Hans Gustav Güterbock (May 27, 1908 – March 29, 2000) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

- American

Hittitologist Hittitology is the study of the Hittites, an ancient Anatolian people that established an empire around Hattusa in the 2nd millennium BCE. It combines aspects of the archaeology, history, philology, and art history of the Hittite civilisation. Ther ...

. Born and trained in Germany, his career was ended with the rise of the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

because of his Jewish heritage, and he was forced to resettle in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he immigrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and spent the rest of his career at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

Early life

Born in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

to a father of

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish heritage who served as the secretary of the

Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft The Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft (, ''German Oriental Society''), abbreviated DOG, is a German voluntary association based in Berlin dedicated to the study of the Near East. The DOG was officially founded in January 1898 to foster public interes ...

, Güterbock spent a year studying the

Hittite language Hittite (, or ), also known as Nesite (Nešite/Neshite, Nessite), is an extinct Indo-European language that was spoken by the Hittites, a people of Bronze Age Anatolia who created an empire centred on Hattusa, as well as parts of the northern ...

with Hans Ehelolf before moving on to

Leipzig University Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

. There he continued his Hittite studies and took up

Assyriology Assyriology (from Greek , ''Assyriā''; and , ''-logia''), also known as Cuneiform studies or Ancient Near East studies, is the archaeological, anthropological, historical, and linguistic study of the cultures that used cuneiform writing. The fie ...

, studying under Johannes Friedrich and Benno Landsberger and earning a doctorate. With private funding, Güterbock managed to spend three years in Bogazköy as an

epigrapher Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

on a German team (while also employed by the Berlin Museum from 1933 to 1935), but

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

racial laws Anti-Jewish laws have been a common occurrence throughout the history of antisemitism and Jewish history. Examples of such laws include special Jewish quotas, Jewish taxes and Jewish "disabilities". During the 1930s and early 1940s, some law ...

compelled him to leave Germany and find employment at the Faculty of Languages, History, and Geography at Ankara in 1936. Güterbock, who was said to have had a native command of Turkish, was given an honorary doctorate by the University of Ankara and was also a select member of the

Turkish Historical Society The Turkish Historical Society (; TTK) is a research society studying the history of Turkey and the Turkish people, founded in 1931 by the initiative of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, with headquarters in Ankara, Turkey. It has been described as "the Ke ...

Chicago career

In 1948, he left

to be a guest lecturer for a year in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

University of Uppsala Uppsala University (UU) () is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially founded in the 15th century, the university rose to s ...

, and in 1949 he was invited to settle at the

's Oriental Institute by

Thorkild Jacobsen Thorkild Peter Rudolph Jacobsen (; 7 June 1904 – 2 May 1993) was a Danish historian specializing in Assyriology and Sumerian literature. He was one of the foremost scholars on the ancient Near East. Biography Thorkild Peter Rudolph Jacobsen re ...

, where he would spend the rest of his academic career. In 1956, Güterbock was promoted to a full professor, and from 1969 to his retirement in 1976 he was the university's Tiffany and Margaret Blake Distinguished Service Professor of Hittitology. In 1962, he became president of the

American Oriental Society The American Oriental Society is a learned society that encourages basic research in the languages and literatures of the Near East and Asia. It was chartered under the laws of Massachusetts on September 7, 1842. It is one of the oldest learned ...

, and in 1996 would become the second person to receive the group's Medal of Merit. He was a member of both the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

and the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

. In 1976, he joined forces with fellow Chicago professor

Harry Hoffner Harry Angier Hoffner Jr. (November 27, 1934 – March 10, 2015) was an American professor of Hittitology. Early life and education Hoffner was born in Jacksonville, Florida to Harry Angier and Madaline Wolford Hoffner. He studied at Princeton ...

to found and co-edit the Chicago Hittite Dictionary.

Personal life

In Istanbul Güterbock married in 1940 Franziska Hellmann (1919–2014), the daughter of Karl Hellmann and Rosy, née Herzfelder. With his wife Frances he had two children: Thomas Martin and Walter Michael. His ashes are interred in the crypt of First Unitarian Church of Chicago where he was a member.

Works

* * * * * * (edited with Harry A. Hoffner) * * (edited by Harry A. Hoffner)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Guterbock, Hans Gustav 1908 births Hittitologists University of Chicago faculty 2000 deaths Emigrants from Nazi Germany German emigrants to Turkey Immigrants to the United States Members of the American Philosophical Society American Unitarian Universalists Leipzig University alumni