Wolfgang Scheler
Wolfgang Scheler (born June 27, 1935 in Gera as Wolfgang Giebner ) is a German philosopher , peace researcher and former sea captain of the National People's Army .
He worked as a university lecturer (1965) and full professor (1978) at the Friedrich Engels Military Academy (MAFE) of the National People's Army of the German Democratic Republic in Dresden (1965–1990).
Life
Origin and education
Wolfgang Scheler was born as Wolfgang Giebner on June 27, 1935 in Gera . His father, Hermann Scheler, was an anti-fascist resistance fighter in prison; he was forbidden to give his son his family name. Wolfgang finished school with the Abitur .
Military career
In 1953 he joined the Kasernierte Volkspolizei (KVP) of the GDR, became an officer candidate at the motor vehicle school and graduated in 1955 with the appointment of first officer rank. In January 1956, Wolfgang Giebner was accepted into the National People's Army and transferred as a motor vehicle platoon leader to the Motorized Rifle Regiment 1 (MSR-1).
In 1957 he was employed as a motor vehicle platoon leader at the artillery school. After an annual course at the NVA's political school, he was transferred to the vehicle company in the command of the naval forces (from 1960 - Volksmarine ) of the NVA as the deputy company commander for political work ("Politstellvertreter") .
On March 21, 1960 he took his father's surname Scheler .
Between 1961 and 1963, Wolfgang Scheler studied at the Berlin-Treptow political school and at the Friedrich Engels military academy in Dresden. With a driving time (1963-1965) in the landing department of the People's Navy in the function of senior officer for propaganda, he completed his time in the fleet.
Scientific career
The social scientist (Dipl.-Ges.) Scheler began his academic and university teaching career in autumn 1965 with a teaching position as a specialist teacher for dialectical materialism and philosophical problems of war and the armed forces at the military academy "Friedrich Engels" in Dresden.
After a scheduled aspirantur (1969–1973) at the Institute for Social Sciences at the Central Committee of the SED, Scheler received his first academic title Doctor of Philosophy (Dr. phil.) (1973).
Then Scheler was employed as a main subject teacher for historical materialism at the military academy "Friedrich Engels" and in 1974 became head of the chair of Marxist-Leninist philosophy.
In 1975 he was appointed to the Scientific Council for Marxist-Leninist Philosophy in the GDR.
His PhD B (1977) as a Doctor of Philosophical Sciences (Dr. sc. Phil.) After a joint work with Erich Hocke - on philosophical problems of war and peace in the present - founded a line of thought in peace research , which was in the NVA and in the intellectual Life of the GDR gained influence.
In 1978 he was appointed full professor for dialectical and historical materialism. In 1979 he was appointed to the Scientific Council of the Military Academy .
Wolfgang Scheler was one of the masterminds on the issue of peace - war - armed forces. He was one of the first scientists in the NVA who recognized and addressed the fact that in the atomic age war can lead to the downfall of mankind and has therefore become unsuitable as a political tool.
Since the beginning of the 1980s, he made a significant contribution to overcoming the old military and security thinking. In 1988 Scheler was appointed to the Scientific Council for Peace Research at the Academy of Sciences in the GDR .
In 1989/90, Captain Wolfgang Scheler was one of the initiators of the democratic military reform in the GDR.
In February 1990, Wolfgang Scheler was appointed to the Interdisciplinary Research Area Security [politics] (IWBS) initiated by Rolf Lehmann at the Military Academy , which was conceived as a forerunner for an institute for security policy to be created. Its work results, including contributions by Scheler, were published publicly in the series of publications of the Military Academy Working Papers IWBS .
In March 1990 Scheler was elected a member of the Council and Senate of the Military Academy.
With the dissolution of the National People's Army in the course of the national unification of Germany, he was released on September 30, 1990, before the NVA was decommissioned. (KptzS a. D.)
Peace policy work
After his discharge from military service, Wolfgang Scheler remained socially, scientifically and journalistically active even without the scope of an academic institution.
In October 1990 Scheler was an active founding member of the Dresdener Studiengemeinschaft Sicherheitspektiven e. V. (DSS), was a board member (1990–1993), for many years deputy to the chairman of the board (1994–2005), acted as its chairman (2005–2015) and as one of the liquidators when the association was dissolved (DSS i. L., 2016 -2017). Scheler published a large number of his own contributions in 48 issues of the DSS working papers and actively supported the public's work on security and peace policy.
In 1991 he participated in the establishment of the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung Sachsen e. V. and subsequently until 2005 in the management of the Dresden Working Group of the Foundation, especially for the content design and organization of philosophical and peace policy events.
In 1993, Wolfgang Scheler and Ernst Woit suggested that the study community should gain broader publicity for peace research and that the content of public events in Dresden should be organized. This happened in cooperation with the Saxon Peace Initiative Dresden, u. a. as the Dresden Peace Symposium (1993–2010) and as an annual podium for the World Day of Peace (1993–2013). As chairman of the association, Wolfgang Scheler promoted the organization of the Dresden symposia “For a global peace order” (1996–2013), in which well-known national and foreign scholars participated and Scheler was regularly one of the speakers.
Awards
- 1989 “ National Prize of the GDR ”, third class in the collective, for his contributions to the Marxist-Leninist theory about peace, war and armed forces.
- 1985 " Friedrich-Engels-Preis " of the GDR, first class, for outstanding achievements for the benefit of the socialist national defense as a member of a collective (author collective of the book The Philosophy of Peace in the Fight against the Ideology of War. )
- 1978 "Friedrich Engels Prize" of the GDR, third class for excellent performance for the benefit of socialist national defense as a member of a collective.
literature
- Joachim Klopfer (Red.): For a world without war. Festschrift for Wolfgang Scheler for the 65th (Ed.) Dresdener Studiengemeinschaft Sicherheitspektiven (DSS) e. V., DSS working papers, issue 55, Dresden 2000.
- Alwin Loose / Wolfgang Scheler: Philosophers at the Military Academy. The philosophy chair at the military academy "Friedrich Engels". Reminiscences from former members. In: (Ed.) Dresdener Studiengemeinschaft Sicherheitsppolitik (DSS) e. V., DSS working papers, issue 109, Dresden 2014.
Fonts (selection)
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Ministry for National Defense of the GDR (MfNV): location database of the National People's Army of the GDR . Abbreviation MAFE. Ed .: Military History Research Office MGFA. ( mgfa.de ).
- ↑ a b See biographical data from Wolfgang Scheler. In: Joachim Klopfer (Red.): Foreword to the Festschrift - Wolfgang Scheler on the 65th short portrait. In: For a world without war. (Ed.) Dresdener Studiengemeinschaft Sicherheitsppolitik (DSS) e. V., DSS working papers, Heft 55, Dresden 2000, p. 2. urn : nbn: de: bsz: 14-qucosa2-339745
- ↑ On the dialectic of material relations and morals in the construction of socialist society. Dissertation A. (Ed.) Institute for Social Sciences at the Central Committee of the SED, Berlin 1973.
- ↑ a b See election / appointment of officers of the chair in scientific / social committees of the GDR. In: Alwin Loose / Wolfgang Scheler: Philosophers at the Military Academy. The philosophy chair at the "Friedrich Engels" military academy. Reminiscences from former members. In: (Ed.) Dresdener Studiengemeinschaft Sicherheitsppolitik (DSS) e. V., DSS Working Papers, Issue 109, Dresden 2014, Appendix 3, p 338. urn : nbn: de: bsz: 14 qucosa2-340221
- ↑ Wolfgang Scheler / Erich Hocke: The unity of socialism and peace. On the philosophical problems of war and peace in the present. Dissertation B, joint work, Dresden 1977, III, 307 and 33 pp. Also published by Dietz Verlag, Berlin 1977.
- ↑ See IWBS working papers. (Ed.) Military Academy "Friedrich Engels", Issues 1 to 3, Dresden 1990. urn : nbn: de: bsz: 14-qucosa2-341704
- ↑ a b c See The Chair in Social Change. In: Alwin Loose / Wolfgang Scheler: Philosophers at the Military Academy. The philosophy chair at the military academy "Friedrich Engels". Reminiscences from former members. In: (Ed.) Dresdener Studiengemeinschaft Sicherheitsppolitik (DSS) e. V., DSS working papers, Heft 109, Dresden 2014, p. 164 ff. Urn : nbn: de: bsz: 14-qucosa2-340221
- ↑ See PhDs, Appointments and Science Awards. In: Alwin Loose / Wolfgang Scheler: Philosophers at the Military Academy. The philosophy chair at the military academy "Friedrich Engels". Reminiscences from former members. In: (Ed.) Dresdener Studiengemeinschaft Sicherheitsppolitik (DSS) e. V., DSS Working Papers, Issue 109, Dresden 2014, p 258. urn : nbn: de: bsz: 14 qucosa2-340221
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Scheler, Wolfgang |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Giebner, Wolfgang |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German philosopher and peace researcher |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 27, 1935 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Gera |