Nicolaus Sombart (10 May 1923 – 4 July 2008) was a German cultural sociologist,

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

and

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

. The son of

Werner Sombart Werner Sombart (; ; 19 January 1863 – 18 May 1941) was a German economist and sociologist, the head of the "Youngest Historical School" and one of the leading Continental European social scientists during the first quarter of the 20th century. ...

and his Romanian wife Corina Leon, Sombart was known, in particular, as an analyst of

Wilhelmine Germany The Wilhelmine Period () comprises the period of German history between 1890 and 1918, embracing the reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II in the German Empire from the resignation of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck until the end of World War I and Wilhelm' ...

and a critique of

Carl Schmitt Carl Schmitt (; 11 July 1888 – 7 April 1985) was a German jurist, political theorist, and prominent member of the Nazi Party. Schmitt wrote extensively about the effective wielding of political power. A conservative theorist, he is noted as ...

. For nearly 30 years, Sombart benefited from an appointment as senior cultural civil servant attached to the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...

in Strasbourg, while also continuing his career as a writer and academic, principally in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

at the Freie Universität. Sombart's daughter is the classical pianist

Elizabeth Sombart Elizabeth Sombart is a French pianist, born in Strasbourg. Biography Sombart began studying the piano at the age of seven. She entered the Strasbourg Conservatory and her first public performance was at the age of 11. After winning first prize ...

Bibliography

Works in German

* ''Capriccio Nr. 1: Des Wachsoldaten Irrungen und Untergang'', Siegel-Verlag, Frankfurt 1947; Elster-Verlag, Baden-Baden/Zürich 1995, * ''Jugend in Berlin: 1933–1943, Ein Bericht,'', Hanser, München/Wien, 1984, * ''Nachdenken über Deutschland: Vom Historismus zur Psychoanalyse'', Piper, München/Zürich, 1987, * ''Die deutschen Männer und ihre Feinde: Carl Schmitt, ein deutsches Schicksal zwischen Männerbund und Matriarchatsmythos'', Hanser, München 1991 , Fischer TB, Frankfurt, 1997, * ''Pariser Lehrjahre: 1951–1954, leçons de sociologie'', Hoffmann & Campe, Hamburg, 1994, * ''Wilhelm II: Sündenbock und Herr der Mitte'', Volk und Welt, Berlin, 1996, * ''Rendezvous mit dem Weltgeist: Heidelberger Reminiszenzen, 1945–1951'', S. Fischer, Frankfurt, 2000, * ''Journal intime 1982/83: Rückkehr nach Berlin'', Elfenbein, Berlin, 2003, * ''Rumänische Reise: Ins Land meiner Mutter'', Transit, Berlin 2006,

Literature

* Saverio Campanini: ''Carteggio d'autunno tedesco. Uno scambio di lettere tra Gershom Scholem e Nicolaus Sombart a proposito di Carl Schmitt e d'altro'', in: "Schifanoia" 52-53 (2017), p. 41-62.

References

External links

"Nicolaus Sombart: German writer and connoisseur of eroticism"
(From ''The Times'', August 6, 2008). {{DEFAULTSORT:Sombart, Nicolaus German sociologists German people of Romanian descent Cultural historians 1923 births 2008 deaths German male writers Carl Schmitt scholars