Historical Society Bremen
The Historical Society of Bremen has been researching history, especially that of Bremen , since 1861 , and organizes and supports lectures, excursions, historical research projects and publications to cultivate general historical awareness.
Society
The Historical Society Bremen is a non-profit, registered association. Members are persons, authorities, societies, institutes, companies, corporations and associations. The chairman of the association is Konrad Elmshäuser , the deputy chairwoman is Gabriele Hoffmann . The office is located at the State Archives 1 .
The historical society organizes around 10 to 15 lectures and events annually, participates in the publication of the Bremen yearbook, conducts several study trips and supports further publications on history.
Bremen yearbook
Together with the Bremen State Archives, the association mostly publishes the Bremen Yearbook annually, which appeared for the first time in 1863 with scientific articles and a discussion section. The yearbook could not be published from 1944 to 1946 due to the war. The high printing costs and the effort that could no longer be dealt with on a voluntary basis meant that since 1975 - with Volume 53 - the publication and editing of the yearbook had been transferred from the Historical Society to the State Archives and the yearbook was now "in connection with the Historical Society “Was published. The yearbook publishes essays, short articles ( Miszelle ), reviews , tips and news from the association.
Volume 89 was published in 2010 by the State Archives, and Volume 94 was published in 2015.
References
- Content of publications since 2000 see here .
- Digital collection of the Bremen yearbooks from volume 1 (1863) to volume 88 (2009) at the State and University Library Bremen see here .
history
The Historical Society was founded in 1861 as an association for Bremen history and antiquities . On March 19, 1862 the first statutes were approved.
As early as 1847/1848 there were first efforts to found an association for the history of Bremen. The cause was supported by the mayor Johann Smidt , but was not realized in the turmoil of the revolution. In 1854, Smidt demanded that more care should be taken for "father-city historiography". It was not until 1858 that the historian Diedrich Ehmck was commissioned by the Senate of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen to prepare the publication of a document book . The Hanseatic sister cities Lübeck and Hamburg had already had corresponding associations for some time. In 1861, the project for a history society was revived, especially through Ehmck and his essays. Findings during the excavations for the construction of the new stock exchange were a good occasion. A group of 16 well-known citizens formed a “Section for the Preservation of Bremen Antiquities” on July 13, 1861, and on September 11, 1861 the first statute was adopted.
In 1862, however, the founders initially joined the artists' association , which had been in existence since 1856, as a "Department for Bremen History and Antiquities". The Bremen Yearbook was published for the first time in 1863. In 1871 the name was changed to Historical Society , which was now run by its own independent board of directors with the aim of researching Bremen's and general history. The very close ties to the artists' association led to a drastic decline in membership, as members of both groups had to be members. It was not until 1904, when there were only 46 members left, that members could only join the Historical Society. The company became increasingly independent. Until 1915 the artists' association (today the House of the Bell ) was the domicile of the historical society. When she had to leave this location, she found a place to stay in the State Archives , initially in the Auf der Tiefer building and, after the Second World War, in the Rutenberghaus and currently in the new building of the State Archives on President-Kennedy-Platz .
The Historical Society was always connected to the Bremen State Archives. For many years, archivists presided or were represented on the board in large numbers. The association was located in the State Archives for a long time and numerous events take place in the State Archives.
The state archivist Hermann Entholt was an important chairman from 1912 to 1950 . In 1924, the Historical Society and two other associations founded the Bremen Scientific Society , later called Wittheit zu Bremen . For a long time he was simultaneously president of the Wittheit and the historical . In 1928, in addition to the yearbook, the Bremen Christmas papers appeared. Even during the Nazi era, the company was able to continue its work without any particular hindrance. After the Second World War , Entholt managed to revive the club in 1946.
Important publications in the 1960s were the Bremische Biographie 1912–1962 with 544 résumés and 1000 years of Bremer Kaufmann as yearbook volume 50 from 1965. The number of lectures and excursions increased significantly and the association grew. In 1964, conflicts on the board of directors led three archivists ( Karl Heinz Schwebel , Wilhelm Lührs and Fritz Peters) to withdraw from the company's work by 1974.
Membership numbers
The number of members fluctuated considerably: in 1862 there were initially 466 members, then in 1867 351, in 1871 just under 300, in 1886 only 104 and in 1904 only 46 members. In 1914 there were around 130 members again, in 1925 around 450, and in 1936 still 306 members. After the war there were still 220 members around 1947, 489 again in 1956 and then 676 in 1977 and around 950 in 1987 and finally 792 in 2000.
Chairman
- Diedrich Ehmck , 1862 secretary of the artists' association, from 1862 to 1875 chairman of the department of Bremen history and antiquities ; he became a senator in 1875.
- Wilhelm von Bippen , 1875 to 1881, was head of the State Archives from 1875 to 1914
- ?, from 1881 to 1893
- Wilhelm von Bippen again from 1893 to 1912
- Hermann Entholt , from 1912 to 1950; was director of the State Archives from 1914 to 1936
- Friedrich Prüser , from 1950 to 1973; was director of the State Archives from 1937 to 1945 and from 1949 to 1957
- Horst Heuer, 1973 to 1974, teacher
- Gerhard Gerkens , 1974 to 1977, curator at the Kunsthalle
- Eugen De Porre, 1977 to 199?
- Dieter Hägermann , 1994 to 2004, university professor
- Konrad Elmshäuser, since 2004; has been director of the State Archives since 2003
literature
- Herbert Black Forest : The Great Bremen Lexicon . 2nd, updated, revised and expanded edition. Edition Temmen, Bremen 2003, ISBN 3-86108-693-X .
- Eugen De Porre: 125 Years of Historical Society 1862–1987 . In: Bremisches Jahrbuch , Volume 65, Bremen 1987.