Hans Delbrück

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Hans Delbrück

Hans Gottlieb Leopold Delbrück (born November 11, 1848 in Bergen auf Rügen , † July 14, 1929 in Berlin ) was a German historian and politician .

Life

Early work

Hans Delbrück was a son of the Appellationsrat Berthold Delbrück (1817-1868) and his wife Laura (1826-1911), daughter of the philosopher Leopold von Henning . Hans attended the humanistic grammar school in Greifswald. From 1868 he studied history and philosophy in Heidelberg , Greifswald and Bonn . In 1870/71 he took part in the Franco-Prussian War as a lieutenant in the reserve of the 2nd Rhenish Infantry Regiment No. 28 and was awarded the Iron Cross, 2nd class. In 1873 he was awarded a doctorate by Heinrich von Sybel "on the credibility of Lamprecht von Hersfeld " phil. doctorate and subsequently retired as first lieutenant at his own request. From 1874 until his death in 1879 he was the tutor of the Prussian Prince Waldemar (sixth child of the then Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm ). In 1881 Delbrück qualified as a professor in general history at the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Berlin .

historian

From 1883 Delbrück was editor of the Prussian yearbooks together with Heinrich von Treitschke . Towards the end of the 1880s, the political differences with Treitschke intensified. According to an anecdote , Delbrück is said to have asked the publisher to dismiss him in 1889, as further collaboration with Treitschke was not possible; but then the publisher dismissed Treitschke. Delbrück continued to publish the Prussian yearbooks until 1919.

In 1885 he became an associate professor at the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Berlin and in 1895 a full professor and successor to the chair that Treitschke had held. Delbrück's achievements in the field of military history , which he wanted to be one of the first to include in the framework of general history , were particularly groundbreaking . This break with the tradition of leaving war history and its interpretation to the military met with resistance from both his historical colleagues and the military. He was an admirer of Clausewitz and viewed his history of the art of war as a continuation of his work. There he introduces the distinction between a strategy of prostration and a strategy of exhaustion and refers explicitly to Clausewitz. His dispute with the Prussian General Staff, which was sparked by the question of whether Friedrich II had been a prostration strategist (General Staff) or an exhaustion strategist (Delbrück), drew quite a lot of public attention . The work is still useful, especially in relation to antiquity, and was groundbreaking in terms of reconstructing the strength of ancient armies, even if it is now largely considered out of date. After his retirement in 1921, Delbrück wrote a five-volume world history, which, however, received less attention.

Politician

From 1882 to 1885 Delbrück was a member of the Prussian House of Representatives for the Free Conservatives . From 1884 to 1890 he was a member of the Reichstag , also for the free conservatives, which were united there under the name of the German Reich Party . He then continued his political work as a publicist and commentator.

Although originally liberal - conservative , Delbrück also took up social democratic positions over time - for example, the demand for the abolition of the Prussian three-class suffrage - and his socio-political views were close to the Socialist Department .

Hans Delbrück was committed to the “lively women's movement” around 1900. He and Wilhelm Dilthey and Adolf Harnack belonged to the association founded by Helene Lange in 1893 for the organization of high school courses for women , which campaigned in principle for the right of women to study at university.

The militarism and nationalism under Emperor Wilhelm II. Refused Delbrück. After the outbreak of World War I, he publicly attacked the power struggles of the Pan-German Association and the German leadership. It was extremely unusual that Delbrück, as a civilian scientist, got involved in the military's strategy discussions.

Delbrück, himself by no means an anti-annexionist, countered the desire that prevailed in conservative national circles at the time to make Germany so strong that it could “defy the whole world”: “Such a superiority that it guarantees security against any political combination “It cannot exist in the modern state system”, and the peoples “under no circumstances would they put up with an unconditional superiority of a state”.

After the end of the war, Delbrück vigorously opposed the emerging stab in the back legend , but also against the assertion of German sole guilt for the First World War and the Versailles Treaty . Together with Max Weber and others, Delbrück signed a memorandum on May 27, 1919, in which it was declared that Germany had waged a defensive war against Russia. In a committee of inquiry of the Reichstag on the reasons for the defeat in the war, he appeared as an expert and particularly attacked Erich Ludendorff for his mistakes in the war.

family

Since 1884 Delbrück was married to Lina Thiersch, a granddaughter of Justus Liebig from the baronial house of the Liebigs . He himself belonged to the extensive Delbrück family , which held several influential positions in Prussia and Germany in the 19th century. His mother Laura Delbrück, daughter of Leopold von Hennings , was friends with Johanna Kinkel .

Delbrück had seven children: Lore, Waldemar (fallen in 1917), Hanni, Lene, Justus Delbrück (1902-1945, lawyer and active in the resistance against Hitler), Emilie (Emmi) Delbrück (married to Klaus Bonhoeffer ), and Max Delbrück .

Hans' brother, Max Emil Julius Delbrück , was an agricultural chemist and head of the Institute for Fermentation Industry in Berlin. Further relatives were Johann Friedrich Gottlieb Delbrück , Adelbert Delbrück and Bismarck's long-time confidante Rudolph von Delbrück . The theologian Adolf von Harnack was Delbrück's brother-in-law , he was married to his wife's sister. Both men had a very close friendship for over 40 years.

tomb

Hans Delbrück is buried in the city cemetery Halensee (Grunewald) in an honorary grave of the city of Berlin.

meaning

Delbrück remained an outsider throughout his life, both in the field of history and politics, and was never fully recognized. However, with his vacillation between a fascination for the military and a warning against striving for power, between clinging to traditions and progressive demands, he stands as an example of the contradictions of modernity at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century.

As a historian, his methodological approach was groundbreaking, especially with regard to military history, such as its inclusion in the framework of general history or the reconstruction of the numerical strength of ancient armies, which were generally overestimated in the sources.

Fonts (selection)

  • The life of Field Marshal Count Neidhardt von Gneisenau (continuation of a work by the historian Georg Heinrich Pertz , volumes 4-5 of the complete work) Georg Riemer, Berlin 1880.
  • The life of Field Marshal Count Neithardt von Gneisenau , 2 volumes (comprehensive biography of Gneisenau based on the complete works by Pertz and Delbrück published in 1864–1880), Georg Riemer, Berlin 1882; improved editions 1894 2 , 1908 3 and 1920 4 .
  • Historical and political essays . Walther & Apolant, Berlin 1887, 148 pages; 2nd, considerably expanded edition: Stilke, Berlin 1907, 352 pp.
  • The Persian Wars and the Burgundy Wars. Two combined war history studies, together with an appendix on Roman manipulation tactics . Walther & Apolant, Berlin 1887, 314 pp. ( Full text on archive.org )
  • The strategy of Pericles explained by the strategy of Frederick the Great. With an appendix on Thucydides and Kleon. Georg Riemer, Berlin 1890, 242 pp. ( Full text on archive.org )
  • The Poland question . Hermann Walther, Berlin 1894, 48 pages; Reprint: Salzwasser-Verlag, Paderborn 2011. ( full text on archive.org )
  • Russian Poland. A travel study. Berlin: Stilke, 1899, 18 p. (= Special print from the Prussian yearbooks , volume 98, issue 1). ( Full text online - cBN Polona )
  • History of the art of war in the context of political history . 4 volumes. Berlin 1900–1920 (including newly edited reprints). Various reprints, u. a .: Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 1962–1966; Walter de Gruyter, Berlin a. New York 2000; Reprint: Hans Nikol Verlagsgesellschaft, Hamburg (various partial editions and editions) 2000–2008. The work was continued and revised by his students Emil Daniels and Otto Haintz . The seventh and final volume was published in 1936.
  • Bismarck's legacy . Ullstein, Berlin 1915, 220 pp.
  • Memories, essays and speeches . Georg Stilke, Berlin 1902, 625 pages; 3rd edition 1907.
  • Government and the will of the people. A policy outline . Deutsche Verlagsges. for politics and history, Charlottenburg (Berlin) 1920. 160 pp.
  • Ludendorff's self-portrait with a refutation of Forster's counter-writ . Verlag für Politik und Wirtschaft, Berlin 1922, 80 p. ( Full text on archive.org )
  • World history. Lectures given at the University of Berlin 1896–1920 in 5 volumes. Vol. 1: Antiquity (up to 300 AD) 674 p .; Vol. 2: The Middle Ages. 300-1400 , 845 pages; Vol. 3: Modern times until the death of Frederick the Great (1400–1789) , 678 p .; Vol. 4: Modern Times. The revolutionary period from 1789 to 1852 , 800 pages; Vol. 5: Modern times from 1852 to 1888, with an appendix to the two posthumous chapters of the supplementary volume prepared by Hans Delbrück , 652 pages; Otto Stollberg Verlag for Politics and Economics, Berlin 1924–1928; 2nd edition, Deutsche Verlagsgesellschaft, Berlin 1931; Reprint: European History Publishing House, Paderborn 2011.
  • The Peace of Versailles. Commemorative speech, planned for the event of the 5 united Berlin universities on June 28, 1929, which was prohibited by the ministry . Georg Stilke, Berlin 1929. 16 p. (= Special print from the Prussian yearbooks , vol. 217. 1929, no. 1); 2nd edition 1930.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Angelika Schaser: Helene Lange and Gertrud Bäumer. A political community. Cologne: Böhlau, 2010, p. 72.
  2. ^ Hans Delbrück: Reconciliation Peace. Power peace. German peace. Berlin 1917, p. 3.
  3. ^ Marie Goslich : Letters from Johanna Kinkel . In: Prussian yearbooks 1899.
  4. ↑ Hartmut Lehmann: Transformation of Religion in the Modern Age. Examples from the history of Protestantism . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2007, ISBN 978-3-525-35885-6 , pp. 257 .

Web links

Commons : Hans Delbrück  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Delbrück, Hans
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Delbrück, Hans Gottlieb Leopold (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German historian and politician, MdR
DATE OF BIRTH November 11, 1848
PLACE OF BIRTH Mountains on Rügen
DATE OF DEATH July 14, 1929
Place of death Berlin