George William von Zedlitz

George William Edward Ernest von Zedlitz (born March 10, 1871 in Hermannswaldau , Province of Silesia , Prussia ; † May 23, 1949 in Lower Hutt , New Zealand ) was a New Zealand professor of German-British descent and later a member of the Senate of the University of New Zealand .

Live and act

Prussia

George William Edward Ernest von Zedlitz was born on March 10, 1871 to the married couple Mary Bethia , b. Woolf and the Baron Sigismund von Zedlitz and Neukirch . His mother was from the UK . His father was a lieutenant in the Prussian army and a descendant of a noble Silesian family. Zedlitz was the only child in the family and was four years old when his mother separated from his father. He never saw his father again after the separation. Zedlitz received his education up to the age of 14 in Germany, followed by a 3-year school attendance at a French school. Then his mother moved with him to England .

United Kingdom

Already seventeen, he attended Wellington College in Berkshire for three years in England , followed by four years at Trinity College in Oxford . In July 1893 he began studying Classical Antiquity in Oxford , there called Literis Humanioribus . During his studies, which he completed with a Master of Arts , he taught for a few years at a so-called Preparatory School , a school that accepted students between the ages of seven and thirteen in order to later prepare them for changing to college . After graduating, he taught Greek and Latin from 1896 to 1901 as assistant to the headmaster at the Loretto School boarding school in Musselburgh , East Lothian , Scotland, and held exams in modern languages ​​at Wellington College , where he was once a student.

At this time, Zedlitz was known as an expert in English, German, French and Italian, in addition to the ancient languages ​​Latin and Greek, and also had knowledge of Spanish literature. Among other things, he was said to be an excellent speaker.

New Zealand

On 19 December 1901, was Evening Post in Wellington announced that the Victoria College in Wellington as a professor of modern languages for an annual salary of 500 Zedlitz Sterling had won. Zedlitz reached New Zealand on March 22, 1902 and began teaching as a professor immediately upon arrival. Three years later, on January 4, 1905, he married Alice Maud Fitzherbert , eldest daughter of the Mayor of Lower Hutt , William Alfred Fitzherbert . Their marriage had three children. The family lived in Hutt Valley .

From 1912 to 1914 Zedlitz was the official translator of the New Zealand government. He lost this confidence with the beginning of the First World War .

With Germany's declaration of war against Russia on August 1, 1914 , Zedlitz offered himself to the German consulate in Wellington as a Red Cross helper. After Great Britain entered the war and declared war against Germany on August 4, 1914, his commitment to Germany was resented. Although he had withdrawn his offer to the consulate and expressed his loyalty to Great Britain and New Zealand, the government tried to remove him from the university. A smear campaign began that even wanted to make him a spy for the German Imperial Navy. The College Council of Victoria College defied the government order and stood behind Zedlitz. But after the government passed the Alien Enemy Teachers Act in October 1915 , Zedlitz lost his professorship. After the end of the First World War, he was denied support to get back into office by the board of directors of the college , the composition of which had changed in the meantime.

In 1920 Zedlitz participated in the founding and development of the University Tutorial School , of which he was director until a few years before his death. He became a teacher in adult education and became a broadcaster. In 1936 Victoria College appointed him professor emeritus, a late honor for his achievements. In the same year he was elected to the Senate of the University of New Zealand .

Georg William von Zedlitz died on May 23, 1949 in Lower Hutt Hospital. The building on the Kelburn campus of Victoria University of Wellington , where the Language Learning Center (LLC) is located, was named in von Zedlitz Building in his honor.

Works

• George William Von Zedlitz : The Search for a Country - The autobiography of GW von Zedlitz . Ed .: David Oswald William Hall . Paul's Book Arcade , Hamilton 1963 (English).

literature

• Bernard John Foster : Zedlitz (-Neukirk), George William Edward Ernest von . In: Alexander Hare McLintock (Ed.): An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand . Wellington 1966 ( online [accessed December 15, 2015]).
• Rachel Barrowman : Victoria University of Wellington 1899-1999 A History . Ed .: Victoria University Press . Wellington 1999, p. 31-37 (English).

Web links

• Tim Beaglehole : Zedlitz, George William Edward Ernest von. In: Dictionary of New Zealand Biography . Ministry for Culture & Heritage , accessed July 12, 2011 . 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Personal Notes from London . In: Frank Gifford (Ed.): Auckland Star . Volume XXXIII, Issue 29 . Auckland February 4, 1902, p.  2 (English, online [accessed July 12, 2011]).
2. ^ University Intelligence . In: The Times (Ed.): The Times . Issue 34015. London July 28, 1893, p.  3 .
3. ↑ Local and General . In: Frank Gifford (Ed.): The Evening Post . Volume LXII, Issue 148 . Wellington December 19, 1901, p.  4 (English, online [accessed July 12, 2011]).
4. ^ Port of Wellington . In: Frank Gifford (Ed.): The Evening Post . Volume LXIII, Issue 70 . Wellington March 22, 1902, p.  4 (English, online [accessed July 12, 2011]).
5. ↑ Hutt Minoh Friendship House . Hutt City Council , accessed July 12, 2011 .  
6. ↑ ^{a b c} The war at home - First World War overview . In: New Zealand History Online . Ministry for Culture & Heritage , accessed July 12, 2011 .