studies scholars Linguists of Germanic languages Old Norse studies scholars Scandinavian studies scholars Scientists from Vienna University of Vienna alumni Academic staff of the University of Vienna Writers on Germanic paganism Austrian Nazis Nazi Party members 20th-century Austrian philologists {{Austria-linguist-stub

Biography

See also

Sources