Eugen Täubler

Eugen Täubler (born October 10, 1879 in Gostyń , † August 13, 1953 in Cincinnati ) was a German ancient historian .

Eugen Täubler received his doctorate in Berlin in 1904 under Otto Hirschfeld with the work Die Parthernachrichten bei Josephus . Täubler was involved in the Zionist movement and was generally and scientifically connected to Jewish interests, which is why he initially decided not to pursue a university career after completing his doctorate and was head of the archives of German Jews in Berlin from 1906 to 1918. In addition, he worked from 1910 to 1914 as a lecturer at the University for the Science of Judaism in Berlin.

During the First World War , Täubler was sent to the Eastern Front in Courland as a soldier and in 1916 dismissed as a soldier . However, he successfully resumed his scientific career. In 1918 he completed his habilitation at the University of Berlin and devoted himself to setting up an academy for the science of Judaism. He then taught from 1922 to 1925 at the University of Zurich and from 1925 to 1933 ancient history at the University of Heidelberg . He was married to the historian Selma Stern since 1927 .

After the National Socialists came to power, Täubler was given a provisional leave of absence on March 6, 1933, before the “ Professional Civil Servants Act ” was passed. In protest against the treatment of Jewish scientists, he resigned from his office and membership at the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences , was given a permanent leave of absence from Heidelberg University with immediate effect on November 9, 1933, and retired on December 18, 1933. With reference to Täubler's military service in the First World War, the local council of Heidelberg University tried to make an honorable exit possible. Täubler refused this for reasons of principle. The National Socialist Fritz Schachermeyr (took office on April 1, 1936) succeeded the chair for Ancient History at Heidelberg University .

Täubler first became a lecturer at the University for the Science of Judaism in Berlin (1938–1941). In 1941 the couple was able to emigrate to the USA thanks to the support of Erhard Oewerdieck . There he became a professor at the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati. Täubler did not return to Germany and shortly before his death in 1953 submitted an application for reparation to the University of Heidelberg.

One focus of Eugen Täubler's research was the history of ancient Israel and that of the German Jews. In addition to work on Roman constitutional law, ancient historiography and Palestine, the focus was on methodical considerations for the foundation of a Jewish historical science. Through students from Jerusalem who studied with him in Cincinnati, Täubler also shaped historical research at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem .

His widow Selma Stern gave the estate of Eugen Täubler to the Basel University Library in 1977 (with additions after her death in 1981). Heidelberg University honored him on the occasion of the 600th anniversary with the publication of Selected Writings and on the occasion of the exhibition “Jews at Heidelberg University”, shown in 2002 in Heidelberg and Jerusalem.

Fonts (selection)

• Roman empire. Studies on the history of the development of the Roman Empire, Volume 1: The State Treaties and Contractual Relationships. Teubner, Leipzig et al. 1913 ( digitized version ).
• Investigations into the history of the Decemvirate and the Twelve Tables. Ebering, Berlin 1921.
• The prehistory of the second Punic War. Schwetschke, Berlin 1921 (also: Berlin, university, habilitation thesis, 1921).
• Tyche. Historical studies. Teubner, Leipzig et al. 1926.
• The archeology of Thucydides. Teubner, Leipzig et al. 1927.
• The Roman State (= Introduction to Classical Studies. Volume 3, Issue 4). Teubner, Leipzig a. a. 1935 (was only posthumously provided with a biographical introduction by Jürgen von Ungern-Sternberg and printed by BG Teubner, Stuttgart 1985, ISBN 3-519-07408-7 ).
• Essays on the problem of Jewish historiography 1908–1950 (= series of scientific treatises of the Leo Baeck Institute. Volume 36). Edited and introduced by Selma Stern-Täubler. Mohr, Tübingen 1977, ISBN 3-16-840081-5 .
• Selected writings on ancient history (= Heidelberg ancient history contributions and epigraphic studies . Volume 3). Steiner-Verlag Wiesbaden, Stuttgart 1987, ISBN 3-515-04780-8 .

literature

• Karl Christ : Roman history and German history. Beck, Munich 1982, ISBN 3-406-08887-2 , pp. 168-176.
• Alfred Heuss : Eugen Täubler Postumus. In: Historical magazine. Volume 248, 1989, pp. 265-303.
• Heike Scharbaum: Between two worlds. Science and the world of life using the example of the German-Jewish historian Eugen Täubler (1879–1953) (= Münster Judaic Studies. Volume 8). Lit, Münster u. a. 2000, ISBN 3-8258-4792-6 .
• Thomas Meyer:  Täubler, Eugen. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 25, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-428-11206-7 , pp. 759 f. ( Digitized version ).

Web links

• Literature by and about Eugen Täubler in the catalog of the German National Library
• Robert Uri Kaufmann: Täubler, Eugen. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
• Eugen Täubler estate in the Basel University Library
• Brief entry at Heidelberg University (exhibition “Jews at Heidelberg University” 2012 in Heidelberg and Jerusalem)
• Biography of Eugen Täublers on the homepage of the University of Zurich (accessed on September 7, 2017)

Remarks

1. ↑ Evidence for the data see: Angelos Chaniotis , Ulrich Thaler: 4.4 Ancient Studies . In: Wolfgang U. Eckart , Volker Sellin , Eike Wolgast (Eds.): The University of Heidelberg in National Socialism. Springer, Heidelberg 2006, ISBN 3-540-21442-9 , pp. 391-434, in particular pp. 395 and 397f. ( Digitized version ).
2. ^ Jews at the University of Heidelberg. Documents from seven centuries . Exhibition in Heidelberg and Jerusalem 2002, pp. 143–145 ( digitized version )