Walter Hildebrandt (sociologist)

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Walter Hildebrandt (1912–2007), German sociologist, until 1980 professor at Bielefeld University

Walter Hildebrandt (* 1912 in Leipzig ; † 2007 in Lucerne ) was a German sociologist who taught as a professor and professor at Bielefeld University . The main areas of work included: cultural and political sociology , as well as zeitgeist and communism research in their connections.

Life

Education

After extensive studies of history , philosophy , sociology and economics in Leipzig, Königsberg, Prague and Vienna, Walter Hildebrandt received his doctorate in 1937 under Hans Freyer at the University of Leipzig with a dissertation on the subject of "The small economic entrepreneur as a political problem in Czechoslovakia". After completing his doctorate , he found his first job as a research assistant with Karl Seiler at the University of Erlangen . As a young expert on Eastern and Southeastern Europe, he served research on the East and was an employee of the Reich Working Group for Spatial Research . His work there dealt with the rural exodus in Middle Franconia. The study "Die Landflucht in Franken" (Leipzig 1940: KF Koehler Verlag), published together with Karl Seiler, is a document for empirical social research during National Socialism . In March 1939 Hildebrandt took over the position of senior assistant at the Southeast European Institute of the University of Leipzig.

At the beginning of the war in 1939 he was drafted into an infantry regiment. After the French campaign , in 1940 he was a good expert on Southeastern Europe and was assigned to Admiral Canaris (Defense Abroad). In May 1941, after the end of the Balkan campaign, he was transferred to the Brandenburg division, which was subordinate to Canaris . There it was used in the Caucasus, the Balkans and most recently in Bohemia.

Professional career after the war

In the post-war period Hildebrandt became editor-in-chief of the Eastern Europe Manual. In the context of the Göttingen-based Working Group for Eastern European Studies, he published on the People's Democracy in Albania from 1944 to 1951 (published in 1951), the Trieste conflict and the Italian-Yugoslav question (1953), and gave in collaboration with Werner Markert in the context of the multi-volume Eastern Europe Handbook published the volume on Yugoslavia (1954), published together with Karl-Heinz Pfeffer on the Soviet Union (1955 and 1956) and on heavy industry in the Soviet Union (1957) and on structural problems in Asia (1966).

In 1954 he and a group of politically interested personalities founded the Pan-European Studienwerk e. V. in Vlotho and headed it until 1964. In that year Hildebrandt was appointed to the chair for sociology and social pedagogy at the Pedagogical University of Westphalia-Lippe . From 1963 he was a member of the executive committee of the East Academy in Lüneburg and co-founder and co-editor of the journal Deutsche Studien .

At the later University of Bielefeld he was a professor and full professor; he retired in 1980 at the age of 68.

In parallel to his university teaching activities, Hildebrandt remained very closely connected to the Pan-European Studienwerk in Vlotho: in 1972 he was elected the first chairman of the sponsoring association, an office that he held for 12 years. During this time, Walter Hildebrandt promoted close cooperation with similar institutions such as the Place of Encounter , the Vlotho Youth Farm or the East Academy in Lüneburg .

As Vice President of the Academy, he was co-founder and co-editor of the journal “Deutsche Studien. Quarterly books for comparative contemporary studies ”. In addition, he was the editor of “Moderne welt. Journal for comparative research in the history of the humanities and the social sciences ”.

Civil society engagement

In numerous articles and contributions, as well as through specific campaigns, Hildebrandt campaigned for democracy and the assumption of political responsibility for individuals within society.

As a board member of the MITARBEIT foundation , he supported various kinds of civic engagement . He promoted various cultural initiatives, such as B. as chairman of “Musik an St.Stephan”, Literaturkreis Vlotho, or the “Sigiger Talks” in Switzerland. In addition to his sociological and historical-political publications, Hildebrandt also wrote poems and essays.

After the death of his first wife Elfriede, b. Schreiber, with whom he had 3 children, he married the Swiss writer Irma Hildebrandt , with whom he moved from Vlotho / Weser to Lucerne in 2006 .

Fonts (selection)

  • The small economic venture as an agricultural policy problem in Czecho-Slovakia. 125 p. Writings of the Eastern European Institute. Wroclaw. 1938
  • The Trieste Conflict and the Italian-Yugoslav Question. A sociological and historical study. Working group for Eastern European research, Göttingen and Tübingen. 1953
  • Yugoslavia. Eastern Europe Handbook, Vol. III, publisher of the series: Werner Markert. Cologne, Graz. 1954
  • The Soviet Union. Country lexicon of the Hamburg World Economic Archive, Hamburg. 1956
  • The Soviet Union. Power and crisis. 2nd edition, Leske, Darmstadt 1956.
  • Will Asia win in Asia? Traditionalism, nationalism, communism. Structural problems of a continent. Musterschmidt, Göttingen / Berlin / Frankfurt / Zurich 1966.
  • The post-liberal age. Studies in social studies and political education. Diederichs, Cologne / Düsseldorf 1973, ISBN 3-424-00471-5 .
  • European values ​​in the acid test. Essays and studies on cultural sociology. Kastell, Munich 1997, ISBN 3-924592-60-8 .
  • Courage to strive - ways of developing life. Herder Library, Vol. 1081, Freiburg. 1984
  • Try against the cold. Writings and literature on zeitgeist research. Kastell Verlag, Munich. 1987. ISBN 978-3-924592-10-3

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Dieter Kruse: Zeitgeist . In: D. Kruse (Ed.): Festschrift on the occasion of the retirement of Professor Dr. Walter Hildebrandt . Bielefelder Hochschulschriften Vol. 25, Bielefeld, 1980. 1999, ISBN 3-8100-2326-4 .
  2. ^ Bielefelder Universitätszeitung: On the death of Prof. Dr. Walter Hildebrandt . November 2, 2007.
  3. ^ Carsten Klingemann : Sociology and Politics. Social science expert knowledge in the Third Reich and in the early West German post-war period . VS, Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden 2009, ISBN 3-531-15064-2 , p. 29.
  4. ^ Carsten Klingemann: Sociology in the Third Reich . Nomos-Verlag, Baden-Baden 1996, ISBN 3-7890-4298-6 , p. 296.
  5. ↑ Hansjörg Gutberger: structural research and social space research in the social and population sciences between the 1930s and 1950s . In: Rainer Mackensen (Ed.): Population doctrine and population policy in the “Third Reich” . Springer-Verlag, 2013, ISBN 978-3-8100-3861-6 , pp. 212 .
  6. ^ A b Gudrun Hentges: State and political education. From the 'Central Office for Homeland Service' to the 'Federal Center for Political Education' . Ed .: Springer Verlag, Wiesbaden. 2013, ISBN 978-3-531-18670-2 , pp. 183 .
  7. ^ Ulrich Mählert: Vademecum GDR research . In: Federal Agency for Civic Education (Ed.): A guide to archives, research institutes, libraries, institutions of political education, associations, museums and memorials . 3. Edition. Berlin 2002, ISBN 3-8100-2326-4 , pp. 224 .
  8. ↑ Universitas: Journal for Science, Art and Literature . tape 4/90 , 1990.
  9. ↑ Helmut Skowronek: Courage to make an effort. Laudation for Walter Hildebrandt on the occasion of his 90th birthday . Ed .: Current information about the east. tape 3/4 , 2002, ISSN  0939-3099 , p. 40-45 .
  10. ^ Piotr Pysz: On the way to the whole of Europe . In: Festschrift for the 90th birthday of Prof. Dr. Walter Hildebrandt . Dortmund, 2002, ISBN 3-923293-70-4 .
personal data
SURNAME Hildebrandt, Walter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German sociologist
DATE OF BIRTH 1912
PLACE OF BIRTH Leipzig
DATE OF DEATH 2007
Place of death Lucerne