Willibald Gutsche

Willibald Gutsche (born August 14, 1926 in Erfurt ; † July 3, 1992 there ) was a German historian. Originally a history teacher, he worked from 1961 at the Central Institute for History of the Academy of Sciences of the GDR on pre-war imperialism and the First World War , where from 1973 he headed the research group “German History 1900 to 1917”. He is regarded as the leading GDR expert on the July crisis , whose work on the First World War, regardless of its Marxist-Leninist orientation , showed similarities with the works of Fritz Fischer . Gutsche shaped regional historiography in the GDR with his work on the history of the city of Erfurt .

Life

Gutsche, the son of a commercial clerk, had to interrupt his school attendance in 1943. He entered the Reich Labor Service , with which he was deployed in Carinthia and Croatia at the end of 1943 . After he was drafted into the Wehrmacht in January 1944 , he was deployed on the Eastern Front from October 1944 . In March 1945, he got into Pomerania in Soviet captivity from which he in September 1946 dystrophy was released suffering. Gutsche had actually wanted to become a forester, but in 1946/47 he took part in the special course to train new teachers at the Erfurt Pedagogical College in the subject of history. From November 1947 to 1961 he was a history teacher and deputy director of high schools in Erfurt.

Gutsche headed from 1953 to 1967 the "Scientific Collective for Research into the History of the City of Erfurt", which had come together in 1952/53 in the tradition of the 1945 forbidden association for the history and antiquity of Erfurt in the Kulturbund of the GDR and published series on the history of Erfurt. At the same time he completed a distance learning course in history and philosophy from 1954 to 1956 at the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena . As an external student, he passed the state examination in 1956 and received his doctorate in December 1959 under Max Steinmetz and Heinz Herz on the revolutionary movement during the First World War and the November Revolution in Erfurt.

According to his own account, Gutsche was the victim of a defamation campaign by the SED after the publication of his state examination thesis on the Kapp Putsch , in which he was accused of “revisionist falsification of the history of the party”. After a resolution by the SED in 1958, he had to rewrite his dissertation to define the November Revolution. In public defense, the SED district leadership tried to fail the doctorate . The work could only be published in 1963 after the SED had called for many changes. The historian Matthew Stibbe comments that the outrage over Gutsche's dissertation is not easy to understand, since Gutsche referred in detail to Walter Ulbricht's theses on the character of the November Revolution and thus accepted the official line of the party. Gutsche characterized the November Revolution as a "failed bourgeois-democratic revolution" that was carried out to a certain extent with proletarian means and methods. Stibbe suspects the explanation for Gutsche's difficulties in the ideological and political rivalries within the Historical Institute of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena in the late 1950s, in which Gutsche's doctoral supervisor Steinmetz was involved. During this time, the SED university party leadership questioned numerous dissertations in order to put pressure on academics who were suspicious of ideology. Gutsche had made himself vulnerable through a brochure about the Kapp Putsch in Erfurt, written in 1958, which the party organ Neuer Weg denied "any yardstick for a Marxist-Leninist assessment of the local struggles". The brochure was subsequently pulped. The extent to which these experiences influenced Gutsche's further career is difficult to assess, according to Stibbe, due to a lack of sources.

From 1961 to 1972 Gutsche worked as a research assistant, senior assistant and research manager in the work group "First World War" under the direction of Fritz Klein at the Institute for the History of the German Labor Movement in East Berlin. He headed the author collective for the second volume of a three-volume history of the First World War. In February 1967 he completed his habilitation with Heinrich Scheel , Joachim Streisand and Fritz Klein on the war policy under Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg, and in 1973 he published a biography of the Chancellor. In 1973 he took over the leadership of the research group "German History 1900 to 1917" at the Central Institute for History at the German Academy of Sciences in Berlin and founded the working group "German Imperialism before 1914". In September 1976 he was appointed professor there.

Gutsche also continued to work on regional and city ​​history , especially the history of the city of Erfurt. From 1968 to 1974 Gutsche was part of the executive director of the City History Museum in Erfurt. From January 1979 to 1990 he was chairman of the newly founded Society for Local History and from 1981 to 1989 also headed its research center for regional history. He was editor-in-chief of the series From the History of the City of Erfurt, which has been published since 1985, and head of an author collective that published a history of the city in 1986. Gutsche was a long-time member of the Presidential Council of the Cultural Association of the GDR. In 1989 he was a member of the Presidium of the GDR Historians' Society .

Gutsche was awarded the Order Banner of Labor Level I in 1969 and the Patriotic Order of Merit in bronze in 1986 . He also received the Johannes R. Becher Medal in gold.

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Gutsche dealt on the one hand with the prehistory of the First World War . According to Matthew Stibbe, his work was shaped by his war experience and his disgust for war. Gutsche received West German historians, although his personal contacts with the West were limited to Fritz Fischer and his students Dirk Stegmann and Peter Borowsky as well as to Georg Iggers and Konrad Jarausch , who taught at American universities . He developed into the leading GDR expert on the July crisis . In Stibbe's view, Gutsche's views on the German leadership in 1914 and their responsibility for the war were similar to those of Fritz Fischer . Regardless of the Marxist-Leninist framework, Gutsche maintained a similarly rigid anti-apologetic tone. Gutsche attributed decisive responsibility for the death of millions of people to Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg , while he saw Kaiser Wilhelm II as a key figure who decisively determined the course of German politics and therefore also had decisive personal responsibility for the First World War. In 1991 Fritz Fischer attested Gutsche a "serious scientific approach to the problems" of the First World War and its consequences. Gutsche's monographs on Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg and Kaiser Wilhelm II would have influenced both (West) German and Anglo-Saxon historiography. Gutsche also often encountered difficulties "because his view of history has come too close to Western ways of thinking".

On the other hand, Gutsche is known as one of the protagonists of regional history research in the GDR. He advocated a Marxist-Leninist approach in which laypeople were not excluded and in which hitherto neglected topics such as the history of the labor movement should come to the fore. The history of the city of Erfurt (1986) for which Gutsche was largely responsible is considered a "milestone in GDR urban history research". According to the historian Karlheinz Blaschke , who also in the GDR , the Marxist criticized regional history, Gutsche was "one of the leading Geschichtspropagandisten the GDR." With ideological phrases Gutsche tried to bring the apolitical homeland history into line with the internationalist historical image of the working class. However, the effect was then slight. To Western historians, Gutsche appeared to be an orthodox Marxist with a tendency towards dogmatism. Internal GDR reports also paint a rigid picture of Gutsche. After 1989 Gutsche made more intensive contact with Fritz Fischer, for example, and reflected on his self-image as a scientist in the former GDR. He criticized the fact that utterances and quotes that were detached from the context were simply assumed and that a judgment was given across the board. In an essay in 1991, he pointed out that a distinction had to be made between the research results presented and the Marxist-Leninist terms and formulas. With the methodology of historical materialism , a much more critical portrayal of even the GDR development was possible, but it was perverted by the claim to evaluate history from the standpoint of the SED alone. For Matthew Stibbe, the sources communicate Gutsche's experience of exclusion and loss.

Fonts

• Dr. Theodor Neubauer. A life fighting for a better Germany. Gutenberg-Druckerei Stolzenberg, Erfurt 1955.
• Materials and information for history lessons in the city of Erfurt, 6th grade in elementary school and 10th grade in high school. Erfurt 1956.
• History of the bathers and barbers in Erfurt. Erfurt 1957.
• The Kapp Putsch in Erfurt. Erfurt 1958.
• The November Revolution in Erfurt. [1. Version]. sn, Jena 1958 (Philosophical dissertation, University of Jena, 1958).
• How the new was born in our villages. Deutscher Kulturbund, Committee of Friends of Nature and Homeland of the Presidential Council, Central Committee of Local History and Monument Preservation, Berlin 1962.
• with Kurt Ludwig: Erfurt. Sachsenverlag, Dresden 1962.
• The struggles of the Erfurt workers against the reaction in the spring of 1919, the elimination of the workers' council through the counter-revolution and the socialization fraud. (Deutscher Kulturbund Scientific collective for research into the history of Erfurt: City Archives), Erfurt 1963.
• The revolutionary movement in Erfurt during the 1st imperialist world war and the November revolution. (Deutscher Kulturbund Scientific collective for research into the history of Erfurt: City Archives), Erfurt 1963.
• The formation of the War Committee of German Industry and its role at the beginning of the First World War. In: Journal of History . Volume 18, 1970, pp. 877-898.
• The rise and fall of an Imperial Chancellor. Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg, 1856–1921. A political picture of life. Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1973.
• On the functional mechanism between the state and monopoly capital in Germany in the first months of the First World War, 1914–1915. In: Yearbook for Economic History. Volume 1, 1973, pp. 63-98.
• The penetration of monopoly capital into the economy of the city of Erfurt 1898 to 1914. The changes in the economic structure and the differentiation process within the bourgeoisie of the city of Erfurt in the first years of the rule of imperialism (late 19th century to 1914). In: Yearbook for History. Volume 10, 1974, pp. 343-371.
• with Fritz Klein and Joachim Petzold : From Sarajevo to Versailles. Germany in the First World War. Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1974.
• On the imperialism apology in the FRG. "New" interpretations of imperialism in the FRG historiography of German history from 1898 to 1917. Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1975.
• August 1, 1914. ( Illustrated historical booklets : Booklet 3), Deutscher Verlag der Wissenschaften, Berlin 1976, DNB 760378231 .
• (Ed.) Reigning methods of German imperialism 1897/98 to 1917. Documents on domestic and foreign policy strategy and tactics of the ruling classes of the German Reich. Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1977.
• Monopoly bourgeoisie, state and foreign policy before the First World War. On some research problems in the history of the German bourgeoisie up to the First World War. In: Zeitschrift für Geschichtswwissenschaft <Berlin> 29, 981, pp. 239–253.
• The wanted war. German imperialism and the 1st World War. Pahl-Rugenstein, Cologne 1984, ISBN 3-7609-0934-5 .
• Sarajevo 1914. From assassination to world war. Dietz, Berlin 1984.
• Monopolies, the state and expansion before 1914. On the functional mechanism between industrial monopolies, large banks and state organs in the foreign policy of the German Reich 1897 to summer 1914. Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1986.
• "Panthersprung" to Agadir 1911. ( Illustrated historical booklets : Issue 48), Deutscher Verlag der Wissenschaften, Berlin 1988, ISBN 3-326-00319-6 .
• (Ed.) History of the city of Erfurt. 2nd Edition. Böhlau, Weimar 1989, ISBN 3-7400-0095-3 .
  • Transition to imperialism and First World War (1897/98 to 19717). In: History of the City of Erfurt. 1986, pp. 321-358.
  • Immediate Effects of the Great October Socialist Revolution and the November Revolution (1917-1919). In: History of the City of Erfurt. 1986, pp. 359-388.
• 1250 years of Erfurt. A journey through the city's history. Publishing house and printing progress, Erfurt 1991, ISBN 3-86087-094-7 .
• The history of the Erfurt tram. Publishing house and printing progress, Erfurt 1991, ISBN 3-86087-096-3 .
• An emperor in exile. The last German Kaiser Wilhelm II in Holland. A critical biography. Hitzeroth, Marburg 1991, ISBN 3-89398-076-8 .
• Erfurt and the state of Thuringia 1918 to 1952. Publishing and printing progress, Erfurt 1991, ISBN 3-13368-067-6 .
• Wilhelm II. The last emperor of the German Empire. A biography. Deutscher Verlag der Wissenschaften, Berlin 1991, ISBN 3-326-00627-6 .
• The history of horticulture in Erfurt. Publishing house and printing progress, Erfurt 1992, ISBN 3-86087-102-1 .

literature

• Willibald Gutsche: On the restrictions on work in the local history in the GDR province. The example of the Erfurt city historiography from 1945 to 1989. In: Zeitschrift für Geschichtswwissenschaft. 39 1991, pp. 1093-1106.
• Lothar Mertens : Lexicon of the GDR historians. Biographies and bibliographies on the historians from the German Democratic Republic. Saur, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-598-11673-X .
• Matthew Stibbe: Fleeting Alliances. The First World War as a horizon of experience and explanandum. In: Franka Maubach and Christina Morina (eds.): Telling the 20th century. Time experience and time research in divided Germany. Wallstein Verlag, Göttingen 2016, ISBN 978-3-8353-2825-9 ( Contributions to the history of the 20th century . Volume 21), pp. 32–85.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Matthew Stibbe: Fleeting Alliances. The First World War as a horizon of experience and explanandum. In: Franka Maubach and Christina Morina (eds.): Telling the 20th century. Time experience and time research in divided Germany. Wallstein Verlag, Göttingen 2016, ISBN 978-3-8353-2825-9 ( Contributions to the history of the 20th century . Volume 21), p. 70 f.
2. ^ Matthew Stibbe: Fleeting Alliances. The First World War as a horizon of experience and explanandum. In: Franka Maubach and Christina Morina (eds.): Telling the 20th century. Time experience and time research in divided Germany. Wallstein Verlag, Göttingen 2016, p. 72 f.
3. ^ ^{A b} Willibald Gutsche: On the restrictions on work in the local history in the GDR province. The example of the Erfurt city historiography from 1945 to 1989. In: Zeitschrift für Geschichtswwissenschaft. 39 (1991), p. 1096.
4. ^ Willibald Gutsche: On the restrictions on work in the local history in the GDR province. The example of the Erfurt city historiography from 1945 to 1989. In: Zeitschrift für Geschichtswwissenschaft. 39 (1991), p. 1098.
5. ^ Matthew Stibbe: Fleeting Alliances. The First World War as a horizon of experience and explanandum. In: Franka Maubach and Christina Morina (eds.): Telling the 20th century. Time experience and time research in divided Germany. Wallstein Verlag, Göttingen 2016, pp. 74-76, cited above. 75.
6. ↑ Local history researchers with a new claim. In: New Germany . January 13, 1990, p. 13.
7. ^ Matthew Stibbe: Fleeting Alliances. The First World War as a horizon of experience and explanandum. In: Franka Maubach and Christina Morina (eds.): Telling the 20th century. Time experience and time research in divided Germany. Wallstein Verlag, Göttingen 2016, p. 71 f.
8. ^ Matthew Stibbe: Fleeting Alliances. The First World War as a horizon of experience and explanandum. In: Franka Maubach and Christina Morina (eds.): Telling the 20th century. Time experience and time research in divided Germany. Wallstein Verlag, Göttingen 2016, p. 34.
9. ↑ Jürgen Schmidt: Limited leeway. A history of the relationship between workers and the bourgeoisie using the example of Erfurt from 1870 to 1914 . V & R, Göttingen 2005, p. 22.
10. ^ Karlheinz Blaschke: The "Marxist" regional history. Ideological coercion and unreality. In: Georg G. Iggers et al. (Ed.): The GDR historical science as a research problem. R. Oldenbourg, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-486-64426-2 ( historical magazine supplement . 27), p. 354f.
11. ^ Matthew Stibbe: Fleeting Alliances. The First World War as a horizon of experience and explanandum. In: Franka Maubach and Christina Morina (eds.): Telling the 20th century. Time experience and time research in divided Germany. Wallstein Verlag, Göttingen 2016, p. 76.
12. ^ Matthew Stibbe: Fleeting Alliances. The First World War as a horizon of experience and explanandum. In: Franka Maubach and Christina Morina (eds.): Telling the 20th century. Time experience and time research in divided Germany. Wallstein Verlag, Göttingen 2016, p. 77.
13. ^ Matthew Stibbe: Fleeting Alliances. The First World War as a horizon of experience and explanandum. In: Franka Maubach and Christina Morina (eds.): Telling the 20th century. Time experience and time research in divided Germany. Wallstein Verlag, Göttingen 2016, p. 78 f.
14. ^ Willibald Gutsche: On the restrictions on work in the local history in the GDR province. The example of the Erfurt city historiography from 1945 to 1989. In: Zeitschrift für Geschichtswwissenschaft. 39 (1991), p. 1102.
15. ^ Matthew Stibbe: Fleeting Alliances. The First World War as a horizon of experience and explanandum. In: Franka Maubach and Christina Morina (eds.): Telling the 20th century. Time experience and time research in divided Germany. Wallstein Verlag, Göttingen 2016, p. 80.