Hermann Schäfer (historian)

Hermann Schäfer (born December 29, 1942 in Wittlich ) is a German historian and founding president of the House of History Foundation of the Federal Republic of Germany , initiated by Helmut Kohl . Opened in 1994, the Museum of Contemporary German History since 1945 is one of the most popular museums in Germany with 850,000 visitors annually. From 2006, Schäfer was Deputy Minister of State for Culture, who caused a scandal with a speech in the Buchenwald concentration camp and retired in 2007.

Life

Schäfer studied history and English in Frankfurt , Bonn and Freiburg . As a student he became a member of the Catholic student associations Westmark-Bonn and Germania-Hohentwiel in Freiburg, both in the KV . In 1977 he received his doctorate in Freiburg , and in 1986 he completed his habilitation with a thesis on economic and social history. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Freiburg and honorary professor at the University of Karlsruhe .

In 1987, Schäfer took over the post of founding director of the House of History Foundation of the Federal Republic of Germany . During his roughly twenty-year term of office, the opening of the House of History in Bonn in 1994 and the opening of the Contemporary History Forum in Leipzig in 1999. The House of History received the Museum Prize of the Council of Europe in 1995 , followed by numerous awards.

As of February 1, 2006, Schäfer was Ministerial Director of the Department of Culture and Media in the Federal Chancellery and thus Deputy Minister of State for Culture . Schäfer retired at the end of 2007. Since then he has been an independent advisor for museums, culture and politics. From January 19, 2009, Schäfer was a member of the board of directors of Peter Tamm sen. Foundation and in this function scientific director of the International Maritime Museum Hamburg . Due to differences in the presentation of the collection and the content of the museum and the founder of the foundation, Schäfer only held this position until the end of 2009.

On August 25, 2006, Schäfer spoke in this capacity at the beginning of the concert “Gedenken Buchenwald” in Weimar , which was dedicated to the victims of the Buchenwald concentration camp , mainly about expulsion and flight of the Germans without addressing the victims of the concentration camp . With “stop” calls, listeners forced to break off his greeting. With his speech, he had damaged Germany's reputation, said the then opposition politician Wolfgang Thierse (SPD). Schäfer apologized for the scandal. However, he was “not responsible” for this and referred to the letter of invitation in which he had been asked for “reflections” on “flight and displacement”.

Memberships

Hermann Schäfer was a member of numerous committees, including the Goethe Institute, Vice President of the German Commission for UNESCO , a trustee and judging member in the steering committee of the European Museum Forum and a board member of the Visitor Studies Association in the USA.

Awards and honors

The national and international awards of the historian include the medals

• Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany on ribbon, 1997 in Berlin
• Orden Chevalier de L ' Ordre national du Mérite , France, 2001 in Paris.

Fonts

• Hermann Schäfer, Joachim Scholtyseck , Carsten Burhop , Michael Kißener : Merck. From pharmacy to global group CH Beck, Munich 2018, ISBN 978-3-406-70040-8 .
• Hermann Schäfer, Konrad Adenauer (ed.): Ars Sacra, European Culture Foundation, Berlin 2017, ISBN 978-3-921754-51-1 .
• German history in 100 objects. Piper, Munich 2015, ISBN 978-3-492-05702-8 .
• Birgit Sewekow : Diversity in Image and Bronze, Marco Edition, Bonn / Paris 2016, ISBN 978-3-921754-51-1 .
• Regional economic policy in the war economy. State, industry and associations during the 1st World War in Baden, Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1983, ISBN 978-3-17-005148-5 (including dissertation).

supporting documents

1. ↑ Press release of the Foundation of January 15, 2009, quoted in the Bonner General-Anzeiger, January 16, 2009, p. 14.
2. ↑ Schäfer leaves the Maritime Museum. In: Hamburger Abendblatt , August 12, 2009.
3. ↑ Shepherd affair. Nazi memorials are supposed to flag on the day of the expellees. In: Spiegel Online , August 29, 2006.

Web links

• Literature by and about Hermann Schäfer in the catalog of the German National Library