Michael Freund (political scientist)

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Michael Freund (born January 18, 1902 in Weilheim , Upper Bavaria , † June 15, 1972 in Kiel ) was a German political scientist and historian . He belongs to the generation of the founding fathers of political science in Germany after the Second World War .

Life

Michael Freund studied history, sociology, English and German at the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich from the summer semester 1921 to the winter semester 1925/26. From 1923 to 1926 he was a member of the Free Socialist Youth , then the SPD . After completing his studies , he received his doctorate in November 1925 under Hermann Oncken with a dissertation on the history of ideas of the English Revolution . Freund was able to produce the work as part of a research contract from the Notgemeinschaft der deutschen Wissenschaft In March 1927 he passed the state examination in history, English and German in Munich.

In addition to an academic assistant job at the library of the German University of Politics in Berlin from 1932 to 1935, he worked from 1933 to 1935 as an editor for the Berlin weekly magazine Blick in die Zeit, which was then banned . Here he got to know Andreas Gayk , who later became mayor of Kiel. From 1935 to 1936 he worked as a lecturer at the Bibliographical Institute in Leipzig , from 1936 to 1939 as the editor of contemporary world history in documents at the NSDAP's own publishing house in Essen . Freund completed his habilitation cumulatively in 1938 with Gerhard Ritter in Freiburg and took over a lectureship in Western European history at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg . After his dismissal from academic work for political reasons, Freund joined the NSDAP in 1940. During the Second World War, he was initially obliged to work at the foreign letter inspection office. Towards the end of the war he worked in an SS office in Klanowitz near Prague and prepared a “History of the Jewish Question in Documents” at the Institute for Research into the Jewish Question. After the end of the Second World War , Freund was able to continue his academic career.

In 1950 Freund moved from Freiburg to Kiel , where in 1951 he was appointed professor of science and the history of politics at the Christian Albrechts University in Kiel . From 1956 to 1967 he was a full professor, then emeritus . His research areas included topics in political sociology , elite sociology and the history of ideas . After his retirement, Werner Kaltefleiter took over the chair.

Freund was also active as a journalist and wrote a. a. for time and world . In the late 1940s he also worked for the Schleswig-Holsteinische Volkszeitung , which is close to the SPD . From the end of the 1950s he published most of his journalistic work in the FAZ . His focus was on historical topics, but he also published commentaries on current political events. A total of several hundred articles appeared from his pen.

At the beginning of his teaching activities at Kiel University, Jochen Steffen and Gerhard Stoltenberg were his research assistants, who became political opponents in the Schleswig-Holstein state parliament as leaders of the opposition and prime minister .

Freund had been a member of the SPD in the 1930s, but he himself gave different information about the exact period of his membership. In the course of his denazification he gave the years 1926 to 1933. Even after the Second World War, Freund remained connected to the party. For example, he was involved in drafting a party program for the Schleswig-Holstein state election in 1950.

On November 28, 1941, he married Eva Beinert. The two had two daughters together. In addition, his wife brought a child into the marriage.

Publications

Monographs

  • The idea of ​​tolerance in Great Revolution England. (Dissertation). Niemeyer, Halle 1927.
  • Oliver Cromwell. Biographical sketch . Coleman, Lübeck 1933.
  • From Versailles to freedom of defense. The resurrection of Germany as a great power . Essen Publishing House , Essen 1936.
  • Contemporary world history in documents 1934/35 .
    • Part 1: International Politics. Essen 1936.
    • Part 2: Form of government and economy of nations. Essen 1937.
  • The great revolution in England. Anatomy of a coup. Claassen, Hamburg 1951.
  • The elite problem in modern politics. Isar, Munich 1954.
  • The second World War. Bertelsmann, Gütersloh 1962.
  • The Third Reich 1933–1939. Bertelsmann, Gütersloh 1963.
  • Germany under the swastika. The history of the years 1933–1945 . Bertelsmann, Gütersloh 1965.
  • The drama of the 99 days. Illness and death of Friedrich III. Kiepenheuer u. Witsch, Cologne 1966.
  • Evening glory of Europe 1870–1914. Images and texts, Deutsche Verlagsanstalt, Stuttgart 1967.
  • Napoleon and the Germans. Despot or hero of freedom? Callwey, Munich 1969.
  • The politics of freedom. Collected essays on the science and history of politics , Schünemann, Bremen 1970, ISBN 3-7961-4270-2 .
  • Prophets of the revolution. Biographical essays and sketches , Schünemann, Bremen 1970, ISBN 3-7961-3016-X .
  • 25 years of Germany 1945–1970 , Bertelsmann, Gütersloh 1971.
  • Georges Sorel. Revolutionary conservatism . 2nd expanded edition of the 1932 edition. Klostermann, Frankfurt am Main 1972.
  • Visio Germaniae. Harmony of opposites (together with Walter Bernhardt and Ulrich Matthée ), Schünemann, Bremen 1978, ISBN 3-7961-1703-1 .
  • German history. , continued by Thilo Vogelsang . With 96 single and multi-colored boards. Bertelsmann, Munich 1985, ISBN 9783570066621 .

Editorial activity

literature

Festschriften

  • Power and impotence of the political. Festschrift for Michael Freund's 65th birthday on January 18, 1967 . Edited by Wilfried Röhrich, Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Cologne / Berlin 1967.
  • Leadership in politics. Announcement for Michael Freund on his 70th birthday on January 18, 1972 by his students . Edited by Walter Bernhardt, Kieler Druckerei, Kiel 1972.
  • Nation and nationality in the self-image of the Germans. Symposium on the occasion of Michael Freund's 80th birthday on January 80, 1982 . Edited by Walter Bernhardt, Institute for Political Science at Christian-Albrechts-Universität, Kiel 1982.

Representations

  • Philipp Eulenburger: Publishing at any price? Michael Freund's unwritten book “The False Victory”. In: Wilhelm Knelangen , Tine Stein (ed.): Continuity and controversy. The history of political science at the University of Kiel. Klartext Verlag, Essen 2013, ISBN 978-3-8375-0763-8 , pp. 369–389.
  • Wilhelm Knelangen, Birte Meinschien: German post-war political scientists in the National Socialist dictatorship: Michael Freund. In: Hubertus Buchstein (ed.): The promise of democracy. Nomos, Baden-Baden 2013, ISBN 3-8487-0230-4 , pp. 419-429.
  • Wilhelm Knelangen / Birte Menschien: "I would have liked to have been left alone ...". Michael Freund under National Socialism. In: Politische Vierteljahresschrift , Vol. 55, 2014, pp. 321–355.
  • Birte Meinschien: Michael Freund. Science and Politics (1945–1965). Lang, Frankfurt am Main et al. 2012, ISBN 978-3-631-62299-5 .
  • Birte Meinschien: History and Power. Political science in Kiel under Michael Freund. In: Wilhelm Knelangen, Tine Stein (ed.): Continuity and controversy. The history of political science at the University of Kiel. Klartext Verlag, Essen 2013, ISBN 978-3-8375-0763-8 , pp. 327–368.
  • Birte Meinschien: Kiel political science under Michael Freund - science for orientation "in a seedy room". In: Christoph Cornelißen (Ed.): Wissenschaft im Aufbruch. Contributions to the re-establishment of Kiel University after 1945 (= communications from the Society for Kiel City History. Vol. 88). Klartext-Verlag, Essen 2014, ISBN 978-3-8375-1390-5 , pp. 55–81.
  • Catharina J. Nies: Michael Freund's criticism of the revolution and the accusation of fascism in the 68s. In: Wilhelm Knelangen, Tine Stein (ed.): Continuity and controversy. The history of political science at the University of Kiel. Klartext Verlag, Essen 2013, ISBN 978-3-8375-0763-8 , pp. 391-424.
  • Wilhelm Knelangen, Birte Meinschien (Ed.): »Dear Gayk! Dear friend! «The correspondence between Andreas Gayk and Michael Freund from 1944 to 1954. Ludwig, Kiel 2015, ISBN 978-3-86935-269-5 .

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ Birte Meinschien: Michael Freund. Science and Politics (1945–1965). Lang, Frankfurt am Main a. a. O. 2012, p. 11.
  2. ↑ Birte Meinschien: Michael Freund. Science and Politics (1945–1965) , p. 29.
  3. ↑ Birte Meinschien: Michael Freund. Science and Politics (1945–1965) , p. 30.
  4. ↑ Jensen u. Rickers: Andreas Gayk . P. 260 (author biographies).
  5. ↑ Wilhelm Knelangen / Birte Meinschien: "We should stop declaring only one form of democracy to be democratic." An answer to Rainer Eisfeld, in: Politische Vierteljahresschrift , Heft 4, 2014, pp. 731–745, here p. 739
  6. ↑ Birte Meinschien: Michael Freund. Science and Politics (1945–1965) , p. 32.
  7. ↑ Birte Meinschien: Michael Freund. Science and Politics (1945–1965) , p. 132.
  8. ↑ Birte Meinschien: Michael Freund. Science and Politics (1945–1965) , p. 45 f.
personal data
SURNAME Friend, michael
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German political scientist and historian
DATE OF BIRTH January 18, 1902
PLACE OF BIRTH Weilheim , Upper Bavaria
DATE OF DEATH June 15, 1972
Place of death Kiel