Carl Niessen

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Carl Niessen

Carl Hubert Niessen (born December 7, 1890 in Cologne , † March 6, 1969 in Troisdorf ) was a German theater scholar .

Life

Niessen was born the son of a hotel owner. After studying art and cultural history at the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg , Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn , Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München , Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Berlin and the University of Rostock and the doctorate to Dr. phil. at the University of Rostock, he founded a stage in Oberhausen in May 1914 and also played with his ensemble on an open-air stage that he had set up. This episode ended with the outbreak of World War I in 1914 and he did voluntary military service, most recently as a lieutenant in the reserve .

In 1919 his habilitation took place with the Cologne medievalist and folklorist Friedrich von der Leyen with a thesis history work; In 1920 he became head of the Institute for Theater Studies at the University of Cologne . Niessen coined the term Thingspiel to justify a folk theater during the Third Reich . From 1933 he was a troop leader of the SA .

In 1938 Niessen was appointed non-official, extraordinary professor for theater studies at the University of Cologne , where he taught until his retirement in 1959. In addition to his work as director of the institute, he was the author of numerous books on theater studies. His many important publications include books such as Die Schaubühne (1928) and An der Wiege des Hänneschen (1937). He also wrote for the Nazi magazine Musik im Kriege .

After the Second World War he continued his scientific work. His main work was the Handbuch der Theater-Wissenschaft , which appeared in three volumes between 1949 and 1958.

His important theater studies collection has been housed in Wahn Castle since 1955 .

Publications

  • The Schaubühne (1928)
  • At the cradle of Hänneschen (1937)
  • Man thinks ... (1947)
  • Handbook of Theater Science (three volumes, 1949–1958)
  • Mimus and Logos (1952)
  • The study of theater studies (1957)
  • Max Reinhardt and his set designers (1958)
  • Own operas in Duisburg (1958)
  • Brecht on the stage (1959)
  • The scenographer Ludwig Sievert (1959)
  • Theater architects versus actors and spectators (1960)
  • Is Cologne a theater city? (1963)
  • Faust as Filth and Trash (1964)
  • Johannes Schröder (1964)
  • Small writings on theater studies and theater history (1971)
  • Reviews (1980)
  • Scientific Treatises on Puppetry (1981)

literature

  • Andreas Englhart: The first professor for theater studies Carl Niessen and the Cologne theater collection . In: Cultural Studies and National Socialism. Edited by Jürgen Elvert / Jürgen Nielsen-Sikora. Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 2008, pp. 869-878.
  • Ernst Klee : The cultural lexicon for the Third Reich. Who was what before and after 1945. S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2007, ISBN 978-3-10-039326-5 .
  • Wilhelm Lange: Theater in Oberhausen 1911 to 1960. Published by the municipal theaters of Oberhausen
  • Richard Weber:  Niessen, Carl. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 19, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-428-00200-8 , pp. 241-243 ( digitized version ).
  • Carl Niessen , Internationales Biographisches Archiv 27/1969 of June 23, 1969, in the Munzinger Archive ( beginning of article freely accessible)
  • Meyers Großes Personenlexikon , Mannheim 1968, p. 949

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Enrollment of Carl Niessen in the Rostock matriculation portal
  2. ↑ Lange p. 8
  3. ↑ Theater Studies Collection Cologne
personal data
SURNAME Niessen, Carl
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Niessen, Carl Hubert (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German theater scholar and university professor
DATE OF BIRTH December 7, 1890
PLACE OF BIRTH Cologne
DATE OF DEATH March 6, 1969
Place of death Troisdorf