Oron J. Hale

Oron James Hale (born July 29, 1902 in Goldendale , Washington , † July 19, 1991 in Richmond , Virginia ) was an American historian. His focus was German history, with which he was concerned, among other things, in coming to terms with the time of National Socialism .

Life

Hale was born the second son of William Robert and Frances I (Putnam) Hale. As a member of the Phi Beta Kappa , he graduated (cum laude) from the University of Washington in Seattle in 1925 , followed by a Master of Arts in 1928 and a Ph.D. in 1930. at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia .

Since 1929, Hale was a member of the Department of History at the University of Virginia , which he should belong to until 1972. In the late 1920s and early 1930s he conducted research in Europe in the field of diplomacy and the press in London , Paris , Berlin and Munich . Hale spent his time there with his first wife, Annette Van Winkle Hale, whom he married in 1929, and became a contemporary witness of the rise of Adolf Hitler and of National Socialism . In 1942 he was promoted to the rank of major while serving in the intelligence service of the United States Department of War's General Staff . After the war, Hale took part in a special assignment from the Shuster Commission in which he took part in various well-known carriers of the Nazi regime such as Hermann Göring , Wilhelm Keitel , Karl Dönitz , Joachim von Ribbentrop , Alfred Rosenberg , Robert Ley , Alfred Jodl and Franz von Papen interrogated.

In 1946 Hale returned to the United States as Professor of European History at the University of Virginia , but in 1950 he went back to Germany as Deputy State Commissioner for Bavaria under George N. Shuster , then he inherited the latter and henceforth served under High Commissioner John Jay McCloy .

From 1952 on, Hale was back at the University of Virginia, where from 1955 to 1962 head of the Institute of History. He also worked in the Southern Historical Association , which he chaired from 1958 to 1959, the American Historical Association and the Committee on War Documents , which he joined in 1957 and 1964, when the committee was transferred to the Conference Group for Central European History , Board. With this committee he directed the release and recording on microfilm of millions of documents of the Nazi state before they were returned to the German government.

In 1963, Hale was appointed a member of the Institute for Advanced Studies ( Princeton ). In 1964, visiting professorships followed at Harvard , Duke , the University of Missouri and the University of North Carolina . In 1965 he became a professor of history at the University of Virginia, while also caring for his sick wife, who died in 1968.

Hale was the author of numerous articles, commentaries, and reviews on German history. His contributions have appeared in the Virginia Quarterly Review , Journal of Modern History , Journal of Central European Affairs , American Historical Review , Richmond Times-Dispatch, and the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science . His book The Captive Press in the Third Reich , which received the George Polk Award in 1964 and was translated into German under the title Press in the Straitjacket 1933-45, became famous . Other works include Germany and the Diplomatic Revolution, 1904–1906 , which received the George Louis Beer Prize of the American Historical Association in 1931 , Publicity and Diplomacy, published in 1940 , 1890–1914, and The Great Illusion, 1900–1914 (1971) .

In recognition of his contributions to research and his service to the government, Hale was awarded the Outstanding Civilian Award by the United States Department of the Army in 1964 ; In 1969 the Great Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Thomas Jefferson Award from the University of Virginia followed. As a further honorary title, he received a Doctor of Letters from Hampden-Sydney College in 1958 , and in 1986 he was honored with a commemorative publication by some of his former students.

In 1970, Hale was married to Virginia Zehmer for the second time. After his retirement he suffered a heart attack in 1973, whereupon a pacemaker was inserted. In addition to private activities, he devoted himself to social issues in his community. He also looked after his wife, who died in 1989. Hale was buried in the University of Virginia cemetery after his death.

Web links

• Biography at Social Network and Archival Context (SNAC), Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities, University of Virginia (English)
• Obituary in the New York Times (English)