The Dismissal of Scholars from German Universities, 1933-1945

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Michael Grüttner
• Subject Area: Modern and Contemporary History
• Term: from 2017 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 392933430

The expulsion of numerous scholars from German universities after the National Socialist takeover is quite rightly considered as a profound turning point in the history of science with effects far beyond the German-speaking countries. While it is exaggerated to speak of an 'intellectual beheading of Germany', as it is called in older publications, the loss of scientific substance was serious. Case studies on mathematics, physics, biology and chemistry show that the amount of top level scientists among the academic emigrants was disproportionately high. Nevertheless, the exact dimensions and consequences of this mass expulsion are unknown to this day. This void for German universities is expected to be filled by this submitted project.The aim of the project is to gain a comprehensive picture of the implications of the National Socialist 'cleansing policy' at German universities. To this end, the first step is to compile a directory of all university teachers who were expelled from German universities between 1993 and 1945. Simultaneously, some basic biographical information for each dismissed scholar is to be compiled.The aim of the project is the publication of a book which includes the aforementioned directory as well as an extensive analysis of the data which will have been collected. Hence, the project should not only reconstruct individual fates, but facilitate further insights due to the evaluation of the collected data. In a collectively biographical survey of the expelled scholars, it is about differentiating between the reasons for dismissal, the academic status, religion and gender, affiliation to which university and academic discipline, between emigrants and non-emigrants.Last, but not least, the project aims to give a face to those scholars who became victims of the National Socialist extermination politics or who committed suicide because of their dismissal or persecution. Furthermore, by analyzing the reasons for their dismissals, it will be possible for the first time to render accurate information on the amount of Jewish scholars within the faculty of each university as well as within the various academic disciplines before 1933.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants