Ernst Bernheim
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Ernst Bernheim (19 February 1850 – 9 July 1942) was a German historian who is best known for an influential ''Lehrbuch der historischen Methode'' (1889) on
historical method Historical method is the collection of techniques and guidelines that historians use to research and write histories of the past. Secondary sources, primary sources and material evidence such as that derived from archaeology may all be drawn ...
.


Early life

He was born in
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
as a son of merchant Louis Bernheim (later changed to Ludwig Bernheim, born 7 December 1815 in Fürstenberg) and Emma Simon (born 15 April 1834 in Kolberg) and from 1834 lived in
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
. On 16 April 1884, he married Amalie ("Emma") Henriette Jessen (born 18 September 1861 in Hamburg, died 9 July 1945 in Greifswald). They had a daughter and three sons.Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 741-2, Genealogische Sammlung, Bernheim


Career

Ernst attended the Johanneum from Easter 1862 and graduated with the Abitur on 22 September 1868. From 1868 to 1872, he studied history in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
,
Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
, and
Straßburg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
He graduated with the grades Dr. phil and Dr jur. in Straßburg (1873, supervised by Georg Waitz) and Dr habil in
Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911. General information The ori ...
(1874–75, supervised by Julius Weizsäcker). Thereafter, he taught history at the
University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...
and at the
University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine ...
. In 1883, he was called to the
University of Greifswald The University of Greifswald (; german: Universität Greifswald), formerly also known as “Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald“, is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pom ...
, Institute for History, where he held the positions of an "
außerordentlicher Professor Academic ranks in Germany are the titles, relative importance and power of professors, researchers, and administrative personnel held in academia. Overview Appointment grades * (Pay grade: ''W3'' or ''W2'') * (''W3'') * (''W2'') * (''W2'', ...
" ("Privatdozent") since 1883, and "
ordentlicher Professor Academic ranks in Germany are the titles, relative importance and power of professors, researchers, and administrative personnel held in academia. Overview Appointment grades * (Pay grade: ''W3'' or ''W2'') * (''W3'') * (''W2'') * (''W2'', ...
" since 1889. In 1899, he was elected
rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
of the university. His eremitation was in 1921.


Nazi era

His Jewish descent made Bernheim subject to repressions during the Nazi era. In 1933, he was forbidden to lecture, and an appeal to
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
to regain that permission was not successful. On 4 December 1935, with the implementation of the
Nuremberg Laws The Nuremberg Laws (german: link=no, Nürnberger Gesetze, ) were antisemitic and racist laws that were enacted in Nazi Germany on 15 September 1935, at a special meeting of the Reichstag convened during the annual Nuremberg Rally of ...
, Berheim lost
German citizenship German nationality law details the conditions by which an individual holds German nationality. The primary law governing these requirements is the Nationality Act, which came into force on 1 January 1914. Germany is a member state of the Europ ...
. An appeal to Hitler to regain citizenship, which was backed by a number of scientists from the
University of Greifswald The University of Greifswald (; german: Universität Greifswald), formerly also known as “Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald“, is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pom ...
was successful, and Bernheim was assigned "temporary citizenship" on 12 January 1938 and let him avoid deportation in 1940. Yet, just weeks before his death, the deaf-mute foster child of the family, Hetti Meyer, was deported to Theresienstadt and killed. Hetti was raised from her birth by Bernheim and his wife Emma, a special education teacher. From 1939 onwards, Nazi scientists systematically besmirched Bernheim's scientific work, which was not appreciated again until postwar Germany. Bernheim died on 3 March 1942 in Greifswald. His former colleagues managed to circumvent Nazi orders and to get his urn buried in the town's graveyard on 23 July 1943, but an obituary was not permitted.


Legacy

A memorial plaque was attached to his Greifswald house, at 26 Arndtstraße. Furthermore, a street in Greifswald was named after him.


References

* Irene Blechle, ''Entdecker der Hochschulpädagogik. Die Universitätsreformer Ernst Bernheim und Hans Schmidkunz''.
Shaker Verlag Shaker Verlag is a German publishing house located in Düren and Maastricht, established in 1986 by Dr. Chaled Shaker. Shaker Verlag is a publisher of scientific literature, especially monographs and dissertations. More than 20,000 booksShaker V ...
, Aachen 2002, , pp. 29ff (youth); pp. 332ff (Nazi era)


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bernheim, Ernst 1850 births 1942 deaths People educated at the Gelehrtenschule des Johanneums 19th-century German Jews 20th-century German historians Academic staff of the University of Greifswald People from the Province of Pomerania German male non-fiction writers 19th-century German historians